Getting Ready for Your Exotic Pet's Appointment
 

Exotic pets (for our purposes here, anything other than a cat or dog), typically require special handling and exceptional care. We want to be able to give you the best recommendation for proper husbandry and nutrition, and when you bring them in to see us, we will need to know as much as possible about their current living environment.

  1. Complete a New Patient Form and (if applicable) an Exotic Pet Information Sheet for your pet prior to arrival for your appointment. (You can get to these by clicking on the Hospital Forms button- found to the left on any main web page.)
  2. Bring a Picture - It is helpful to have a photograph of your pets’ living quarters at home for the veterinarian to review and include in the medical record. If possible, snap several photos, print them out, and bring them along.
  3. Bring Samples
    1. Birds - the day before your appointment, place clean cage paper on the cage floor. Fold up and bring the newly soiled paper to your appointment. We will use this sample to evaluate the visual condition of your bird’s stool, as well as possibly performing a microscopic evaluation for intestinal parasites. In addition, bring a small sample of the most commonly fed dry food (pellets, seeds). It is also helpful if you can provide the brand name of the dry food.
    2. Reptiles - if your pet voids a fresh stool sample within 24 hours of your appointment, please place it in a small zip lock bag and bring it along to your appointment. We will use this sample to evaluate the visual condition of your reptile’s stool, as well as possibly performing a microscopic evaluation for intestinal parasites. A small sample of the cage bedding material is also helpful for us to examine.
  4. Protect from Cold, Heat and Other Stress -
    Don’t forget to protect your pet between the car and home/hospital. Pre-warming or cooling your vehicle is a good idea. Use towels or other cloth covers over carry cages to avoid drafts or heat/cold stress. Large reptiles may benefit from adding a warm –not hot—water bottle (one quart plastic clean milk or soda container, for example) to their travel container to help them maintain normal body temperatures. (Be sure to secure the bottle to prevent rolling!) For smaller reptiles, they will do well with a temporary ‘waterbed’ in their travel container, consisting of a sealed Ziploc bag of warm water with a small towel covering the bag (to prevent accidental puncture).

    Whenever bringing your exotic pet in for an appointment, for the utmost safety and to further minimize environmental stress, be sure your pet is in an appropriately sized pet carrier or other secure travel container.