On the Spot

I am a few months in to my first year as a veterinarian.  Having obtained a pass to work with the Military Police in the Cuiaba Basin, I have settled in a rotuine of going to the battalion on a regular basis and the  duty sargeant has become a friend of mine.  I have always believed that you should respect local knowledge and get local people on your side, and Jorge has been great in helping me with issues and doubts.

He is a breath of fresh air and his knowdge and approachability is a pleasure.

Veterinary Aspects of Cuiabá's Secret Caiman, the Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman

Today I came across my first World record - I examined a Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman.

It has several alternative names, namely:

• the Musky Caiman
• the Dwaf Caiman
• Cuvier's Caiman
• Smooth-fronted Caiman
• Wedge-Head Caiman
• Paleosuchus palpebrosus
• Jacaré urbano
• Jacaré paguá
• Jacaré Ferro

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classiefiedthe species as of Least Concern, and stable.

The one I examined today was just a juvenile.  They grow over a metre long.  This one had a head measuring 11.2 cm and body length of 68 cm.  It weighed one kilogramme 760 grammes.  Its cloacal temperature was 33.c, the heart rate was 52 beats per minute and the respiratory rate was eight movements per minute.  

I taped its jaws and took care of other physical containmnent procedures.  

There was nothing clinically wrong with the aninal, and it was taken to the Federal University of Mato Grosso.

A great photograph by my assistant.

New Veterinary Graduates' Personal Development - The Veterinarian's Mindset

Whilst upon leaving vets' school the Brazilian new grad will be armed with a certain set of veterinary skills 

• ability to change a dressing
• ability to set up a drip kit (there is a better word for this in English. In Portuguese you say 'equipo')
• venipuncture

there is something called 'mindset' that takes years to learn. 

It is possible to see the students who have the right attitude - the right mindset'.  Mindset is different to skill set.  

You have the knowledge and the skillset when you graduate from vets' school.  What many people don't have is the right mindset.

The biggest lesson I learned at vets' school was that veterinary medicine is not about animals but abput people.  I exaggerate, of course it is about animals.  But there is a paradigm to consider when faced with an emptional owner of a companion animal.  This paradigm is that you should consider the owner's needs first - because he or she pays the bills)  You should consider the animal's needs second.  Finally, you should conisder yours. Wise advice from a coaching video by Marco Antonio Gioso. 

Go into surgery with the attitude "I can do this".

I have a former classmate who, within three years of qualifiying, opened her own small animal clinic.  Since a large percentage of businesses fail, it will be interesting to see wheher she succeeds.  And success is all about mindset.

Suggested Year-One Skills for Newly-Qualified Brazilian Veterinary Surgeons

As a Briton who has graduated as a mature student in Brazil as a Veterinary Surgeon, thought I would point out some tips for you.

First of all, for Brazilian students, you leave vets' school thinking that you don't know much.  But did you know that, by the British standards that you admire so much, your learning is specific, measureable, achieveable, realistic and timely?  I am talking about SMART objectives.  It's worth your while researching what these are and how you may use them to your advantage.

And did you know that you can plan your evolution as a first-year veterinarian, that is, as a 'New Grad'?

British newly-qualified veterinary surgeons are actively engaged in learning on the job, and you should be, too.

So put the mobile 'phone down.

Leave 'Whatsapp' alone for a few hours.

Learn Venipuncture

Learn what is meant by 'changing a dressing'.

Learn physical contention of dogs and cats - not usually a problem.

Don't expect your colleagues to treat you like a 'proper vet'.

A bit 'chato', this advice, maybe, but I stand by it.

'Bye for now.

Raptors' and Owls' Weights

Beginning a gross physical examination of a Striped Owl, Ortuguese name: coruja orelhuda. Scientific name:Rhinoptynx clamator. 

Two weeks ago I decided to look for more opportunites to get involved in small animal surgery here in Cuiaba.  For several months I have been in Bairro Lixeira at the small animal clinic there.  Whilst impressed at their didacttic approach to helping undergraduates, I realised I was unhappy with the way things were going - mostly because there was hardly any surgery going on.

Today was my first day at a new surgery.  That of a former professor of mine.  It turned out to be thr right move.  Straightaway I was in to two surgical procedures, confirming to myself that I do love surgery whatever the species.

In another development I am now in daily dialogue with the state environmental department, advising them on bird of prey management.  We intend to start rehabilitating owls.

And on yet another front I got a message out of the blue to invite me to give a short course on falconry at a forthcoming conference in November.

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Portuguese name: caburé.  Scientific name: Glaucidium brasilianum,

Note:  one thing that is important to mention to whoever is iterested in bird weights as they relate to falconry (or rehabilitation).  There is no standard weight for a bird, and to give such is miselading.  A bird's weight varies multifactorially.

Telling Blue-Fronted and Orange-Winged Amazon Parrots Apart

The Orange-Winged Parrot has orange eyes whilst the Blue-Fronted has scarlet.

The Orange-winged's neck is slimmer whilst the Blue-Fronted's is thicker.

These differences are only apparent when the two birds are together.

Work ups

The importance of weights has been staring me in the face.  Each time I look at a drugs formulary for sedation the details given go on the animal's weight, obviously not the species.  However, the WES vet needs to know the species as well.  So in my diagnostic work ups.I have to include both.

Identification is fun but takes time.

What takes  even longer is checking the literature for species sensitivity to certain drugs.

Weights

Everything depends on weight.  That's what I'm learning.

Last week I had to deal with a severely injured Giant Anteater.  It's caused me to register with some suppliers here in Cuiabá to get the sedatives I need to better treat the animals brought to the Battalion.

Elephants

As the time for the first elephants to arrive at the new elephant sanctuary draws closer, people keep asking me about it, This feels weird, but is understandable given my professional interests.

To my Brazilian readers:  I am doing translations of scientific papers and can translate your Abstract from Portuguese into English in super-short period of time.

Diary of a WES Veterinarian: Handling Boa Constrictors.

I absolutely love snakes.  I always have.  These strong feelings are partly due to the fact that it is so diffcult to get experience with them.

Yesterday I went again to the police barracks in Varzea Grande.  My activities there are dictated by the patient priorities.  Reptiles are my top priority.  Usually they are unharmed and have simply been removed from a private house as an undesireabe pest by the authorities. They are released as soon as possibke by the police.

Because the WES veterinarian's goal is partly to obtain as much knowledge on the biology of the animal species I deal with as possible, even when the animal is not a clinical case, then I study what I can and try ti get to grips with the animal.

Yesterday was useful because I was able to handle my biggest Boa Constrictor.  It was 140cm long, 14cm in diameter and weighed 2.125kg.  It was not not difficult to capture using the techniques I described yesterday.  But when it coiled around my left arm I realsed I would have to act quickly before my blood circulation was affected.

So these are the probably the maximum dimensions of a Boa that I would want to handle without assistance from a brave assistant, or sedation or snake callipers.  I had an assistamt, but he was terrified, so I was on my own. Below are the photos he took.  I hadn't realised at the time, but he was shaking with fear!

Photograph showing part of the Boa's 145cm uncoiled length and 14cm circumference.  It is best not to allow a Boa Constrictor to coil around itself. -  its coils can catch on ites teeth.  

Here I have managed to clear the snake's coils from its head region.  The handler is in control as the snake's head is between my fingers, but it took all my upper body strength to restrain the snake.

Field Examination of the Brazilian Boa Constrictor (Jiboia).

Here in the Cuiabá Basin there are a lot of Boa Constrictors.  These snakes are not venomous.   However, their mouth is full of minute sharp teeth perfectly capable of delivering a sharp nip and, worse, getting ripped off in the process and getting embedded in your flesh.

The risk of this happening obviously depends upon the circumstances and the disposition of the individual boa.

The situation I found myself in recently was having extract a very loudly-hissing Boa from a transport box.  A few days earlier I had received a quick in-the-field tutorial on approaching wild Boas for examination purposes.

A metal snake hook should be used to slowly open the cgae or transport box.  The hook should then be placed over one-third of the waydoen the reptile's body, thus catching it off-balance.  Snakes strike using the first third of their body.  If you place the hook beyond the first third of the body, the snake cannot strike.

Then you place your index finger behind the head and your thumb and middle finger either side of the mandible.  Voilá: you can remove the snake from the transport box and begin the examination.

This beautiful specimen of a Boa Constrictor received a physical examination and clean bill of health.  Photo: Dr John Beaumont

This specimen was approx a metre long.  Note that the use of gloves hinders manual dexterity and later examinations were carried out with bare hands allowing full manual dexterity.  Heart and respiratory rates are best obtained using ultrasound. Photo: Dr John Beaumont.  His hand, too!

Veterinary Aspects of the Field Examination of the Brazilian Jaguarundi/ Gato Mourisco/Gato da Mata (case #103jagdi01)

When I was ending my penultimate year at Vets' School last year, I became aware that I was reaching the end of the course's theoretical content and that in a few short weeks I would be starting my clinical rotations.  Thus I would be expected to know all the theory of the previous four years.

I asked one of my most forward-looking professors what preparatory reading I should be doing, and he recommended the opening chapter of Ettinger.

One of the things I took from this reading was that the clinical examination begins as soon as I see the patient, which is at a distance.

Some time ago I obtained access to the Environmental Military Police's holding facility for wildlife in trouble.  Last week I examined a Jaguarundi, a fast little cat that comes in a variety of colours.

My first impression was that both animals that I was seeing in the pen were healthy.  As a conservation veterinary surgeon you learn your craft fast. When I see an animal now - and I have been observing animals all my life - I have a certain way of thinking about what I see.  As a field naturalist your biggest concern is getting an accurate identification. As a veterinarian this is of - how can I put this?  Not secondary concern, not to me, anayway, because I am dealing with some elusive species out here, but I have to be able to assess the animal clinically.

So you find yourself thinking in terms of the animal's bodily systems:  its skin, coat (mirror as to the animal's health), locomotion, movement, breathing, pulse, eyes, ears, paws, in fact, every part of its body, internally andexternally.

The animal below, which I examined last week, had a dark brown pelage (fur).  According to Emmons (1997), this is indicative of an animal from a rainforest habitat, as opposed to dry forest, cerrado or wetland (the Pantanal, locally).

I have never examined a more easy-to-handle wild animal.

Its heart rate was wonderfully regular; its breathing problem-free.

This one, I am delighted to say, seemed to be in rude health, and is due to be released next week. Good luck to her.  I named her Liane, a cat from the wild, after Mike Tomkies' Scottish Wildcat.

Magalhaes (1992) provides some solid natural history information. She says the species is usually found in pairs, and avoids open fields.

Eisenberg and Redford (1999) report that, even within the same population, a variety of coat colours can be seen.

Eisenberg, J. F. and Redford, K. H. (1999).  Mammals of the Neotropics: The Central Neotropics. Vol 3. Ecuador, Peru. Bolivia. Brazil. The University of Chicago Press, London.

Ettinger, S. T. and Feldman, E. C. (2005). Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine.Diseases of the Dog and Cat.  Sixth Ed. Elsevier, Inc.

Emmons, L.H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Animals. A Field Guide, Second Edition. The University of Chicago Press, London.

Magalhaes, N. W. de (1992). Conheça o Pantanal. Terragraph, São Paulo.

An adult female Jaguarundi, Gato Mourisco, Herpailurus yaguarundi, in captivity in Brazil's Mato Grosso State, Central Western Brazil.  Photo: Dr John Beaumont..

Examining a Puma (Puma concolor) cub

This is a photograph of a 78-day old female puma. Yesterday it was my privilege to attend the semi-rural police station where it was being held pending relocation to a big cat sanctuary in São Paulo,

The photograph was taken soon after I had completed my physical examination of the animal.

Chemical restraint was not reesorted to.  Instead, with the aid of an assistant I was able to obtain

• heart rate
• respiratory rate
• corporal temperatire 
• capillary refill time
• the body weight had to be estimated. 

When choosing an assistant, it helps if he or she is relatively fearless.  Mine started to comment on how painfaul hos wrist was some minutes into the examination.  However, I will be eternally grateful for his willingness to help me out.

The cub returned to feed as soon as she had been unceremoniously thrust back into her enclosure, indicating that, even ubder stress, her appetite was unaffected.  

I did feel that her body condition score was lower than it should have been. Other body systems seemed fine: heart, musculoskeletal, respiratory, ears, skin, nervous system, urogenital, . ocular, lymphatic, oral cavit.  But I scored the bosy condition as 2/5. 

Discussing the case with a colleague that afternoon, two questions arose:  what is the weaning age for a pum cub, and what is its correct nutrition?

Weaning age is approx three months and correct food should match that which the mother would provide in the wild state.

Veterinary Aspects of the Examination of the Puma, Puma concolor.

It came to my attention recently that a puma cub has been brought into captivity and is in the care of the authorities. Last week I got in contact with them and Monday I will visit the cub for the second time in order to carry out a physical examination.

I am in the process of entering what I refer to as the 'veterianrian mindset'.  As you may have guessed if you are a regular reader, I am a big fan of 'mindset' and mental attitude to life, love and career.

My vet school taught me to pass exams, and a common gripe of new veterianry graduates is that they realise they need clinical experience.

Wildlife conservation veterinarians need to get into the field.  I went to a sanctuary last week and saw Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) and Jaguarundis (Herpailurus yaguarondi).  The local names for both of these medium-sized wild cats are Jaguartiríca and Gato-do-Mato, respectively.

In an effort towards clinical improvement, I realised recently that I needed to change my mindset.  I do it through downloading forms for, as a certain web site says: 'There's a form for that'.

It has certainly clarified my thinking.

For instance, on Monday I have to go and do this physical examination and I need to have an algorithm in my head of what I am going to do and how.  My developing algorithm is thus:

• observe the patient from a distance to note behaviour and neuropathies
• use physical restraint in as stress-free a manner as possible.  I completely understand recommendations for using operant conditioning, but as the photo shows, these are the conditions on the ground.
• weigh the patient
• palpate body for foreign masses and to locate veins for blood work
• check skin for ectoparasites (fleas)
• check dentition
• take corporal temperature
• do basic ophthalmic examination
• check buccal cavity
• check paws
• check pulse, heart and respiratory rate as well as capillary refill time. 
• Finally, check maxillary, scapular, poplitial and inguinal lymph nodes

The first item, when applied to domestic species, refers to neuropathies and also to conformation. A wild animal with poor conformation would have a greatly reduced chance of survival in the wild, so conformation need to apply.

This will be a necessarily incomplete exam as I will not be able to take blood,  Not, at least, on Monday. I have promised the staff (they are soldiers), that I will conduct a non-invasive examination.  Collaboration with local university vets will reveal if the patient has been tested for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), Feline Infectious Peritonitis ((FIP), Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV) and Toxoplasmosis, 

So I face two challenges: carrying out stress-free physical restraint and doing blood work.  How do you find the jugular vein on a non-compliant puma cub?

Diary of a First-Year Veterinarian

Today was my second Sunday shift and it was non-stop.  There was medication to give to five patients, then I was surgical assistant during a Caesarian.

The open area in front of the Pantanal Shopping mall ths mornign was full of cars on the verge.  There were some highway agency officials directing traffic and pulling some cars over.  It was controlled chaos.

And last night there was a big open-air concert in the Pope John Paul the Second Exhibition Park which is close to my home. I was relieved that they had turned down the music by 1:30am.

Cold Front Back

About twice a year, at the changing of the seasons, a cold front descends upon the Cuiabá Basin.

This is the tropics, so there are only two seasons: the wet and dry. We're coming to the end of April, so that means coming to the end of the wet season.

The cold weather has been with us for two days, but I think tomorrow will be hot again.

Yesterday I was asked to be the honourary gringo at a primary school.  I felt like a rock star in front of 40 ten-year-olds asking me what my favourite flower was (orchid), favourite group (Queen) and favourite film (Highlander).  Actually, I like lots of different songs, all rock, and I play them to get into the zone.

The rush hour traffic was terrible tonight.  Yesterday there was a blitz with some 40 police officers cordoning the road off.

And tonight by the military social club a busy roundabout was cordoned off briefly just as I approached it for another 40-odd police officers riding out on motorcycles,

The protest encampment in the city centre has gone, they left two days ago.

Tonight there was a car breakdown on Avenida Rubens de Mendonça and a bumo on the same road when a guy cut up another car but didn't do a clean job of it and knowcked her bumber off.  There was a police car right by her and she asked for help but they didn't stop.

More soon from the centre of South America.

Cold War in Cuiabá

Today has been eventful in Cuiabá.

The weather.

The long-anticipated cold front has hit and the temperautre dropped after lunch time.  This often affects everything.  My dogs were desperately hungry and jumped all over me thi evenning. In the past i have had hawks die when going through rehabiliation programmes with me and being out of condition. 

Protests

The Movimento Sem-Terra, the landless squatters that protest against private ownership of vast farms, has set up a camp in the city in protest at the political coup going on against the president.  This is not a political blog but sometimes these events cannot be ignored. 

The Cuiabá Post

Road Safety in Cuiabá today.

I was driving from Morada do Ouro to Femina, the maternity hospital at rush hour this morning, then on the ring road Avenida Miguel Sutil to the Port District and then back on the ring road.  No accidents to report.  But the road surface is still bad between what I call the the military social club roundabout and the Goiabeiras shopping mall. And you have to slow down as you get to the roundabout because there is still road works there and only one lane open.  Be ready for tailgaters who refuse to slow down.  And some motorcycle riders conitinue to drive dangerously, overtaking on roundabouts.

There is a 'Life Sign' (Placar da Vida) in Avenida Rubens de Mendonça, which morbidly quotes the number of days since fatal accidents in the Mato Grosso capital. Yesterday it read 15, so 15 days had passed since any fatalities on the roads.

Men's Fashion

The bracelet at the top can be bought in two places in Cuiabá.  One source is the street vendors outside the Pantanal shopping mall. But they are expensive and service is really poor (they are arrogant). Another source is a shop in the old city centre and they have a greater selection at half the price.

Below is a forearm sun-protection glove that intend to use for driving.

Update on Public Security in Cuiabá and Jaguar Tourism (no connection)

Mato Grosso's capital city has been getting noticeably more violent.

In our street we have a neighbourhood watch scheme.  Some of the residents have got together and paid a security firm to put up cameras.  

It's not before time.  The other evening I was sat out on my veranda.  Suddenly I heard the scream of tyres and a car turned into our street in hot spursuit. They got to the top of the street and gun shots were exchanged.  A discussion erupted on the text messaging group that is the hiub of our neighbourhood scheme. It seems there were four thieves.  Three of them got arrested.  One escaped.

I had some sad news this week.  Jorge, a friend of mind from Rondonopolis, saw one of his Aplomado Falcons die this week.  It ate a giant centipede.  Or the head of one.  Then started to salivate and died. 

The best way to prevent this is to build a weathering.

And finally.  On social media this week something was posted about the merits or otherwise of feeding wild Jaguars.  People were arguing about how it can lead to conditioning, to the detriment of the jaguar population.  As a Conservation Biologist I shall add my opinion, via this, my platform.  Firstly, much feeding, if it happens at all, appears to be occasional.  Contrast this with the Red Kite feeding that goes on in Wales.  There are no commercial 'Jaguar feeding stations'  in Mato Grosso that I am aware off.  Ecotourists don't shoot jaguars, and that leaves the argument of whether or not jaguars may lose their fear of people and approach human dwellings or livestock.  Seasonal hunger drives jaguars to search for food and come out in the open in Mato Grosso, and that is in August.

And the benefits for jaguar conservation awareness-raising through the experience of seeing a wild jaguar does, in my opnion, far outweigh the (so far non-invasive) effects of jaguar tourism.

I saw my first wild jaguar in August last year, and it certainly made an impression on me.

That's all for now.

Dog Dermatology. Furunculite/Furunculitis or Hot Spots or Pyoderma

Skin erosions and ulcers can occur in dogs for a variety of reasons.  They can be difficult to differentiate without histology, that is, identification of the agent by means of microscopy by a veterinary pathologist usung a skin scraping.

Treatment is through the administration of antibiotics, and the first choice of antibiotic is a course of  

My dog, a Siberian Husky, developed a particularly aggressive one.  Clinical experience can enable fast diagnoses.  The experienced vet that I was working alongside was able to idetnify this on sight.  There was no need to send a skin scraping for further diagnosis,

Treatment

Based on weight, 165mg/kg cefalexina was the antibiotic of choice, to be adminsutered every 12 hours orally.  I do this by opening the dog's mouth and pushing the tablet with my finger down the hard and soft palate righ to the back of the tongue.  I find it easy to see that the dog has then swallowed the pill.

Use of an Elizabethan collar is also essential because otherwise the dog will lick the wound, increasing the risk of secondary bacterial infection.

An example of a bacterial pyoderma: this is a case of acute moist dermatitis aka pyotraumatic dermatitis aka a hot spot in a Siberian Husky bitch.  It appeared overnight.  Note the multifocal distribution.  There is another hot spot such as this on the other flank.

Reference:

Ettinger, S. J and Feldmn, E.C. (2005). Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Sixth Edition.  Volume 1. Elsevier Saunders. 

Doença de Carrapato/Tick-Borne Fever in the Baixada Cuiabana. Anaplasmosis/Ehrichiosis/Babesiosis

This article is for purposes of clarification of a veterinary issue in Cuiabá, that of tick-borne fever, which is rife in dogs here. Written for final-years and new grads in veterinary medicine.

I love identifying the sciences involved in veterinary medicine.  Today's text envelopes the sciences of parasitology, haematology, cycnology and posology.  Paratology because Ehrichia spp, Babesia spp. and Anaplasma spp are all blood cellular parasites. Haematology because, this is the science that studies the blood, and, as mentioned above, these are blood parasites. Cynology because cases that I looked at this week involved dogs, and the study of dogs is called cynology.

The correct treatment of a disease depends upon its diagnosis.

Canine Anaplasmosis.

A word on epidemiology.  Tick-borne disease here in the Cuiabá Basin is caused by the bacterium Anaplasma platys, a gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium.

It causes thrombocytopaenia,which is a drop in the blood stream's red blood cells.

Dogs become infected when bitten by an infected tick.

Symptoms are characterised  by sudden onset, a reluctance to move due to painful limbs and high fever. This in cases uncomplicated by secondary infection.

Treatment is with doxycicline, 10mg/kg for 28 days.
Again, this is in uncomplicated cases.


Reference:

http://www.capcvet.org/capc-recommendations/ehrlichia-spp-and-anaplasma-spp1/. Accessed 8th April 2016.

Canine Babesiosis

Ticks 

Ticks such as Rhipicephalus sanguineus are extremely common in the Cuiabá Basin, the Baixada Cuiabana of Mato Grosso, Central Western Brazil.  Owners of houses where ticks have been seen should begin a spraying regime, spraying the whole property with amitraz.

The bacteria of the genus Babesia readily infect dogs when these are bitten by an infected host, the ticks Rhipicephaphis sanguineus, Dermacentor spp, and Haemaphysalis spp.  Three species of large Babesia (Scoeman, 2009) infect dogs worldlwide,  In the Cuiabá Basin the least pathogenic one is found, Babesia vogeli.  There is also the possibility of Babesia gibsoni.

Diagnosis of Babesia spp.

Improved PCR techniques have allowed better diagnosis.

Control.

Both trans-stadial and transovarial transmission in the tick can occur. Trans-stadial means that the bacterium can remain in the body of the host tick as the latter grows, from nymph to larva to adult. Babesoa spp can also be trasnmitted by blood transfusion.

Risk Factors

Babesiosis mostly occurs in young dogs, but those of all ages can be affected.

Incubation period.

This varies from 10 to 28 days depending upon the species of Babesia.

Pathogenesis and Clinical Signs

Severeity of Babesios depends upon

• the species of Babesia sp.,
• the presence of seconadary infections
• age of the pet
• immune status of the pet

The disease can be peracute or chronic or even subclinical. When severe there is hamolytic anaemia, acid-base alterations, there can be multiple organ failure and acute renal failure, hepatopathy, icterus, hypoglycaemia, respiratory distress,  neuropthaies and there can pancreatitis in the presence of other complications.

Treatment of Babesiosis.

Eliminate thee parasite and reverse the anaemia with fluid therapy.  I spray my peoperty with 20ml/20litres of Ivermectin, every two or three weeks.

Prognosis of Babesiosis.

This is usually good.

Babesiosis as a Zoonosis.

Whilst Babesios can affect human, it is not passed from the pet but is contracted in the same way, that is, by the victim being bitten by an infected tick.

Reference.

Schoeman, J.P. Canine Babesiosis. Ondestepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 76: 59-66. (2009).

Incidentally, the only place I have come across with a worse tick problem than Cuiabá is Aride Island, in the Seychelles.  The Sooty Terns there used to suffer terribly with infestations of ticks.

This is a bottle of Amitraz.  That is the commercial name.  The active ingredient is ivermectin.  Ivermectin acts on the central nervous system of the tick.  

I dissolve 20ml of Ivermectin in 20litres of water and use this spray gun to spray my whole property every three weeks to control ticks. 

Lifestyle page (up for a limited time). Should I Tell My Parents?

This is a complex question that only you can know the answer to.  It depends on such a lot.  It depends on how old you are, your level of emotional maturity.  And your parents's emotional maturity. And your relationship with your parents.  Are your parents still together.

No matter the nature of the problem, I can offer some wisdom.  You need to analyse your parents.  Their level of education for a start.  But much else besides.

Let me try and make this simple.

The human personality is complex and made up of hundreds of peronality characterisitics,  These characteristis need to be taken into account before you tell your parents.  I want you to ask yourself, do my parents possess the qualities necessary for hearing my problem?

So ask yourself.  Are they patient? Are they attentive listeners?  Are they empathetic? Are they judgemental?  Can they listen without judging and interrupting?  Are you likely to feel good or bad about yourself afterwards?

If you have parents with the qualities mentioned about, you may want to consider sharing your problem with them.  If not, seek professional help.

I will say this, though.  "You can always tell us anything" possibly only applies to the teenage years when your parents are feeling insecure or fearful of losing a connection.  Make a mistake in adulthood and you are on your own, unless your parents are exceptiomal.

Diary of a Conservation Veterinarian in Brazil.

Yesterday was Good Friday, a public holiday, and it was a bad day to be dabbling in conservation veterinary medicine.

Good Friday and Easter in Brazil are bigger than the moon landings in terms of public interest.  Everything closes, including access to the local university veterinary hospital.  I went there yesterday in the morning and it was like Checkpoint Charlie. I had agreed with one of the undergraduate veterinary medicine students to teach her the principles of falconry and avian veterinary medicine.

A week last Wednesday one of the veterinary hospital residents was introduced to me at the small animal clinic where I am working in town. I was itroduced to him and my interest in wildlife issues and wildlife conservation medicine mentioned.  I gave him my details and two days later Steph contacted me.  I have been going to help every working day since.

Normally access to the university is easy, there being two access roads into the campus.

Both were blocked yesterday with huge offending orange bollards.  Being British, I can usually get past security in most situations  Don't ask me why.  But I think confident body language and an authoritative tone of voice helps.

Then of course the hospital was shut and there was a wait while he opened up, quite reluctantly I thought.  We managed to get as far as the corridor before getting stopped short at the locked door to the wildlife sector.  My colleague then called the person with the keys and there was a wait while she arrived.

We were not alone.  There were several interns and two patients,  one a permanent one and the mascot of the veterinary hospital, a Red-Legged Seriema, Cariama cristata, an amputee.

Red-Legged Seriema, Cariama cristata. The left pelvic limb had been amputated at the distal portion of the tarsus.

This was the closest I had been to a Red-Legged Seriema, although they are common and widespread in the interior of Mato Grosso.

But we were here for the Pearl Kite (see previous post). On Thursday we had taken this bird in hand and kitted it out. Ths means removing the bird from its clinical quarters and putting falconry furniture on it, ready to apply the principles of falconry training to its rehabilition.  For me, this is conservation veterinary medicine applied to raptor rehabilitation.

Pearl Kite/Gaviãozinho/Gampsonyx swainsonii, on bow perch.

The bow perch in the photograph is fitted with synthetic grass as a simple prophylactic measure against pododermatitis.  Another name for pododermatitis is bumble foot.  Captive raptors maintained in inappropriate conditions with unduiatble perches can develop bumble foot.  Wild raptors hsve n infinite choice of perch to choose from in nature and so pressure on the foot is alleviated.  In captivity, even in a veterinary hospital, perch choice is limited and so this is one example of how falconry training can aid the recovery of raptors.

See you next time.

Parasitology Pages. Screw-worm Myiasis. A Case in a Dog Canis familiaris

Screw-worm larvae, Cochliomyia hominivorax.  At ca 10 mm  long, these were about to pupate.

As an ecologist, I am meant to view all animals with an objective eye and, usually, with a positive sense of wonder, not unusually accompanied by feelings of joy.  Admittedly, the joy usually only comes when seeing a mammal, snake or bird of prey.  Otherwise I just get a sense of wonder.  However, even I, a naturalist to the core, do occasionally have reason to draw the line.. There are even times when I give myself permission to feel revulsion at certain members of the natural world.  One of these is Tiger Leeches (Haemadipsa picta), which I removed from various selected parts of my anatomy more times than I care to mention when in Danum Valley, Malsysia, in 1997.

The other is the Screw-worm larva, several specimens of which can been seen in the photo above.

A short-haired pointer (a breed of dog) was brought into the clinic today.  Physical examnation revealed a swelling on the distal left thoracic limb.  The dog was taken to the infirmary and the area cleaned.  A blood sample was taken for blood work.  I gently inserted rat-toothed forceps into the hole in the swelling and removed the larvae one at a time.  Each time they came out wriggling.  The dog was being restrained all the time in right lateral decubitus (on its right side) by a veterianry nurse whilst I removed the maggots. They are the larvae of the familar blue-bottle fly, which lays its eggs on the margins of wounds in domestic animals.  

I had dealt with this parasitic infection before, but in wild species.  Once in the right wing of a Blue-and-Yellow Macaw Ara ararauna and Silvery Marmoset Callithrix argentata.

Trânsito Cuiabano. Lifestyle pages. Terrible Driving Conditions

Note the vehicle below the tree on the right - parked on a roundabout immediately in front of a maternity hopsital!

Former Monty Python actor Michael Palin once referred to the city of Bogota in Colombia as the most dangerous city in the most dangerous country in the world.

I have spent time in many parts of the world.  Mauritius, Israel, Seychelles, Malaysia, Belgium, Germany, Colombia, the USA, Brunei, Madagascar, Eire, Scotland, England and Brazil.  And I reckon that if you can drive in one of Mato Grosso's main cities, you cn drive anywhere in the World.
I drive around my adopted city a lot.  On a busy day I spend four hours in the car.  I am at the busiest phase of my life, after all. I have seen driving conditions decline over the last decade.  When i moved here there was hardly a car on the road.  Now, with credit having been made available by the government there are considerably more cars on the road - and more casualties.  Cuiabá now has a 'Placar da Vida' on Avenida Reubens de Mendonça.  It records the number of days since a fatal accident has occurred.  Yesterday it read 13 days.  Sounds like something out of the film 'The Ring', doesn't it?

One of the consistently worst junctions is the roundabout in from of the 'Femina' maternity hopsital.  There is a school next door and congestion is bad at peak times.

Also, at any time of day you can see cars and motorcycles taking a chance and driving the wrong way around the roundabout in order to save 16 seconds.  People also park illegally on chevrons every hour of the day and night.

If the driving conditions on this roundabout were not a consistent public health issue I would not include these details here.  Avoid the area at peak times if you can.

Dog Blog. My Pet Dogs Are Fighting. What Should I Do?

This is for anybody concerned that their beloved pet dogs are not getting on. 

In the last three months I have acquired two puppies.  My Siberian Husky bitch, Bela, is four months old, and Mac, my Belgian/Black and Tan German Shepherd cross is three moths old. He is twice as high as her at the shoulder, and twice as long, but she is the dominnat one.  It is good to have more than one dog for socialising purposes, But it can be painful to watch them fight for hierarchy. 

Mine were not sure of each other at first, but slowly they grew to accept, even play, with each other.

Meal times (three a day), are still fraught with squabbles, but I stand supervsiing.  Bela will snarl and growl and snap at Mac as she tucks into her chow, They both have separate food bowls.  When she has taken the edge off her appetite, Mac can generally get access to his bowl.  I should add that Bela tries to commandeer both food bowls.  And bearing in mind that dog digestion takes four hours, I can generally control their appetites so that they are not famished.  Plus, dogs are reactive, not active, over their masters: I mean that if ignored they will quieten down, but love to, and must, be played with. But when they are hungry, they are obviously more active in their search for food.  

In summary, meal-time relations are improving between Bela and Mac, and they are fighting less. As Mac gets bigger, the dynamic between them may change and the fights will disappear.  They are not bad fights; there is no injury; these are squabbles for dominance, and they will ease with time and tender loving care.

Gaviãozinho/Pearl Kite/Gampsonyx s swainsonii. Fauna Cuiabana. Cuiaba Basin Fauna Project Pages (CBFPP)

Note dark eyes.  These will lighten as bird matures.

Pearl Kite/Gaviãozinho/Gampsonyx swainsonii

Note horizontal barring on breast and chestnut washing on ear coverts

If there is one thing I love as a naturalist, biologist and veterinarian, it is seeing a new species for the first time.  I don't mean seeing a species new to science.  I can't see myself having that privilege, somehow.  But a species new to me.  That always makes my day.

I have travelled the World in search of 'ticks', as twitchers say.

This week I was seeing practice at a veterinary clinic in a major city in Mato Grosso state, Centra Western Brazil.  It was late in the day, and I was sat in Reception which was the only part of the clinic where the air  conditioning was switched on.

A Resident at one of the local Vets' Schools was introduced to me.  He said he had a colleague interested in falconry.  I gave him my number and a coule of days later she contacted me.

When I last wrote my series of  Cuiabá Basin Fauna Project Pages (CBFPP) these were as a result of the research I was carrying out for my dissertation.  That was handed in some months ago (I qualified as a vet). Today I went to see her work and hearof her proposals.  They turned out to be similar to my own of some years ago when I was a licenced raptor rehabilitator under Brazilian law.  That is, to rehabilitate and release raptors into the wild.

At the veterinary hospital there was the Pearl Kite (see above) and a male Roadside Hawk.  We decided that the Pearl Kite was found as a healthy chick and brought into capitvity (you almost never get a history with these cases). It would likely be a prime candidate for fitness training using falconry techniques and release.

We decided to record some physiological parameters.  We recorded the bird's weight.  Pearl Kites are the smallest raptors in the Neotropics.  We recorded the heart rate (almost at the limit of perception) and respiratory rate.  We managed to record the cloacal temperature and this was high.

On Monday we will measure head width prior to making a hood.

Reference

Ferguson-Lees, J. and Christie, D.A. Raptors of the World.  Helm. 2001.  London.

Trânsito Cuiabano/Lifestyle: Road Safety in a Brazilian City

If you can drive safely in Cuiabá, you can drive safely in anycity in the World.  But that's just my opinion as a World traveller.

This blog is not intended as a political statement.  I have no interest in politics and understand it even less.  However, being a blogger brings with it some reposnsibilities and since politics controls our lives it pays to pay attention to it.  

Having just come in from rush hour morning traffic, it has struck me again how problematic driving in Cuiabá is.  On the main arterial route of Avenida Rubes de Mendonça protesters are puttung up signs about the latest political scandal.  Two nights ago there was a traffic jam on Avenida das Torres.  A woman had been hit by rush hour traffic and was lying apparently unconscious whilst civilians controlled the traffic.

And half an hour ago there was an accident outside the Associação dos Municípios Matogrosseses.  A lady was lying half on the road and half on the pavement.  

In Cuiabá, don't drink and drive: you'll spill it.

On Aggression in Dogs. Canina Cuiabana/Dog Blogs

This is of interest to anybody wishing to understand the body language of a dog about to turn aggressive on you.  So it applies to dog owners, farmers, veterinarians, veterinary nurses, veterinary students, veterianry nursing students, trainers, boarding kennel staff and, of course, the curious.

Yesterday I was carrying out a physical examination on a dog.  Today I was gently restraining one whilst its adbominal dressing was changed.

Veterinary support staff, veterinarians and anyine involved in handling these wonderful animals risk their hands, forearms and faces if a dog turns on them.

So it is vital for your peace of mind to be able to 'read' a dog's behaviour, its body langauge, cynology, ethology.

So here are the signs, not necessarily in sequence.  Watch for the ears.  They will swivel around so that the 'ear hole' - the external auditory canal - follows your movements.  The hair along the back, on the nape and up on to the head will rise - that is, the dog will raise its hackles.

Next, the dog raises its lips to expose its teeth.  It may start to growl.

The above may be observed when the dog is being restrained on the operating table in the consulting room.

I have also seen dogs on the floor in the consulting room and asked the vet I was at that time shadowing - at the end of Vets' School and on Extra Mural Study in my native Wales, how to identify aggression in an anxious dog.  The patient that comes to mind is the one that put its tail between its legs and retreated into a corner of the consulting room, then turned to face the veterinarian and started to lick its lips.

So these are some signs to look for to avoid getting hurt by a dog.

But how to approach a dog?  One of the tens of thousands of gems I took away from Vets' School was to talk to the dog soothingly as you approach at a crouch - just as you would an unhooded falconry bird on a block or bow perch.  Slowly reach out the to flank, talking all the time, and offer a few tentative strokes and then gradually work your hand forward to the head.

Reference:

Fossum, T. W., Dewey, C. W., Horn, C., Johnson, A.L, MacPhail, C. M., Radlinsky, M., Schultz, K. S. and Willard, M. D.  Small Animal Surgery.  Fourth Edition. Elsevier Mosby, 2013.

Canina Cuiabana/Dog Log: Care of Neonates

The puppies were five minutes old and felt cold to the touch.  I picked them up one at a time and massaged their thorax vigorously with a towel. I placed my stethoscope into my ears for the umpteenth time and listened for the heartbeat.  And for the umpteenth time I felt relieved.

"Congratulations" rung in my ears again and again and I turned in my crouching position and saw Rafael, a young bespectacled Brazilian veterinary colleague with several years' clincal experience and friendly manner, looking at me and smiling.

Last time I wrote it was to comment on a one day course on ethics and responsibilities that all veterianrians graduating in Mato Grosso have to attend.  Its importance is that it culminated in me receiving my vet's card, giving me official recognition as a vet by issuing me with a number.

They were born by Caesarian section.  It was the first surgery I was participating in since last October, when I finished my Extra Mural Study at Wern Vets on the other side of the World in my native Wales. Since then I had completed my dissertation - see 'Cuiaba Fauna Project Pages', defended it at oral test, applied for a Residency at God knows how many places in Cuiabá, then started today at a clinic in order to gain further clinical experience in small animal practice.

I enjoy surgery in all species.  The veterinary market requires you to specialise.  So I must admit to being stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I want to work with wildlife, but everybody keeps telling me that I will starve to death if I insist on pursuing that dream.  I lived it for the past year and a half, as those pages show, so maybe I would have to be content with that.

Rafael passed me each puppy as he removed it from the swollen uterine horn.  The mother was deeply anaesthetised and felt nothing.

"Towel them dry and massage their thorax", he instructed.

The veterinary nurse, Elias, stepped up and syringed a drop of glucose under the tongue of each puppy.  The glucose was to provide the neonate puppies wirh an energy boost.  Under the tongue because the skin there is thin and the tongue is highly vascularised so the glucose would be absorbed  faster into the blood stream.

Massaging the thorax with a dry towel imitates the natural licking that the whelping bitch would provide the puppies with, keeping them warm and their airways clear of mucous and stimulating defecation and urination, that is, the normal functioning of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts.

Hours later and we returned the pups to their mother.  They were promptly rejected (ignored).  Could this have been the end of their tiny lives?

What to Expect When You're Expecting...

..... to graduate from university in Brazil.

Graduation Day (Dia de Solenisação de Formatura) began at 7am on 29th January with a rehearsal at a local hotel. That rehearsal finished at noon  Then we went to the car park and received our gowns neatly packaged from some class representative. I must admit I have selsom come across a less friendly, more insecure group of people.

The ceremony continued at 7pm with us all arriving to be gowned up.  Everything was planned down to the last detail.  We were told where, when and how to sit. Then we swore our oaths and were veterinary surgeons.

But unable to practice. First I had to register with the Mato Grosso Regional Council for Veterinary Medicine and

A month later, on 22nd February, I attended a course on the Veterinary Surgeon's role in society.  There are several jobs for which vets, and only vets, are qualified for. The course also covered ethics and morality.

At the end of the course I received my card.  In Brazil most professions are regulated by a council.  All professionals in practice have to join that council and the card serves as identification.

So I have been legally permitted to practice for eight working days.  Now I have to concentrate on getting my first year competences.

Cynology: Dog Nutrition. Translation and explanation of top-end dog food

There is a bewildering supply of dog foods on the commercial market in Central Western Brazil.  It is important when choosing a food for your pet to take into account the breed.  Is it a small, medium-sized, large or giant breed?  I have two dogs, a Siberian Husky (Husky Siberiano) and a Black-and-Tan German Shepherd crossed with a Belgian Shepherd (Pastor Alemão de Capa Preta x Pastor Belga). These are considered large breeds.  The consideration is based upon their weight, not height at shoulder, which might be used were we discussing wild canidae. 

There is a well-known top-of the-range dog food and today I read the label and explain it.  

Firstly it is recommended to change a dog's diet gradually, and that means over a period of seven days. 

This top-of-the-range food consists of the following. Ground bird viscerae; ground whole corn.  This corn is genetically modified by Bacillus thuringiensis, Streptomyces viridochromogenes, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Zea mays.

Continuing with the ingredients: broken rice; soybean meal.  The soybean has been genetically modified by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Arabidopsis thaliana, Streptomyces viridochromogenes and Bacillus thuringiensis. 

The dog food also contains potassium chloride, chicken fat, genetically-modified corn-gluten-meal, beef tallow, calcium carbonate, beetroot pulp, refined soy bean oil, zeolite.  Zeolite is a readily hydrateable and dehydrateable  mineral used as a cation exchanger and molecular sieve. 

Also the food contains refined fish oil, sodium chloride, that is, common salt, bicalcic phosphate, vitamains E, A, D3, B1, B2, B6, B12, PP, pantotenic acid, biotin, folic acid, choline chloride, iron sulphate, copper sulphate, manganese oxide, zinc oxide, calcium iodide, dry beer yeast, selenium-enriched yeast, DL methionine, palatabilizer (chicken-liver) and antioxidant.  

That's the product's basic composition.  For a complete picture, one must take into account the minerals and vitamin enrichments, which are given on the label. But this provides hopefully some insight into quality dog food. 

Lifestyle Pages: Security in a Brazilian City

Last month the neighbour got burgled so I went out and bought two dogs.  They are both big and boisterous breeds.  This was covered in a previous post under the title 'Dog or Burglar Alarm'.

Today the security expert came and installed other security devices.  I was left pondering on the ethics of having a security system capable of emitting potentially 20000 volts.

Driving has become problematic in this Brazilian city with the introduction of a draconian fine system.  I don't object to it, only certain aspects of the way it was introduced.  Perhaps the most unusual rule is the fact that behind some amber traffic lights there is a no-man's land.  Actually, it makes perfect sense.  The driver has to be able to clear this área after driving through an amber light without the light changing to red.  It is the same principle as the box junction in the UK, a system designed to prevent congestion at junctions.

And to end, I bought some sporting materials  today and I swear they came in a tic-tac container.

And here's a funny story, and something to be aware of. Although a certain instant free mobile texting service has really denigrated the quality of some of our lives, our street has launched a neighbourhood watch scheme by creating a group on the messenger service.  And here's the thing.  Be careful with car-locking electronic devices around electronic gates to private houses.  Today somebody used such a device in my street and it opened my gate enough to allow na intruder to pass through.  Never a dull moment.

Puppy Dental Care in the Cuiabá Basin, Mato Grosso

Welcome to the site again. It has received some alterations more in keeping with the subjects discussed, that is, the management of all things animal in Brazil, and particularly the very extreme environmental conditions found in and around Cuiabá. Future pages will focus on presenting and clarifying facts about animals, both domestic and wild, in an effort to improve welfare of domestic animals and raise awareness about wild species. This is done by bringing together the sciences of field biology, conservation biology, habitat management and veterinary medicine. Today the focus is cynology, the study of dogs.

It is necessary to pay special attention to rearing puppies in the Cuiabá Basin, or indeed anywhere in the World as hot as Cuiabá. When you have a puppy, you have a unique opportunity to get it accustomed to - to condition it - to the care you wish to provide for it. This includes tooth-brushing and crate training. You should brush your puppy's teeth after its meal, just like humans do. Regular brushing prevents tooth decay, just as it does in people.

You may find yourself presented with a bewildering array of toothpastes in Brazilian pet shops. Some, I was told recently, can be used after each meal, some just once a week. The former was just to clean the teeth, the other contained therapeutic properties. It is better to get the daily use one. You can condition your puppy to daily brushing.

The one this vet uses on my dogs contains calcium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Calcium carbonate is "a common form of supplementary calcium for dogs on meat-based diets because of its high concentration of calcium (40%)".  Source:

Saunders' Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary by Blood, DC, Studdert, V and Gay, CC, published by Saunders-Elsevier, London.  Note that there is a Portuguese-language edition of this available.  We have it at our library here.

Choosing your puppy.

The Cuiabá Basin is a hot environment for obtaining, and raising, puppies. Two popular sources of obtaining puppies are a web site where people whose bitches (cadelas) have had a litter (ninhada) can advertise for free, and pet shops. The purchaser should be wary to obtain a puppy that is alert, playful, neither overly dominant nor subservient, has the conformation of the breed's (raça) standard, as published by the coutnry's kennel club, has been well socialised, had three vaccinations and been wormed. 

In practice, it is very difficult to obtain dogs meeting such standards.  If that is what you want, go to a breeder. One of the best breeds is a Pastor Alemão de Capa Preta, the Black and Tan German Shepherd.  But it has to be your choice.

What to Expect as a Student in Brazil

I wasn't going to cover this today.  Instead I was going to write about the challenges of caring for puppies in the tropical heat of the Baixada Cuiabana, the Cuiabá Basin of Mato Grosso.  But I am a man of conscience and am aware that, as a blogger, I am supposed to blog most days.  Having not blogged for a while, here is my excuse.  It has been an eventful few days.

When you do university in the UK you have two events at the end of the course: the Graduation Ball and the Graduation Ceremony.  For the former, many male students hire a dinner jacket - a DJ. In Brazilian this is rather endearingly known by the English word 'smoking'. So you have to hire a 'smoking'.

In Brazil things are rather less straightforward if you are a guy like me - sickeningly older than the bright young things that are my classmates.  And, sadly, quite unable to understand the jokes and slang. And, for the record, it's probably quite a good thing that I was unable to understand any irreverancies or swear words.

Here there is semesterisation.  Which I think is similar to the American system. Each semester is some five and a half months long.  Expect lots of public holidays in the first semester of the year.  Right now we are in the middle of Carnival.  Soon it will be Easter.  Then Labour Day.  Then the Day of the Dead, which I believe is the opening scene to a James Bond film.  By the way, I may have got the sequence of these public holidays wrong, which is entirely my fault.  Here in Mato Grosso there are private universities and public ones.  The private ones demand a monthly fee.  The public, or federal, ones are free.  There seems to be a high level of strikes at one of the federal universities in Mato Grosso. The private ones are expensive.  The tuition fees match those of any British university. However, when you consider that the cost of living today in some places in Central Western Brazil appears to be similar to that of some Western European cities, if you are a student  who has to wait while your university ends its strike, that can render the word 'free' a little hollow-sounding. 

I paid a lot to my Veterinary School, but still consider it a privilege to have studied there. I graduated a week on Friday.  There was a rehearsal in the morning and Graduation Ceremony in the evening in which we swore an oath.

At the beginning of university life, apart from the practical jokes in the first week, there will be the organising of a Comissão de Formatura, a Graduation Committee.  This will be composed of students who, during university life, will collaborate to raise money for the graduation.  Graduation itself is not one or two events. In my case it was five.  I attended one, which was the graduation ceremony itself. This is because the other four events would have cost me about two thousand pounds sterling.  The other events included the Aula de Saudade ('Goodbye Class' would be a rough translation),  church service,  uncovering of the class plaque and ball.  In our university, when you graduate a plaque is put up with the photo of everyone in the class and the year you graduated.

Last week I had my first interview and the recruitment process occurred in two phases.  The first phase was a test, the second, an interview.  So now a new chapter begins. I await my result.

Take-home message.  Studying is a private affair and you must work out what method works for you.

Parasitology Pages: Toxocarosis.

One of my objectives with this blog is to stick to subjects I have personal experience and knowledge of.  That usually means veterinary aspects or the conservation biology of endangered animal species I have come across.

Yesterday I came across Toxocara canis the first time.  This has to be one of the most striking internal parasites of puppies that you could come across.  Two weeks ago I acquired a Siberian Husky puppy.  I grew concerned with her failure to put in weight, diarrhoeia, vomiting and inappetence,  I had been weighing her several times a day.  I have also been keeping a close eye on her toilet habits - not least becaause this is part of her house training. Yesterday I observed her in the cat of defecating.  I could not believe the size of the helminth worm she passed in her faeces. It was quite unmistakeable.  The worm was obtained using clinician's rubber gloves for purposes of examination.  These worms have to be properly stretched out to measure them.  Measuring them is fundamental to identifying them.  This one was approx 10cm. I was too shocked to be customarily scientific about it.

The active ingredient is febantel in the wormer/anthelminthic used.  Four hours after administration, the worm was passed.  My concern now is how many more there are.  But the prescription is for three days, then 15 and that should be suficiente to get the worms at any stage of their life cycle,

The taxonomic hierarchy is

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Nemathelminthes (roundworms)
Class Nematoda
Order Ascaridida
Superfamily Ascaridoidea
Family Ascarididae
Genus Toxocara
Species Toxocara canis

What I want to be taken from this is that identification is relatively easy, though it takes a parasitologist to confirm differential diagnosis with Toxascaris leonina.  A dog digests its food in approx four hours and I was pleased with Febantel.  The puppy is now thriving.

Peregrine Falcon. Fauna Cuiabana. Cuiabá Basin Fauna Pages.

I have it on good authority that a Peregine Falcon has been seen in Rondonópolis recently.

Consulting the book 'Raptors of the World' by Ferguson-Lees and Christie, and, specifically, the distribution maps, it can be seen that the Peregrine is a raptor that may be reasonably expected to be an occasional visitor to Mato Grosso.

The person who saw it is a former student of mine that I taught the basic prinviples of falconry and hawking to once upon a time. He is currently training sibling male and female Aplomado falcons to fly to the lure.  On such occasions other raptors may be reasonbly expected to get involved.  This is possibly the only time in a falconer's/naturalist's/ornithologist's life when the presence of a wild raptor in one's midst may possibly be considered unwelcome. 

I have had Aplomados come down when I have been rehabilitating Roadside Hawks and training American Kestrels. A Peregrine is a fortunate, unfortunate sighting indeed!

Storage of Puppy Food: Cuiabá

Here in Central Western Brazil the climate can be quite unforgiving if you are a lad from the uplands of North Wales.  We live in a tropical environment. Though I am no stranger to foreign travel/living, the heat here is extreme, falling usually in the region of 35 to forty five celsius. With occasional cold fronts in  July when the temperature drops to 12 celsius. I have spent my whole life involved with animals, and such climatic extremes demand special precautions if our pets are to remain healthy and, indeed, thrive,

This blog includes a simple tip.  If you have a dog here in Cuiabá, you should keep its dog food in a sealable container.  This is because the food is perishable.

Dogs eat by using their sense of smell. If the dog food is not kept in a sealable container, it will lose its aroma.  What veterinary surgeons refer to as an organoleptic property.  Keep the food in a sealble container.  Take a week's quantity and seal that in a sealable ice cream tub.  Thus you have the dog's food ready for a week and you don't have to keep opening the main store.  And puppies should recive three to four meals a days.  They may digest a meal in four hours, with inter-breed and individual variations.  Good luck.

Analysis of Commercial Processed Dog Food.

I celebrated completion of Vets' School recently by getting a puppy.  A Siberian Husky. As she has been eating less than I would prefer, I have been paying close attention to her food intake and weight changes.  They leave a lot to be desired, so I looked at the ingredientes of her dog food.

As a Brit living in Brazil and who learned the Portuguese language by ear, the phrase "if you want something doing, do it yourself" sometimes comes to mind.  I am about to take my pup to the vet, which is a sound move because I am on the cusp of qualifying but by Brazilian rules it is a matter of days before I can practice.  Nevertheless, I can research my own dog's problems.

Reading the ingredients of the dog food produced some interesting surprises. Here are the ingredients, translated from Portuguese.  There are three categories of dog food available in Brazil, these being adequate, more than adequate and substandard.  The following ingredients come from a quality feed.  Ground chicken  viscerae; whole gound maize; maize gluten; hydrolysed pig liver; chicken fat; dehydrated whole eggs. spray dried concentrated pig liver; sodium chloride (common salt); potassium chloride; citric acid; antioxidant (BHA and BHT); propironic acid (a volatile fatty acid which is a nutrient, and/or mould inhibitor); vitamin/mineral premix; choline chloride which is importante in metabolismo; sodium hexametaphosphate; mananoligosaccharides; probiotics (Bacillus subtilis); chondroitin sulfate; glucosamine sulfate; enzymatic additive; sepiolita; zeolyte; yucca extract. 

It raises interesting questions that I shall come to.

Parasitology Pages. Zica: An Emerging Disease

The economic importance of mosquitões cannot be overestimated.  Nor can their importance in human health. The Tropics are where much disease is concentrated due to their high levels of biological diversity.  This biodiversity is due to the diversity of habitats and ecosystems in the Tropics.  Much of Brazil is Tropical. Mato Grosso is one of the hottest states in Brazil.  It is one of the richest, being a state whose wealth is built on agribusiness. It also has habitats including Tropical rainforest, cerrado, campo limpo, campo sujo and the Pantanal wetland, a World Biosphere Reserve, RAMSAR Site and National Park.

It is not the biodiversity or the habitats that is the health profession's focus in the context of mosquito-borne diseases, but rather the sanitary management of its urban áreas, I am a British biologist living in Cuiabá and am a Veterinary Surgeon.  Having been born and bred in NorthWales and subsequently spent time in Mauritius, Israel, the Seychelles and Malaysia before settling here, I am familiar with tropical living and the precautions necessary to live happily and healthily in the Tropics.  The vírus Zika has come to my attention recently because it has affected me directly.

Your body aches at the joints and you come out overnight in a rash.  The rash looks like flesh-coloured pinheads.  These break out all over your body.  Your eyes ache and turn red.  There is no medicine.  The rash may pass after 48 hours.

It is spread by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. For classification, see below.  We have insect-repelling electrical devices plugged in around our home now.  Because the insect is active during the day, mosquito nets don't help.  Wear long-sleeved, white shirts and trousers, socks and comfortable shoes. Wear strong insect repellent.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Diptera: the two-winged flies
Sub-order Nematocera
Family Culicidae: the mosquitões
Genus Aedes
Species Aedes aegypti.

Municipal health inspectors visit residences in Cuiabá from time to time to make sure there is no standing water on properties.  It is in standing water that the mosquito breeds.

Hot Tip - How to Weigh Your Puppy

For the last several hours and days I have been concerned about my new Siberian Husky.  We live in the tropics and I am a firm believer in acclimatisation.  That animals' lineages can adapt to new climes within reason. 

I am an experienced dog owner but the Siberian Husky breed is new to me.  I was concerned by Bela's apparent lack of thriftiness - her apparent failure to thrive.  This struck me earlier today.  Since then I have weighed her several times and fed her three meals. 

Each time I have gone to weigh her it has been difficult.  Or fun, depending on your mind frame. She is just over two months old and very wriggly.  This is because I have been putting her in a large plant pot to weigh her.  The scales I use are modified flat-topped kitchen scales that I used to use to weigh my hawks.  Obviously, being an intelligent breed and naturally curious Bela kept wanting out of the black, opaque plant pot.  Then I had an idea. On the floor by my feet was an old fridge-freezer drawer. The type that is white and very wide-gauge mesh.  From a puppy's point of view she could see the 'ground' and her surroundings but she had to really concentrate on literally keeping her feet on the ground - the top of the weighing machine.  And that was the solution.

The first time in the drawer she put her leg through the mesh.  I extricated it, she resettled and then kept all four paws on the balance long enough for me to note the weight.

And that is one way to weigh your puppy.  Until next time.

How to Train a Puppy

Since my last blog on this subject I have changed my care approach. My Siberian Husky puppy has adapted well to its new home.  I am using a combination of approaches to her training. One of the best books on the subject is The Thinking Dog by Fisher. There is a surprising, not to say pleasing,  amount of animal ethology (behaviour) and psychology theory in it.  There are various approaches to training, and one of the most fun and effective is clicker training. I have decided that I was doing an awful lot at once in the first week.  One thing I have changed is that I have cut back on the food rewards.  Instead, I use other forms of positive reinforcement.  I use praise and play. Bela (Portuguese for 'beautiful') has now learned to sit and she does this on command. I have been wondering what to teach her next according to what suits my purposes.  I admit to being stuck between "sit" and "lie down".  I once read a book on training sight hounds for falconry.  One lesson I drew from that was that the most important command is "stay".  You want to be able to control your dog at all times.  Teaching your dog to stay is obviously vital to keeping it under control.

And as for the fun stuff.  Bela loves ice cubes in her drinking water.  And she loves having her teeth cleaned.  This is something I learned at vets' school!  I clean her teeth three times a day, ie after each meal.

That's all for today. More soon.

Postscript.  Three weeks in to her training and it has had to be suspended.  She has learned to 'sit';  As to other commands, well, 'lie down' and stay remain high priorities.  Why?  Because I am watching her health very closely.  She may have gastrointestinal tract problens or nephrological, that is, kidney, problems.  Tomorrow I receive the results of her haematocrit, that is, blood test results.  She has been unthrifty of late, that is, not putting on weight or eating.  So a much-anticipated day tomorrow, 

What and How to Train Your New Puppy in the First Week

Can a Siberian Husky live in the Tropics?  Yes it can.  We have just acquired a new puppy aged six weeks old.  It was the naturalist Gerald Durrell who said that if na animal is ‘happy’ it will breed.  ‘Happy’ may be anthropomophic and therefore not entirely the right word to use, but you get my drift. 

As for domestic species (Durrell was speaking in the context of wildlife), there is something called acclimatisation.  This is where a domestic species adapts to a new climate.  Acclimation is the process of adapting to a new environment.  Huskies have done both.

What should you teach your new puppy, husly or otherwise, and how?  Begin by teaching it its name.  Do that by repeating the name to the animal.

I then decided to teach my puppy to sit.  I am using clicker training and positive reinforcement.  A clicker can be bought on-line or at a good pet shop.  It works by shaping the behaviour you want from your pet.  Each time it demonstrates a desired behaviour you click your clicker.  When the dog produces the desired outcome, you give the reward.  This can be lavish praise or a food reward. 

One of the problems your puppy may encounter is diarrhoeia.  This is apt to occur due to a change of diet.  If you got your pup from a source other than a recognised breeder, then the diet the pup was used to may not be the best. Here in Cuiabá I have learned that there are three categories of pet food.  These are poor-quality, adequate and overpriced.  Even being bilingual and a Veterinary Medicine graduate, at the point of sale I still have to look carefully at the ingredients to find the food that is right for my pet. Over the past few days I have begun the process of changing diets.  Today my husky, Bela, ate three types of food: the low-quality one from the previous breeder, the better-quality one that I am switching her to, plus a few titbits of reward beef during her training session.  20 minutes later she defaecated diarrhoeia on the lawn. I view this as inevitable, and trust she will be well again soon.