FAQ's

1. What should a first aid box contain?

Equipment and tools : pair of scissors, cotton wool, rulers for splints, rubber tubing, forceps, needles and syringes, surgical gloves, lint, gauze bandages

Irrigants and disinfectants : spirit, sterile water, tinc iodine, tinc benzoine, KMNO4 crystals, dettol, hydrogen peroxide

Medicines : analgesics, antihistamines, broadspectrum antibiotics, sedatives, anti emetics, lifesaving drugs and respiratory stimulants or cortocosteroids, topical antiseptic ointments, DNS

2. In which case is euthanasia allowed, and when is it forbidden?

Euthanasia is not actually allowed, but can be done if the animal is in too much pain and suffering and there is no hope of recovery, or if its injury has rendered it completely useless for work and would cost too much to feed at the expense of other animals. It is forbidden in the case of healthy animals, and just for the purpose of population control, or because the shelter has a 'duration' based policy, and cannot rehome its inmates in time.

3. How do you cure mange?

Clip the fur to a mangaeable length. Wash the animal out in a dilution of Escabiol, or paint the fur backwards with a 1:6 mixture of GBHX and gentian violet. Administer 1ml per 50kg body weight Ivermectin injection subcutaneously. Other washes/sprays like Ridd or Ectozee, are also effective, but expensive. The animal must be kept in the sun to dry, and watched that it does not lick. The treatment must be repeated every fortnight till the condition improves. Prednisolone injections over three days also gives relief from itching, and can be combined with streptopenicillin injections to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

4. How do you cure bloat?

First attempt to walk the animal about, to release the gas build up, and give it some blotosil or gelusil or any other antacid orally. If the bloat persists, and the stomach is too distended, pierce it with a needle, holding the needle still let all the gas escape. This is best done by a vet. In any case, bloat is a life threatening condition, and every attempt should be made to get a vet over.

5. How do you remove ticks/fleas and maggots?

Ticks and fleas can be simply picked off the fur using a pair of forceps, taking care to stop bleeding in the case of big tick bites. Running fleas can be combed off with a flea comb. Maggots however require more care. The fur around the wound should be completely cleaned and clipped off, the wound should then be cleaned with sterile water, and then packed with gauze dipped in chloroform and turpentine using forceps. This will draw out and kill the maggots. After a few hours, remove each and every maggot using the forceps, and then clean the wound thoroughly with a KMNO4 solution. Then dress it with an antiseptic ointment, like Acralin. If deep it can be packed again with gauze dipped in pivodine iodine.

6. How do you treat mastitis?

Gently wash the teats with warm water. Also milk them to flush out any milkclots, pus or blood. Using a syringe, flush up some sterile water to clean them from the inside, then apply Prednistine ointment intramammarily. Also apply an antiseptic ointment outside and all over the outer body of the teats. Administer a broad spectrum antibiotic, to control bacterial infection.

7. How do you pick up an injured dog or cat?

If the dog is aggressive, first muzzle the mouth gently. If it is a small animal, lift it gently in the arms keeping the body supine and immobile, by holding it beneath its head and lower back. It can also be moved on a small cardboard. For a larger dog, make a makeshift stretcher using a blanket held at both ends by two people, and place the dog in a lateral supine position inside. Injured cats may still spit and scratch, so it is best to cover them with a cloth, and then place them in cat carriers for transport.

8. How do you heal burns caused by fire hot oil, boiling water or acid?

Burns should be treated for shock and dehydration as well. First wash and clean the area thoroughly with cold water. Then apply an antiseptic cream like Burnol, and cover with a light bandage. Use an elizabethan collar if the animal is likely to lick the area. Give a drip infusion of DNS to rehydrate the animal and overcome shock, plus a dose of dexamethasone and antihistamines to stimulate respiration. Antibiotics can also be given parenterally.

9. How do you make out an elephant is sick?

Not easily, because it will mask its symptoms for a long while. However, anorexia with or without vomiting is usually a reliable sign that something is wrong. The elephant might distance itself from its herd members for a while, and lag behind during herd movement. In captivity, it will sway incessantly. If it lies or sits down , and makes no attempts to roll over, play or get up, it is pretty sick.

15. What precautions does one need to take in burial of animals suffering from infectious diseases or diseases of zoonatic importance?

The pit should be at least six foot deep, and lined with lime before placing the animals inside, and the entire carcass should also be covered with lime.

10. A dog was brought to me bleeding from both nostrils, with fever and dull and listless. What should I have done?

The dog has epistaxis. It should be transported carefully in lateral recumbency, with its head falling backwards, so that the blood can flow back. Apply an icepack on the forehead and on the nasal frontal bones, applying slight pressure to stop the bleeding. Local infiltration of a hemostatic like Revici into the nostrils, or some adrenaline will stop the bleeding immediately. To stop the animal from shaking its head, give it a sedative to calm him down. If conscious, he can be given ice locks or cold milk, but not force fed, if unconscious he needs to be given IV fluids.

11. What are the common complications seen with inappropriate restraint of an animal?

The animal is restrained too much, causing damage to its limbs, even its respiration, and it may choke to death. Or the animal is restrained too little, causing it to be violent in reaction and cause injury to the handler. Administering medication will be difficult. Improper restraint causes stress defeating the very purpose for which it may have been restrained.

12. What are the signs of ill health in a zoo animal?

The animals will be supine or restless depending on the infection, with irregular respiration, anorexia, and vomiting. In a good zoo, where the animal is usually well looked after, it will mask the signs of disease as in the wild, and diagnosis may be very difficult.