Pain in ferrets : a review for veterinary nurses
Part 3 Chronic pain management
DOI : https :// doi . org / 10.56496 / MROY3614
Aneesa Malik , MSc , RVN , Cert VNES , Cert VNECC , APVN ( Zoo )
ENVELOPE aneesa . rvn @ gmail . com
Aneesa has worked in a range of veterinary practices , including first opinion , charity , emergency , referral , exotics , and with some species of British wildlife . She is a Fear Free accredited practitioner and is particularly interested in veterinary ethics and welfare . Aneesa ' s primary focus areas are animal pain and the care of emergency and critical patients , wildlife and exotic patients , and end-of-life patients .
Sofia Saraiva , DVM , MSc , MRCVS
ENVELOPE vetsofia . saraiva @ gmail . com
Sofia qualified from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine , University of Lisbon , in 2014 . Sofia worked as a small animal / exotic veterinary surgeon in Portugal , Dubai and the UK before completing a 1-year internship at Great Western Exotics . She is currently working towards her zoological medicine certificate with the University of Edinburgh while working as an exotic veterinary surgeon at Rutland House Referrals in Liverpool .
ABSTRACT This is the last in a series of three articles that review the assessment and management of pain in ferrets , with examples of chronic pain conditions that affect the species .
The article describes some of the non-pharmaceutical techniques used to manage and treat chronic pain in ferrets , including rehabilitation , environmental modification , supplementation and convalescent diets , physiotherapy , acupuncture , photobiomodulation , laser acupuncture and hydrotherapy . A multimodal approach using both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions is advisable .
The article includes a case study of a multimodal approach to the management of pain in a 6-month-old male ferret .
The ferret was diagnosed with capital physeal dysplasia ( dysplasia of the proximal growth plate of the femur ) and underwent a bilateral femoral head and neck excision . He required pain management and rehabilitation over several months .
The case study highlights the difficulties in assessing pain in ferrets . It also shows that rehabilitation is an essential part of post-surgery pain management and wellbeing .
The article also briefly focuses on the importance of regular veterinary health checks , discusses pain management in relation to end-of-life care and considers the specialist pain management requirements of amputation patients .
Keywords ferret , pain , chronic pain management , rehabilitation , femoral head and neck excision
30 Veterinary Nursing Journal