Avian & Exotic

You are asked to evaluate a rockfish at a local aquarium that has a bulging left eye. The animal seems to navigate well around obstacles in the fish tank. What is the primary cause of the buphthalmia?

Despite Disney's popular movie, kissing a frog won't turn you into one. But some frog owners have developed salmonellosis from contact with their amphibian friends.

A sound preventive medicine program is the foundation of an animal health program because it is difficult to perform diagnostic tests or treat sick animals successfully; wild animals often mask signs of illness until late into the disease process; and disease outbreaks can have devastating population effects.

This presentation focuses on a disease proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) that many people have heard about, may have had bird's affected, but know little about. The same may be said for veterinarians.

One of the most common avian presentations at our veterinary hospital is the predator attack. These cases often present with severe lacerations, limb amputations and crushing injuries.

Invertebrate animals comprise 95% of the animal kingdom's species, yet non-parasitic invertebrates are vastly underrepresented in the typical veterinary school curriculum. These notes and the accompanying lecture provide a brief introduction to some of the more prominent invertebrate groups (coelenterates, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, insects, the horseshoe crab, and spiders) and review the state of the science with regards to clinical techniques.

Because practitioners are increasingly being asked to provide health care for rabbits, they need to know that the most common clinical problems seen in this species involve the gastrointestinal tract. Practitioners also need to know that rabbits have evolved as a prey species, and their survival reaction is to be very still in an effort to avoid detection.

It is a clinical challenge when veterinarians have to treat avian patients. It is the thoughtful use of therapeutic procedures on a debilitated patient that is often correlated to the successful outcome of a case presentation.

There are about 3100 species of snakes throughout the world. Only the Arctic regions, Antarctica, Iceland and Ireland, along with a few other very small oceanic islands lack the presence of snakes.

Neurological diseases are relatively common in companion rabbits, and are being identified more frequently because of a greater interest by owners to provide better health care to their pets, better trained veterinarians, improved diagnostic aids, and because many rabbits are living longer.

These notes are provided as an outline and brief review of pet fish medicine with emphasis on the clinical work up and standards of care.

Veterinarians should be aware of signs that a bird is becoming severely stressed while being examined.

Treating dermal injuries, fracture stabilization, stabilization of fracture sites after internal orthopedic repair, joint injuries and prevention of self trauma are common reasons bandages are used on avian patients.

There are many therapeutic options open to veterinarians when treating patients. Unfortunately, as case numbers increase treatment options are narrowed due to different reasons.

Nontraditional animal medicine is rapidly becoming an integral part of most companion animal practices.

Hedgehogs are members of the family Erinaceidae in the order Insectivora. There are 16 species of hedgehogs; however, the most common pet species in North America is the African pygmy hedgehog (also referred to as the white-bellied, four-toed, or African hedgehog) (Atelerix albiventris).

Pharmacokinetic studies in exotic small mammals are lacking and, therefore, most of the dosages used in these species are based on empirical data, observations, and experience.

It is a clinical challenge when veterinarians have to administer therapeutic procedures to pet avian patients. The thoughtful use of therapeutic procedures on a debilitated patient is often correlated to the success or failure of treating a patient.

Medical problems in rabbits commonly involve the reproductive and genitourinary systems. This review is designed to help practitioners successfully diagnose and treat frequently seen pathologic conditions affecting these systems.

Historically, birds of prey have fascinated man, and are commonly held in captivity for conservation education, falconry, captive breeding, or rehabilitation purposes.

In wildlife medicine, it is often necessary to chemically restrain animals to perform even the most basic procedure.

Berkeley, Calif. -- A widely used pesticide, atrazine, has been found to affect the endocrine systems of frogs, essentially turning them into female frogs, according to a new study by University of California-Berkeley biologists.

Arlington -- The more than 26,000 exotic animals seized from a Texas pet-trade facility in December will remain in the custody of rescue groups.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Eight veterinarians have become the first diplomates under a new Exotic Companion Mammal specialty.

Large veterinary hospital floor plan of this 2010 Hospital Design People's Choice Award contestant.