Exotic pets are popular, but there's a problem
By Leilani Gallardo, USA TODAY Mon Jul 25, 7:03 AM ET
Felicia Holden knew something was not right. Her pet lorikeet, abrightly colored parrot named Otto, used to call for her to come by hiscage for a kiss.
"He's funny," she says. "He would say things like, 'Come here, I'm a good bird.'"
But late last year, Otto stopped talking and began to fluff up hisfeathers more often, a sign that the bird was ill. For months, Holdene-mailed other lorikeet owners from as far away as Germany and spokewith other parrot owners in New York, but they were clueless on Otto'scondition. A local pet store referred her to the newly opened Centerfor Avian and Exotic Medicine near her Upper West Side neighborhood.
The center's veterinarian, Anthony Pilny, ran a battery of tests onOtto. The blood work revealed the culprit - the parrot's sugar levelwas way beyond normal. Otto was diagnosed a diabetic bird.
Who knew parrots could become diabetic?
But such is the work of the growing ranks of veterinarians whospecialize in so-called exotic pets (basically anything other than adog or cat) as more and more Americans welcome the creatures into theirhomes. There are no available data on the total number of clinics orhospitals specializing in exotic animals in the USA, but it is one ofthe fastest-growing branches in veterinary medicine, says Jrg Mayer ofthe Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in NorthGrafton, Mass.
"We see a lot of our students, about 80%, taking advantage of our courses on exotics," he says.
Need for care is rising
The increasing popularity of exotic animals as pets has boosted demandfor the best health care available, prompting a lot of veterinarians toexpand their practice from cats and dogs to birds, ferrets, rabbits andiguanas.
"The growth (in ownership of exotic pets) is likely because of thechange in lifestyle," says Mayer. He says that as more people live inbuildings that don't have enough room for traditional pets, smalleranimals and exotics have become an alternative.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) lists exotic animalsas fish, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, birds, gerbils, rodents, turtles,snakes, lizards, livestock, other reptiles and other animals.
According to a National Pet Owners Survey by the American Pet ProductsManufacturers Association, Americans own approximately 73 million dogsand 90 million cats, while ownership of exotic pets jumped to 18.2million in 2004 from 16.8 million in 2002. But despite the popularity,pet owners have a hard time locating proper care for their exoticfriends.
Before Holden took Otto, she had an iguana that she regularly took to avet in New York. But when she moved to Wilmington, Ind., her iguanasuddenly became weak and its skin turned to an odd color of pale brown.She took him to a vet who claimed to be an expert on reptiles.
"He said he knew how to fix her so I took her there, but when I pickedher up the following day, she was white and a couple of hours later shewas dead," she says. Holden later found out that the veterinarianforgot to turn on the heating pad to keep the iguana warm during thenight.
Skip Nelson, a veterinarian based in Kirkland, Wash., says he sees alot of "dabblers" among veterinarians who see exotic pets. "The concernis great since a lot have stepped out of line and have risked losingtheir license for stepping over something they don't know," saysNelson, who specializes in exotics. These veterinarians usually performprocedures on exotic animals without proper training and end up harmingthe animals, violating general veterinary rules.
Despite an estimated 1.5 million exotic pets in New York City, Pilny'sCenter for Avian and Exotic Medicine is one of the few animal clinicsin the city that specializes in exotics.
The clinic has equipment to perform ultrasound, remove tumors and dobiopsies. It has an isolation area to separate animals with contagiousdiseases. The clinic charges $350 to $400 for a routine physical examthat includes blood work and fecal analysis, almost double the $190 to$220 charged by other pet clinics in New York for a routine physicalexam on dogs and cats.
Across town in Manhattan's Upper East Side is the Animal MedicalCenter, with a unit specializing on exotics. Laurie Hess, the medicalcenter's board-certified avian specialist, says the hospital regularlytreats animal tumors with radiation and chemotherapy. But sheacknowledges there are few places in New York, and even in the USA,that have enough facilities to operate on exotic animals.
Although no state laws prevent non-specialists from treating exotics,Hess says, general veterinarians need intensive training to properlycare for the animals.
Before you buy ...
The Humane Society advises a prospective pet owner to find out ifproper veterinary care is available before buying an exotic animal.
The society's Richard Farinato says there are a lot of reports aboutexotic pets harming their owners because the animals were not placed ina proper environment or given the right kind of food.
After taking care of Otto and her pet iguana, Holden realizes having anexotic pet takes a lot more work than taking care of cats and dogs. "Ijust have a lot of respect for doctors who treat birds in particular,because so many times when a bird gets sick, you lose them," she says.
Before choosing a vet, know what to ask
By Leilani Gallardo, USA TODAY
So what does the owner of an exotic pet need to know when shopping for a veterinarian?
Michael Dutton of the Exotic and Bird Clinic of New Hampshire and amember of the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians says the ownerof an exotic pet has to do at least three things before choosing aveterinarian:
First, make a quick check with a professional organization to learn whether the veterinarian is a member or board-certified.
Professional organizations for exotic-pet doctors include theAssociation of Avian Veterinarians for birds, the Association ofExotic Mammal Veterinarians for ferrets and rabbits and theAssociation of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians for iguanas andlizards. For exotic-pet veterinarians, the American Board of VeterinaryPractitioners has specialist certifications for bird doctors and vetswho work in the zoo. A certification for vets specializing in exoticmammals is in the works.
Dutton says that after checking with professional organizations, a call to the doctor's office is a must.
A pet owner should ask the vet whether he regularly sees this type of exotic pet.
The owner also should ask the vet about treatment options availableas well as the vet's success rate in performing such procedures.
"A vet should be upfront telling the owner if he can treat the animal or not," he says.
In his case, he usually refers birds that need complicated procedures to another clinic that has the proper equipment.
By Leilani Gallardo, USA TODAY Mon Jul 25, 7:03 AM ET
Felicia Holden knew something was not right. Her pet lorikeet, abrightly colored parrot named Otto, used to call for her to come by hiscage for a kiss.
"He's funny," she says. "He would say things like, 'Come here, I'm a good bird.'"
But late last year, Otto stopped talking and began to fluff up hisfeathers more often, a sign that the bird was ill. For months, Holdene-mailed other lorikeet owners from as far away as Germany and spokewith other parrot owners in New York, but they were clueless on Otto'scondition. A local pet store referred her to the newly opened Centerfor Avian and Exotic Medicine near her Upper West Side neighborhood.
The center's veterinarian, Anthony Pilny, ran a battery of tests onOtto. The blood work revealed the culprit - the parrot's sugar levelwas way beyond normal. Otto was diagnosed a diabetic bird.
Who knew parrots could become diabetic?
But such is the work of the growing ranks of veterinarians whospecialize in so-called exotic pets (basically anything other than adog or cat) as more and more Americans welcome the creatures into theirhomes. There are no available data on the total number of clinics orhospitals specializing in exotic animals in the USA, but it is one ofthe fastest-growing branches in veterinary medicine, says Jrg Mayer ofthe Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in NorthGrafton, Mass.
"We see a lot of our students, about 80%, taking advantage of our courses on exotics," he says.
Need for care is rising
The increasing popularity of exotic animals as pets has boosted demandfor the best health care available, prompting a lot of veterinarians toexpand their practice from cats and dogs to birds, ferrets, rabbits andiguanas.
"The growth (in ownership of exotic pets) is likely because of thechange in lifestyle," says Mayer. He says that as more people live inbuildings that don't have enough room for traditional pets, smalleranimals and exotics have become an alternative.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) lists exotic animalsas fish, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, birds, gerbils, rodents, turtles,snakes, lizards, livestock, other reptiles and other animals.
According to a National Pet Owners Survey by the American Pet ProductsManufacturers Association, Americans own approximately 73 million dogsand 90 million cats, while ownership of exotic pets jumped to 18.2million in 2004 from 16.8 million in 2002. But despite the popularity,pet owners have a hard time locating proper care for their exoticfriends.
Before Holden took Otto, she had an iguana that she regularly took to avet in New York. But when she moved to Wilmington, Ind., her iguanasuddenly became weak and its skin turned to an odd color of pale brown.She took him to a vet who claimed to be an expert on reptiles.
"He said he knew how to fix her so I took her there, but when I pickedher up the following day, she was white and a couple of hours later shewas dead," she says. Holden later found out that the veterinarianforgot to turn on the heating pad to keep the iguana warm during thenight.
Skip Nelson, a veterinarian based in Kirkland, Wash., says he sees alot of "dabblers" among veterinarians who see exotic pets. "The concernis great since a lot have stepped out of line and have risked losingtheir license for stepping over something they don't know," saysNelson, who specializes in exotics. These veterinarians usually performprocedures on exotic animals without proper training and end up harmingthe animals, violating general veterinary rules.
Despite an estimated 1.5 million exotic pets in New York City, Pilny'sCenter for Avian and Exotic Medicine is one of the few animal clinicsin the city that specializes in exotics.
The clinic has equipment to perform ultrasound, remove tumors and dobiopsies. It has an isolation area to separate animals with contagiousdiseases. The clinic charges $350 to $400 for a routine physical examthat includes blood work and fecal analysis, almost double the $190 to$220 charged by other pet clinics in New York for a routine physicalexam on dogs and cats.
Across town in Manhattan's Upper East Side is the Animal MedicalCenter, with a unit specializing on exotics. Laurie Hess, the medicalcenter's board-certified avian specialist, says the hospital regularlytreats animal tumors with radiation and chemotherapy. But sheacknowledges there are few places in New York, and even in the USA,that have enough facilities to operate on exotic animals.
Although no state laws prevent non-specialists from treating exotics,Hess says, general veterinarians need intensive training to properlycare for the animals.
Before you buy ...
The Humane Society advises a prospective pet owner to find out ifproper veterinary care is available before buying an exotic animal.
The society's Richard Farinato says there are a lot of reports aboutexotic pets harming their owners because the animals were not placed ina proper environment or given the right kind of food.
After taking care of Otto and her pet iguana, Holden realizes having anexotic pet takes a lot more work than taking care of cats and dogs. "Ijust have a lot of respect for doctors who treat birds in particular,because so many times when a bird gets sick, you lose them," she says.
Before choosing a vet, know what to ask
By Leilani Gallardo, USA TODAY
So what does the owner of an exotic pet need to know when shopping for a veterinarian?
Michael Dutton of the Exotic and Bird Clinic of New Hampshire and amember of the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians says the ownerof an exotic pet has to do at least three things before choosing aveterinarian:
First, make a quick check with a professional organization to learn whether the veterinarian is a member or board-certified.
Professional organizations for exotic-pet doctors include theAssociation of Avian Veterinarians for birds, the Association ofExotic Mammal Veterinarians for ferrets and rabbits and theAssociation of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians for iguanas andlizards. For exotic-pet veterinarians, the American Board of VeterinaryPractitioners has specialist certifications for bird doctors and vetswho work in the zoo. A certification for vets specializing in exoticmammals is in the works.
Dutton says that after checking with professional organizations, a call to the doctor's office is a must.
A pet owner should ask the vet whether he regularly sees this type of exotic pet.
The owner also should ask the vet about treatment options availableas well as the vet's success rate in performing such procedures.
"A vet should be upfront telling the owner if he can treat the animal or not," he says.
In his case, he usually refers birds that need complicated procedures to another clinic that has the proper equipment.
