Keepers role in animals health:

Managing pain

Managing pain

Treatment

9. Foot Care

Most common issue in captive animals
Check regularly for overgrowth, injuries, abscesses, cracks in hooves/soles

7. Vaccination

No vaccs specifically designed for zoo animals
Make do with vaccs from CA and LA

5. Enclosure Design

Safety, Injury
Ventilation, Drainage
Humidity, Lighting

3. Parasite Control

Endoparasites: Helminths (Nematodes, Platyhelminths, Cestodes, Trematodes)
Ectoparasites: Flies, Lice, Fleas, Mites, Ticks

Preventative care:
1. Correct diet
Should have correct nutrition
Often keepers and vets will discuss nutrition
To ensure good health

Health and Safety of Staff

Stress causes immunosuppression
Fighting between animals
Wrong diet, Disease from pests
Ill health from foreign objects
Visitors littering
Genetic diseases

8. TPR

Need to know normal for species
Changes from normal indicate ill health

6. Obvious signs of pain 2
Breathing - shallow, tachypnoea, dyspnoea
Twitching, muscle spasm, straining
Lethargic, depression
Sleeplessness, lying motionless

5. Vomiting

Not all species can V+
When does animals V+ - after food, after water, certain time
Any blood present in V+

3. Change in faeces and urine

Hard F+, straining-constipation
Loose F+-diarrhoea
Changes in colour-cloudy
Amount produced

How can health be assessed?
1. Loss of appetite/reduced water intake
Can be difficult to monitor in group
Observe at 'feeding times'
Monitor weight, lethargy

What is 'good health'?

Laws