Exploratory tests seek to get to root of the problem

If you’re living almost entirely on plants, as pandas do, you need something to digest cellulose in your food. Ruminants such as cows do this by having four types of stomach to help them ferment their food, whereas other mammals do it by having various bacteria in their guts. Pandas, however, have notoriously inefficient digestive systems.

Colic can be caused by various things – such as a blockage, which can occur if an animal has eaten a lot of something else, like sand or dirt, in with its food – or parasitic or bacterial damage to the bowel.

The change of environment the pandas have experienced in recent months might also be a cause for their digestive problems. What can sometimes happen is that they produce a lot of gas and the gut can twist, which is a common reason for animals to be operated on.

However, in the case of a panda, exploratory examinations may be more likely to be carried out than on other animals. Horses, which commonly get colic, can have exploratory surgery, but it tends to be very expensive and is unlikely to be done unless the animal is particularly valuable. The usual first medication for colic would be an anti-spasmodic, which can relax the bowel.

But in the case of the giant pandas, they are extremely valuable – both financially and diplomatically – so every possible avenue will be explored to ensure that their health is maintained. You just don’t want to take that risk with pandas – so if you are not entirely sure and they are not getting better with palliative medication, the next step would be to carry out some kind of testing.

Initially, an ultrasound would usually be carried out to get a detailed look at the animal’s bowel. If that is inconclusive, it is possible to carry out diagnostic surgery, where the animal would be operated on to get a good look at what is going on inside.

• Patricia Pineau is a veterinary surgeon for large and small animals