At
Winrose we are lucky enough to treat a large number of different animal
patients, including many exotic pets. When I say exotic pets, I'm
talking about animals that are kept in a household as a companion and are not
native or indigenous to the area where the owners live. In North America,
specifically the Canadian prairie, this includes most reptiles, many birds and
even animals like guinea pigs. In
the veterinary world we often include animals that are native to the area, such
as the corn snake, in the category of exotics because there is limited
information on proper care and diet for these species. This makes them exotic to us
medically despite them being native to our area of the country.
Having
an increasing exposure to exotic pet patients for several months has been an
enlightening experience. I have an appreciation for the beauty and variety of
animals out there and sometimes enjoy seeing them in the exam room. Unfortunately
we see far too many animals in extremely poor condition leading to very
frustrating and sad appointments.
That is why I am
writing this article. My hope is to spread some awareness among the public as
to what it takes to properly care for an exotic animal. Does it really make
sense to keep these animals as pets? Read on and decide for yourself.
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| A Guniea Pig is a common, yet exotic, pet |
1) Exotic
pets require as much (or more) work and care than a dog or cat
There
seems to be a misconception out there that if you have a small pet, that can be
kept in a cage or terrarium, it will not require a large amount of work and
effort to maintain. These pets include but are not limited to: rodents like
guinea pigs (native to South America), birds such as Cockatiels (native to Australia),
and reptiles like Bearded Dragons (native to Australia). The idea that a small pet is easy to
maintain is absolutely false. These animals are not
Domesticated
like a dog or cat and are very similar to wild animals. As such in order to be
healthy they need a diet and environment that matches those of their wild
counter parts.
Now try to imagine how hard it would be
to recreate an arid desert or tropical rainforest conditions in your bedroom
or living room in the Canadian winter. In order to do this you need to be ready
to invest in a lot of equipment: Thermometers for both sides of your enclosure,
hygrometers to measure the humidity, UV A & B light to be replaced every
3-6 months, hide boxes, substrates, vegetables and insects and calcium supplements.
This is just a starting list for reptiles. Some reptiles are desert dwellers
(Uromastyx) others need to be in water (turtles), and still others need high
humidity. Some are tree climbers
and others like to stay on the ground or undercover.
Birds
require a whole different set of equipment and need a lot of attention and time
from their owners. Many bird species in the wild live in large groups and have
active and complex social lives. These birds will languish when kept in a house
with little or no company. They also spend large amounts of their time in the
wild foraging for food and can become bored and even psychotic when they are
simply given access to unlimited amounts of food with no need for foraging.
Even if
you feel very committed to providing the correct husbandry for an exotic pet
keep in mind that often we do not have adequate information about what these
animals eat in the wild or what they spend most of their time doing. We don't have
the research available to know what we need to provide for some species, for
example Mountain Horn Dragons, yet they can be found at your local pet store.
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| Turtles need a very specific environment to thrive |
2) In
exotic pets most illness and disease is related to improper care & diet
This one
ties in very strongly with the first point. In the majority of sick exotic pets
we see, the illness is related to improper housing or inadequate
diet. For example: respiratory infections in birds are often related to low
levels of Vitamin A in the diet (feeding an all seed diet does NOT provide the
proper nutrition for most birds).
Low levels of humidity in certain reptiles can lead to bad sheds and
loss of toes. Excess levels of
humidity in desert animals can lead to skin infections. Reptiles require calcium supplements in
their diet daily and a UV A&B lamp to help to convert the calcium into its
active form inside the body. These lamps must be changed frequently. Without proper
calcium levels bones become soft and deformed and reptiles can suffer from
seizures and are unable to walk. Guinea pigs require a specific amount of
Vitamin C in their diet or they can develop infections and scurvy. These are
just a few examples. The list of husbandry related illnesses goes on and on.
Though it
may seem that the care needed is very straightforward we see far too many
animals suffering from these conditions.
The pet store often does not provide the proper information for
care. You cannot rely on the
person you acquired the pet from to give you the right information. If you have
an exotic pet your best resource for reliable information is your local exotic
veterinarian. Not all veterinarians see exotic pets so its important to call
around and find a clinic that does. It is also important to realize that the veterinarians
that see exotics are not necessarily specialists (meaning they haven't done 4
years of school studying exclusively exotic pets) but they have learned from
years of experience seeing and treating these animals and have done extensive
research on their own time. To
prevent illness you need to team up with a knowledgeable veterinarian. We also
want you to know that often there isn't a medication that will fix the problem.
The prescription is going to involve changing the diet or environment of the
pet.
3) Exotic
pets naturally hide signs of illness
This
one actually isn't limited to exotic pets, it also applies to cats and dogs to
some degree. The vast majority of exotic animals are what we refer to as
"prey species". This
means in nature they have predators that hunt to feed on them. If an animal in
the wild shows any sign of weakness they are the most likely to be killed by a
predator. As a result these animals will hide any sign of weakness. For this reason if your exotic pet is
showing you even the slightest sign of illness or odd behavior it is probably
very sick. Do NOT wait to see if
it gets better on its own. Time is
of the essence if you want to have a chance of treating your sick exotic pet.
It's difficult for the veterinary team to have to deliver the news that the pet
is too sick at this point to recover. If your exotic pet has been acting sick
for several days you should have realistic expectations about the chances for
recovery. The best thing you can do is bring your pet in at the very first sign
of illness.
4)
Please, please, please, get your exotic pet used to being handled
This is a
very big one for pet birds and small mammals (but does not apply to pet
reptiles). Budgies, cockatiels, parrots, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs
and even rabbits should be handled daily. Why? One reason is that if they are
not handled regularly it can be very difficult to do a full physical exam on
them. They may bite and become dangerous for the staff or they can become
extremely stressed from being handled during the exam if they are not
accustomed to handling. In some cases, especially with birds, the stress of the
exam combined with the underlying sickness is enough to kill the pet. Regular gentle handling will reduce the
overall stress of the veterinary visit.
The other
reason handling is very important is that if we send a medication home to give
the pet they will need to be held and handled in order to administer the
medication. It will be much easier on you and your pet if the pet is held and
handled frequently.
5)
Breeders and Pet stores may not be selling you a healthy animal
This is a
bit of common "buyer beware" wisdom. Especially with reptiles and the more exotic species the pet
store may not have provided proper care or diet. You might be purchasing an
animal that already has a nutritional deficiency or is carrying a high load of
parasites. We work with several
different local pet stores and though they certainly try to give the animals good care
they can run into the same problem many owners do: a lack of information on
proper diet and environment. They
also have to provide care for a large number of animals and many different
species with limited staff. Breeders or other suppliers may not be better
depending on the situation. Ask of a lot of questions from the person you are
considering buying from. What are they feeding, how many animals are housed
together, and have they been parasite checked are some good starting
questions. One final caution here
is: consider where the animal comes from. Is it captive bred? Some reptiles
such as some Chameleons and Mountain Horned Dragons are taken from the wild and
exported to pet stores throughout the world. These animals tend to do very
poorly in captivity and the ethics of having a wild-caught animal as a pet are
questionable.
6) Think
long and hard before getting an exotic pet
Please
do not get an exotic pet if any of the following applies to you:
-You don't want to or can't invest in the proper equipment
-You
don't have the means to pay for veterinary care
-You
don't want to do extensive research on the proper diet and housing and the social needs of the animal
-You
don't have the time or energy to provide socialization for you pet bird
-You want
an exotic pet because they are "cool", make good decoration, or are
entertaining
These
are living animals and I believe they have the capacity to suffer when ill. I
hope this article sheds some light on the challenges of owning an exotic pet.
If you have an exotic pet we, as a veterinary team, want to partner with you to
make sure your pet gets the best care possible.
