VET 228 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 2

Please answer the following questions. These questions are meant to help you test your
knowledge of the subject matter. Do not send your answers to the school.

LESSON 2 – TEST YOURSELF QUESTIONS

1. What’s the scientific name of the guinea pig?

2. What term refers to a male guinea pig? What’s the term for the female?

3. The young of guinea pigs are born precocious. What does this mean?

4. What’s different in the dentition of a guinea pig compared to other rodents?

5. A female guinea pig must be bred before what age? If she’s not, what can occur?

6. What’s one reason why guinea pigs are rarely used in research?

7. What’s the maximum volume range that can be administered to a guinea pig SQ?

8. What’s the most common bacterial disease that can occur in guinea pigs? What are some of the
stress factors that can attribute to this?

9. Guinea pigs cannot manufacture which vitamin? Which disease can this lead to?

10. What’s the cause of slobbers?

11. Hamsters are the only laboratory animals that do what?

12. In what anatomical feature do hamsters carry food and their young in?

13. What does the name hamster mean?

SP1197(1504)
14. How long is the gestation period in a hamster?

15. What’s the most common cause of death in aged hamsters?

16. What can a deficiency of Vitamin E in hamsters lead to?

17. Describe what occurs with barbering.

18. What are the clinical signs of proliferative ileitis, also called wet tail?

19. When a hamster hibernates, how long does it typically last?

20. Due to their small muscle mass, what injections are typically not given hamsters?

21. List two things that make the gerbil a good animal model for studies.

22. What’s the scientific name of the gerbil most commonly used in biomedical research?

23. List two ways to permanently identify the gerbil.

24. Unlike most other rodents, gerbils are not what?

25. What behavior is typical of gerbils when they are fearful, excited, or startled?

26. Supplementing a gerbil’s diet with fresh fruits and vegetables is fine in small amounts. What can
they develop if given an excess amount?

27. What type of caging is best for housing gerbils?

28. Pairs of gerbils are monogamous. What does this mean?

29. What’s the main reason a gerbil should not undergo prolonged fasting before anesthesia?

30. Due to their low urine output, how often is acceptable for cleaning gerbil cages?

31. What’s the scientific name of the domestic ferret?

32. What are two color types in the ferret?

33. What infection are ferrets susceptible to that also affects humans?

34. What’s the typical life span of a ferret?

35. What type of vaccine for distemper is the only acceptable one for ferrets?

36. Name two veins from which blood can be obtained in a ferret.

37. What can occur in a ferret in the fall and winter months?

38. List two ways that depth of anesthesia can be monitored in a ferret.
39. What can occur in ferrets if kept in temperatures greater than 80°F?

40. Why is it better to house ferrets in solid-bottom caging rather than on wire floors?

41. In guinea pigs, antibiotic toxity is a cause of concern. What’s antibiotic toxicity?

42. Guinea pigs have hypsodontic teeth. What does this mean?

43. When a guinea pig has swelling of the feet, lameness, and inappetence, what condition might
be indicated?

44. What’s the reason that hamsters are the only animal allowed to be fed directly on the cage floor?

45. Hamsters are solitary animals. What does this mean?

1. Cavia porcellus

2. a. Male=boar

b. Female=sow

3. They are born fully haired, eyes open, and capable of eating solid food within a few hours after birth.

4. They have a premolar in each quadrant.

5. a. Six months

b. Fusion of the pubic symphysis

6. Lack of readily accessible veins for either injection or blood sampling.

7. 5–10 ml per site

8. a. Pneumonia

b. Stress factors—poor husbandry, improper nutrition, and excessive noise

9. a. Vitamin C

b. Scurvy

10. Malocclusion of the premolar teeth

11. Hibernate

12. Cheek pouches

13. To hoard

14. 15 to 18 days

15. Amyloidosis

16. Skeletal muscular dystrophy

17. Chewing of hair by a dominant cage mate. Typically limited to alopecia around the muzzle, eyes,
and whiskers

18. Watery diarrhea, dehydration, anorexia, and depression. Presence of moist, matted fur on the tail
and ventral abdomen.

19. Three days

21. a. Low water requirement

b. Highly concentrated urine

c. Develop high serum and hepatic cholesterol levels

d. Susceptible to stroke

e. Seizures

f. Resistance to radiation

22. Meriones unguiculatus

23. a. Ear punching

b. Ear tagging

c. Microchip

24. Nocturnal

25. Thump their hindlimbs

26. Obesity

27. Solid bottom shoebox with an ample amount of bedding.

28. They remain with their mate for their lifetime.

29. They have a high metabolic rate

30. Once weekly

31. Mustela putorius furo

32. a. Sable, black sable, and black

b. Albino, champagne, dark-eyed white, and silver

c. Cinnamon

d. Chocolate

33. Influenza infection

34. Five to eight years

35. Modified live vaccine of chick embryo tissue origin.

b. Jugular

c. Cephalic

37. The skin on the back over the shoulder area thickens.

38. a. Palpebral reflex

b. Heart and respiratory rate

c. Muscle tension

39. Develop heat stroke

40. Have small feet which can become caught in a wire-bottomed cage.

41. They are sensitive to antibiotics, particularly antibiotics that target gram-positive organisms.
The resulting effect is an imbalance in normal intestinal flora, an overgrowth of clostridia and
gram-negative organisms.

42. The teeth are continuously growingand are open rooted.

43. Bumblefoot

44. They have a broad muzzle that makes it impossible to eat through wire hopper feeders.

45. They like to be kept alone. Tend not to be social.