TWENTIETH ANNUAL REPORT 73 



of a putrid odor. The temperature is normal or subnormal, 

 rarely elevated, except in the very early stages of the affection. 

 The respiration is not much disturbed, except immediately be- 

 fore and after the act of vomiting, when it is generally rapid. 

 The abdomen is hard and drawn or tucked up, and on pressure 

 over the region of the stomach, pain is generally evinced by 

 groaning and great resistance on the part of the animal, which 

 often vomits immediately after this manipulation. When the 

 animal is made to move, it does so with great reluctance, shows 

 great muscular weakness, arches the back and has a tottering, 

 feeble gait, and again quickly assumes the recumbent position. 



When the disease is fairly developed, the facial expression 

 is anxious or haggard, the eyeballs are drawn back into their 

 orbits, the pupils are dilated and the eyes expressionless. The 

 urine is scant, of a high specific gravity, dark in color, and 

 emits a very strong odor. Although nervous disturbance is 

 not a pronounced characteristic of this disease, convulsions, re- 

 sembling distemper convulsions, and coma have been seen in 

 fatal cases. 



While the mortality is very high we have, however, had 

 recovery take place in a polar bear, sloth bear, sun bear, 

 ocelots, a clouded leopard and in a puma. While there is 

 absolute loss of appetite, we have taken advantage of the insati- 

 able thirst, and in this way have been able to administer anti- 

 septic remedies such as copper arsenate, quinine salicylate, hy- 

 drochloric acid, salol, subgallate of bismuth, and morphine sul- 

 phate in cod-liver oil, and in milk and brandy. In the cases 

 of the polar bear, and sloth bear, the early administration of 

 cod-liver oil doubtless saved the hves of both of these animals, 

 which were taken ill on the same day. The polar bear took 

 thirty-four ounces of cod-liver oil at one dose. Animals will 

 often retain carbonated water and milk when other liquids will 

 be expelled. In these cases it is important to cut off the supply 

 of water from the animal in order that medicines may be ad- 

 ministered. The indications for treatment are to give the 

 stomach as much rest as possible, and the food must consist of 

 white of eggs, milk and fresh beef juice given in small quantities 

 at intervals of three or four hours. After two or three days 

 of this diet, scraped raw beef may be added to the milk and 

 the white of eggs, but only in very small quantities, say a table- 

 spoonful at a time. As the body temperature is greatly re- 



