Joerg Mayer, DVM, DABVP, MSC

Major indications: Radiology is one of the most important diagnostic exam methods in birds. It is extremely well suited due to the poor specificity of disease symptoms a sick bird shows and especially due to the presence of the airsacs in the coelomic cavity. The air in the body and around the organs is a great contrast material.

In order to use antimicrobial drugs in exotic patients effectively, one has to understand both the basic pharmacokinetics of these drugs, as well as certain key physiological features of the species being treated (e.g. a poikilotherm animal vs. a homeotherm). One mayor problem in the use of antimicrobial drugs approved for dogs and cats in exotic species, is the fact that there is little clinical data available on the use of these drugs in exotic patients.

The ventral abdominal vein is located directly on the ventral midline and can be accidentally incised when a midline incision is used.

Treatments based on evidence that they will actually have a significant chance to improve the patients' condition without causing excessive detrimental effects are the gold standard in human medicine. In veterinary medicine we tend to look towards these standards to improve our practice and ultimately to provide the best possible care for our patients.

While the ferret is not considered to be a particularly exotic pet and in general its clinical medicine is very similar to feline clinical medicine, the interpretation of the ferret chemistry profile deserves special attention as there can be several pitfalls if ferret profiles are interpreted by comparing with cat or dog normal values.

While standard radiographic and ultrasound imaging techniques are common diagnostic tools in exotic animal medicine, the use of more advanced imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) currently appear to be underutilized for exotic patients.