Ulf Tubessing, 28 Dec 2024. Hi everybody. Here are some videos of a hand-raised orphan rhino suddenly losing a lot of condition, not being able to swallow ... I tried pushing down a stomach tube to eliminate foreign bodies. Strangely enough, I could get tube in a good 2 m without eliciting a cough nor hitting an obstruction. Any other bright shining lights other than rabies? Ulf Tubessing, [30 Dec 2024 at 6:48:20 PM]: Hi everybody. I refer to the rhino videos above. Has anybody seen anything similar? She seems to slowly improve, drinking with less nasal "regurgitation" and started eating this evening. By the looks of it, rabies is dropping off the differential Dx list Joel Alves, [30 Dec 2024 at 7:16:07 PM]: Hey Ulf. I wish I could offer something but the only case we had which could be considered similar was a cow that was shot in the face and was unable to feed or drink, showing a drooping expression on the one side. We suspected significant damage to one or more of the nerves involved in mastication. No improvement and eventual euthanasia in that case unfortunately. So possibly nerve related on your end? Just unsure of what the underlying pathology will be if it is that. Bossie Boshoff, 30 Dec 2024 Just a stone in the bush. Stomach ulcer and pain may be causing the animal not to eat and drink as normal. Ulf Tubessing, [30 Dec 2024 at 8:09:47 PM]: Thanks Joel and Bossie. I could not notice any outward neurologic signs (droopy face etc) other than acute severe loss of condition (to my mind, in rhino, most likely dehydration). Once down, I did a quick clinical examination, but the animal was not stable. It appeared to be "constipated" with faecal balls that were fist-sized and had lots of gas in the rectum, no sign of abnormal mucous, melaena etc. I administered 20 l fluids rectally. Oral examination is difficult in rhino, but I could find no foreign bodies – a stomach tube passed surprisingly easily (I can’t say I have been good at that before!). No blood/pus etc was present on the tube when I withdrew it. This rhino is in our rhino rabies hot spot, so my initial suspicion was rabies. She was treated with Excede, Finadyne, Kyroligo and B-Cobolic Today she is weak but drinking without nasal regurgitation and started eating which hopefully makes rabies less likely. I have not seen any rabies cases improve on treatment; they have a one-way ticket! This is a 2.6 year old orphan that was raised with great difficulty - she and her mate had severe enteritis (Balantidium coli) and the mate died subsequently as a result of an intussusception. She has been vaccinated against rabies multiple times but so have other rhinos that subsequently died of rabies. These cases make us humble 😅😓 Bossie Boshoff, [30 Dec 2024 at 8:20:05 PM]: I still think pain causing the symptoms. If initial treatment improved symptoms, then I would probably repeat the treatment, but I will add something for ulcers if I can, even if it is just prophylactically. I had an orphan rhino like this that improved just by feeding them fresh dung from healthy rhino mixed into their feed – my thought process was to introducing healthy flora. Remember however I am just a bush mechanic and sometimes animals get better in spite of what I do! I would also consider giving plasma for a boost. Ilana van Wyk, [30 Dec 2024 at 8:26:20 PM]: Hi Ulf. In horses, nasal regurgitation makes me think of choking. Maybe the obstruction passed when you tubed her? Fluids (rehydration) will also have helped to relieve the obstruction, if it was choke Ulf Tubessing, [30 Dec 2024 at 8:34:42 PM]: Hi Ilana. Choke was also high on my list and in a way, I think this is what it was/is. I personally have never seen an animal drink and then have literally litres of fluid running out of the nose without any respiratory signs. I also can’t claim to have ever successfully passed a stomach tube in a rhino - I battled with that one (anybody got some wise words on that one?). Bossie, I hear you about pain etc., but the symptoms seem so extremely localised! If it was a youngster, I would consider cleft palate but definitely no signs of trauma etc. This rhino has been free roaming with a foster mother for virtually 2 years. Leith Meyer, [30 Dec 2024 at 8:40:40 PM]: We had a case of oesophageal obstruction with regurgitation in a rhino in one of our projects. It turned out that it was from bailing wire, unfortunately. Rob Jackson, [30 Dec 2024 at 10:02:54 PM]: Choke is often self-resolving, which makes sense, and may have less respiratory signs than a horse, because the trachea-oesophagus axis is more horizontal than that of a horse. ? Chris Smith, [31 Dec 2024 at 1:37:54 AM]: Hi Ulf, I can’t think of any major pearls of wisdom, but we had a free-ranging elephant bull that was losing condition and had water dribbling out the mouth. Closer inspection revealed fairly classic facial nerve paralysis signs due to a middle ear infection with the trunk even pulling up to the one side and unilateral ear paralysis. This was actually so severe that there was pus coming out of the temporal gland and ear canal itself. All the water and food was falling out on the paralysed side. Due to poor prognosis and free ranging case, the animal was euthanased. This doesn’t look unilateral, but potentially something to consider. I know treatment options are limited with middle ear infections, but I do remember a farmer being absolutely convinced that Excede helped some of his cattle. These had middle ear infections with secondary facial nerve paralysis, so he will definitely agree with your treatment option 😁 Danie Odendaal, [31 Dec 2024 at 2:21:03 AM]: Early cases of middle ear infection can effectively be treated with I/V sodium iodide in cattle. Ulf Tubessing, [31 Dec 2024 at 10:21:45 AM]: Thanks everybody. Let’s hope this one comes right and we never find out what caused the problem!
