SUITABILITY OF ALTERNATIVES TO RECTAL TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS IN PET RODENTS, RABBITS AND FERRETS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Body temperature is a vital parameter to assess the health of exotic animals. Rectal thermometry is a common way to measure body temperature in rodents, rabbits and ferrets and often considered the gold standard. However, taking a rectal temperature often involves restraint and can lead to stress in these animals. To avoid the stress of rectal temperature measurements, alternative (often less invasive) techniques have been utilized in several species. These methods include tympanic thermometry, axillary thermometry and infrared thermography. It is however important to establish whether these strategies yield comparable readings to  the gold standard. Therefore, a literature review was performed using the MedLine and Google Scholar databases. Base terms referring to rectal temperature and thermometry were combined with species-specific search terms. Relatively few studies were identified about alternatives to rectal temperature measurements in rodents, rabbits and ferrets. In general, it can be noted that only transponder measurements have repeatedly been described to be a valid alternative to rectal temperature measurement. Further research should be conducted.

USTREZNOST ALTERNATIVNIH TEHNIK REKTALNEMU MERJENJU TEMPERATURE PRI HIŠNIH GLODAVCIH, KUNCIH IN BELIH DIHURJIH - PREGLED LITERATURE

Izvleček: Telesna temperatura je pomemben parameter za oceno zdravja eksotičnih živali. Rektalno merjenje temperature je običajen način merjenja telesne temperature pri glodavcih, kuncih in belih dihurjih in pogosto velja za zlati standard. Vendar je merjenje rektalne temperature pri teh živalih pogosto povezano z omejevanjem gibanja in povzročanjem stresa. Da bi se izognili stresu pri merjenju rektalne temperature, so bile pri več vrstah živali uporabljene alternativne (pogosto manj invazivne) tehnike. Te metode vključujejo infrardečo termografijo ter merjenje temperature timpanično in aksilarno. Vendar pa je pomembno ugotoviti, ali te strategije dajejo primerljive rezultate z zlatim standardom. Zato smo opravili pregled literature z uporabo podatkovnih zbirk MedLine in Google Scholar. Osnovni izrazi, ki se nanašajo na rektalno temperaturo in merjenje temperature, so bili združeni z iskalnimi izrazi, značilnimi za posamezne vrste. Pri glodavcih, kuncih in belih dihurjih je bilo najdenih razmeroma malo študij o alternativah rektalnim meritvam temperature. Na splošno lahko ugotovimo, da so bile le meritve s transponderjem večkrat opisane kot veljavna alternativa rektalnemu merjenju temperature. Potrebne so nadaljnje raziskave.

Ključne besede: rektalna temperatura; glodavci; kunci; beli dihurji; alternative