Bunny cloacas... what the...?

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Abnerrs

Abnerrs

Heckin Bamboozled Again
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Ok guys, I need some help. I was in my mammology class and my teacher mentioned that all lagamorphs have cloacas. And I immediately thought "WRONG". I mean, I have taken temperatures in what is clearly a rabbit rectum. I have seen rabbit vaginas and penises (peni? lol you catch my drift) and so this sounded utterly incorrect. I checked with the vet I work with and she said no she didn't think that lagamorphes have cloacas. We've seen the skin flap that covers the genitalia but it doesn't seem to qualify as a cloaca. Her material from vet school failed to call it a cloaca.

Well, next class period I asked the professor about it before class started and all he said was "yes, they all have cloacas". So I started doing research and found some articles that call it that, or sometimes a vent. And they do get "vent disease". But when I research the anatomy I see no mention of a cloaca or any structures that actually look like a cloaca.


I feel uber dumb and confused. HELP ME!!
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Abney said:
Ok guys, I need some help. I was in my mammology class and my teacher mentioned that all lagamorphs have cloacas. And I immediately thought "WRONG". I mean, I have taken temperatures in what is clearly a rabbit rectum. I have seen rabbit vaginas and penises (peni? lol you catch my drift) and so this sounded utterly incorrect. I checked with the vet I work with and she said no she didn't think that lagamorphes have cloacas. We've seen the skin flap that covers the genitalia but it doesn't seem to qualify as a cloaca. Her material from vet school failed to call it a cloaca.

Well, next class period I asked the professor about it before class started and all he said was "yes, they all have cloacas". So I started doing research and found some articles that call it that, or sometimes a vent. And they do get "vent disease". But when I research the anatomy I see no mention of a cloaca or any structures that actually look like a cloaca.


I feel uber dumb and confused. HELP ME!!
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Rabbits, like all mammals, have a cloaca in utero, but not after. Monotremes are the only mammals with cloacas that I know of.
 
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2 holes!!! :bang:
 
Abney said:
I actually read that page, but it says that they only have one opening.... and I looking at rabbit booties incorrectly?!?!?
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I think it is probably that they are very close together so it may be incorrectly termed a cloaca. I swear there are 2 openings....
 
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They can't have an anus if they have a cloaca right?!


Seriously you guys, I'm being neurotic about this, it's keeping me up at night no joke!!
 
psilovethomas said:
I don't know if that website's info is correct. I am looking at a picture of a rabbit's urogenital area, which is clearly separated from the anus. (I would post it, but it's from a prof's lecture.) In a male rabbit, you can "express" the penis, which is usually internal, and can see the anus is separate from it.
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No, I agree that they are separate but as that is a credentialed university site, it could help shed some light on why people are calling it a cloaca.
 
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"Lepus cuniculus. The urogenital organs. A, of male; B, of female, from the left side. The kidneys and proximal ends of the ureters, and in B, the ovaries. Fallopian tubes and uteri are not shown. an, anus; bl, urinary bladder; c. c, corpus cavernosum; c. s, corpus spongiosum; c. gl, perineal gland; p. gl', aperture of its duct on the perineal space; pr, anterior, pr', posterior, and pr', lateral lobes of prostate; rct, rectum; r. gl, rectal gland; u. g. a, urino-genital aperture; u. m, uterus masculinus; ur, ureter; va, vagina; vb, vestibule; v. d, vas deferens."
 
DVMDream said:
This picture makes it all look like on really large, very close together opening.
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Nah, they are showing the penis opening, but the tail and the caudal end of the...what I am assuming the scrotum, just make this pocket looking thing. That's what I see anyway lol
 
Abney said:
Nah, they are showing the penis opening, but the tail and the caudal end of the...what I am assuming the scrotum, just make this pocket looking thing. That's what I see anyway lol
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I kind of see it both ways... 😕

I don't know, I would have to look back on our rabbit anatomy notes a bit later.
 
This is the most bizarre topic I have read in quite a while. 😕😱



I am of the opinion that no, they don't have cloacas (cloacae?). Perhaps your professor was mistaken?
 
Spinach Dip said:
This is the most bizarre topic I have read in quite a while. 😕😱
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Don't I know it

I am of the opinion that no, they don't have cloacas (cloacae?). Perhaps your professor was mistaken?
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I thought he was too, but I'm getting mixed results. My vet thinks that maybe misidentified in the past and that we just still use the terminology at times.
 
:laugh: My sisters breed fancy show rabbits and don't look at me funny- I have looked "down there" more often that I care to share...and yes, the does have a vulva and anus, and bucks do have an anus and penis, and the two are separate. Rabbits are odd creatures and it was very confusing to me at first. The testicles can be completely retracted into the body at will, which can be problematic on the show table, as only intact bucks may be shown (as well as does).

I remember a couple of years ago we had a doe having difficulty kindling with an apparent dystocia, and I called the vet to ask his opinion. He gave me instructions on entering the birth canal to carefully extract the kit. They essentially have two cervixes (not really using the right terminology, I know), and it was an experience navigating it, but I was successful. It makes me very glad that dystocias are very rare in rabbits.
 
As much as I hate to admit it, much like finnsheep, I too have had more than my fair share of experience with bunny hoo-hahs (sadly all from ICU duty). I can promise you they have two holes. Either that or I had some very talented bunnies that were able to separate their waste products onto their fur for my cleaning enjoyment. 🙄
 
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Finnsheep said:
:laugh: My sisters breed fancy show rabbits and don't look at me funny- I have looked "down there" more often that I care to share...and yes, the does have a vulva and anus, and bucks do have an anus and penis, and the two are separate. Rabbits are odd creatures and it was very confusing to me at first. The testicles can be completely retracted into the body at will, which can be problematic on the show table, as only intact bucks may be shown (as well as does).

I remember a couple of years ago we had a doe having difficulty kindling with an apparent dystocia, and I called the vet to ask his opinion. He gave me instructions on entering the birth canal to carefully extract the kit. They essentially have two cervixes (not really using the right terminology, I know), and it was an experience navigating it, but I was successful. It makes me very glad that dystocias are very rare in rabbits.
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I totally know all of this!! (feeling smart lol) We spay rabbits in the clinic I work at, my vet told me that you have to cut through the vagina on rabbits because of the double cervix. Which was why I was much more apt to believe my vet than my mammology teacher (who btw is a herpetologist... not a mammalogist....)
 
My teacher wants a picture of a rabbit bunghole. If anyone owns a rabbit I am asking you to text it to me or else I will have to go on the hunt for one and/or wait for one to come into the hospital to take a picture of..... lmao
 
Finnsheep said:
:laugh: My sisters breed fancy show rabbits and don't look at me funny- I have looked "down there" more often that I care to share...and yes, the does have a vulva and anus, and bucks do have an anus and penis, and the two are separate. Rabbits are odd creatures and it was very confusing to me at first. The testicles can be completely retracted into the body at will, which can be problematic on the show table, as only intact bucks may be shown (as well as does).

I remember a couple of years ago we had a doe having difficulty kindling with an apparent dystocia, and I called the vet to ask his opinion. He gave me instructions on entering the birth canal to carefully extract the kit. They essentially have two cervixes (not really using the right terminology, I know), and it was an experience navigating it, but I was successful. It makes me very glad that dystocias are very rare in rabbits.
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Yes we learned about this in Repro! They have a Duplex cervix where each uterine horn goes into its own separate cervix. Very cool!
 
This is my favorite topic right now. So fetch...

I, like all wildlife gals, love a good bunny hoohah 🙄. And I can definitely agree there are two distinct areas. Sounds like your herpetologist professor should spend some time gettin' to know the species he/she teaches about... intimately :laugh:

Ps. just did a quick google images search and found some.. promising images. Not PG13.
 
Abney said:
My teacher wants a picture of a rabbit bunghole. If anyone owns a rabbit I am asking you to text it to me or else I will have to go on the hunt for one and/or wait for one to come into the hospital to take a picture of..... lmao
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I'm pretty sure I have a side-by-side of a male and female in one of my lectures. However, my flash drive is at work so I can check in the morning. That is unless bunnity beats me to it. Nice call, TT! :laugh:
 
irrelephant23 said:
This is my favorite topic right now. So fetch...

I, like all wildlife gals, love a good bunny hoohah 🙄. And I can definitely agree there are two distinct areas. Sounds like your herpetologist professor should spend some time gettin' to know the species he/she teaches about. I mean... intimately :laugh:
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Quite possibly the best reply thus far simply for the use of the word 'fetch'. However, you get bonus points for the intimacy comment and catching my spelling error. Well done!
 
LMMS said:
Quite possibly the best reply thus far simply for the use of the word 'fetch'. However, you get bonus points for the intimacy comment and catching my spelling error. Well done!
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Haha 👍 Thanks for the first two compliments! I didn't catch your error intentionally, but I'll take the bonus points anyway 😍
 
twelvetigers said:
Bunnity... it's time to make you roomie or s/o wonder what the heck...
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haha hopefully it won't come to that!

yes they have a pee hole and a poop hole just like everyone else... and boy do they poop.
 
bunnity said:
haha hopefully it won't come to that!

yes they have a pee hole and a poop hole just like everyone else... and boy do they poop.
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I feel like this is the most qualified response in the thread.
 
haha after 4 years on SDN I'm glad I can be the resident expert in SOMETHING...
 
Abney said:
Don't I know it



I thought he was too, but I'm getting mixed results. My vet thinks that maybe misidentified in the past and that we just still use the terminology at times.
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So, I was amused initially by this thread. Now I wish to help you. My dvm is a small animal/exotic/wildlife person. I did not know anything about rabbits before working with her. I can confidently say that I have NEVER heard her say cloaca in relation to rabbits. Not only do you check the anus for polyps but you confirm sex by exteriorizing the penis or not.

Birds and reptiles have cloacas (if memory serves correctly).

Perhaps find something to show your professor definitively so no other students suffer confusion....good luck!🙂
 
Hotfillyky said:
So, I was amused initially by this thread. Now I wish to help you. My dvm is a small animal/exotic/wildlife person. I did not know anything about rabbits before working with her. I can confidently say that I have NEVER heard her say cloaca in relation to rabbits. Not only do you check the anus for polyps but you confirm sex by exteriorizing the penis or not.

Birds and reptiles have cloacas (if memory serves correctly).

Perhaps find something to show your professor definitively so no other students suffer confusion....good luck!🙂
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Thanks! That was our consensus too! My vet is a wildlife/exotic vet also and I just kept thinking "she PROBABLY knows what she's talking about?" Lol
 
bold text said:
Idk. I had a seizure or something and ended up here.

It's cool tho, I can go to parties and have deep, intellectual conversations about cloacas and ****.
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You could make Thanksgiving dinner more interesting by pointing out that turkeys haven't been able to breed naturally for well over a decade because we have bred them to the point where their breasts are prohibitively large.

Then go look up turkey AI.

🙂
 
When I was in college, my roommates and I came up with a shot we named the cloaca. It was Jag (brown), the green watermelon one, and something red that was cinnamony. With the brown and green (not sure about the red) it made us think of a frog's ahole. Definitely not a rabbit's.
 
twelvetigers said:
You could make Thanksgiving dinner more interesting by pointing out that turkeys haven't been able to breed naturally for well over a decade because we have bred them to the point where their breasts are prohibitively large.

Then go look up turkey AI.

🙂
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This is a conversation I have every Thanksgiving. And many dinners throughout the year. Thankfully, my family is pretty used to it. The rabbit color genetics discussions are the ones I avoid...they can get pretty heated.
 
twelvetigers said:
You could make Thanksgiving dinner more interesting by pointing out that turkeys haven't been able to breed naturally for well over a decade because we have bred them to the point where their breasts are prohibitively large.

Then go look up turkey AI.

🙂
Click to expand...


👍👍👍👍....that would be quite hysterical
 
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