---start anman 2.24.97---

 dr liza clark - exotics

quakertown vet clinic 215 536 6245

feel free to call and set up a visit some time. there will be externships 
available for 3 and 4th yr students. externs can do barn cat spays and 
stuff. they have a 24 hr emergency service too. also, anytime you'd like 
to go work w/dr clark, she does the exotics there. you could go spend a 
day or so with her, following her around and stuff.

slide: cute multicolored psittacine.

parrots are exotics, are getting more popular. birds are third after dogs 
and cats. this slide is of a quaker or monk parakeet and this bird is 
illegal in PA but legal in DE.

eclectus parrots: female = red, male = green. female will beat up male. 
he's a big wuss, she has permanent pms. he's a better pet.

rose breasted cockatoo.

scarlet macaw: big bird; has attitude, hard to handle as pet. beautiful 
bird.

amazons: very popular bird. green, with or without yellow.

bands: important to know and recognize. know import bands - should know 
what it means. they tell you a lot about the bird. if you have an 
imported parrot who has never been to a vet, you worry about psittacosis 
and parasites, herpesviruses, etc. (not zoonotic herpesviruses) or 
dietary problems. import stopped a few years ago, most birds w/import 
bands are 10 yrs or older.

umbrella cockatoo: crest == alarm.

when looking at birds, should note smooth feathers, shouldn't see edges 
of feathers, down showing, disruption of feathers. bird should sit tall 
with wings folded. it's important to look at this in a bird. if feathers 
aren't normal, there's a problem.

hyacinth macaws - biggest macaw. more common now. very pretty blue. very 
gentle birds. formidable looking, but gentle giants. 

senegal: ruffled feathercoat, broken feathers. this bird was missing many 
feathers when owner got him. 25 yrs old imported bird. is a 
featherplucker. is on good diet - fresh foods high in vit a and Ca==. 
probably has a testosterone surge in winter and that's why he's a 
seasonal plucker. he acts like he wants a mate. but these birds it can be 
hard to find a mate for. 

also people don't think when they are 50 and they get a macaw that is 
going to live 70 yrs...who will take care of it later?

slide: osprey that was shot and brought in by good samaritan. Fish and 
Game showed up within an hour. Dr. Clark stabilized it and sent it to 
rehab. it did die though.

falconers come in w/their falcons. let THEM handle the animal and explain 
what's going on.

white doves: common pets...get egg binding or splay leg. 
also...poultry medicine is a good foundation for dealing with Merrick's 
dz in your average background pet chicken.

chickens also get eggbound and stuff.
finches and canaries are common, but often come in very late, owners tend 
to try treating them themselves first,and often they've been on abx 
already so you can't get a good culture.

furry exotics:

rabbits. very popular. own needs, own biology, own problems. many breeds. 
it's important to know --molar problems more common in dwarfs, hairballs 
more problems in longhairs.

wild canids - people try to keep foxes as pets, they're supplied by 
licensed suppliers and through catalogs. PA requires owner to have 
certificate of sale; it's not legal to trap and keep wild fox.

ferrets :) :) :)
get a lot of bad pr, but ...cute and fuzzy. usually come already spayed 
and neutered. but some people breed ferrets and those babies need to be 
neutered. very popular pet. 

rodents: gpigs, hamsters, chinchillas

hedgehogs - popular now. problems with diarrhea from bacteria and dietary 
problems, tooth abcesses, and cancer.

reptiles: also popular. all kinds of reptiles are seen. most are tropical 
species; sometimes indigenous from temperate zone. - turtles, etc. 
sliders, box turtles. turtles illegal in NJ to be sold, but in PA, you 
can buy them as long as they're over four inches. some guy in bucks 
county is selling smaller sliders at rice's flea market but he hasn't 
been caught yet.

commonest reptile: green iguana. very popular. usually you see them 
little, but they can get very very large. there are common reasons why 
pet iguanas dont grow well....tend to get metabolic bone dz - 95% of 
iguanas coming in have metabolic bone dz which is really relatively easy 
to prevent.

when you have an exotic pet walk into the room, and you are the vet who 
has to figure out the problem, ask the owner why animal is there! most 
exotics don't come in for routine checks, but they show up with a 
problem. approach the animal properly. these animals are not dogs and 
cats; don't have the same problems. there is SOME overlap but not all.  
but exotics have new, other problems. you have to learn about these. you 
need to know the normals for these species, and most ofwhat you see is 
going to be abnormal, so it's hard to learn what normal is.

example: one vet called up and put an african grey on the phone thinking 
it had respiratory failure - but the bird was just growling, trying to 
get people to leave it alone.

an orange wing amazon - med sized tropical bird - 

a piones - related to amazon - will "puff" when stressed, sounds like 
it's in respiratory distress - but it IS NOT. it's just scared.

important to know what normal incisors in gpig, gerbil, hamster look 
like. if gpig stops eating, vets often tend to clip the incisors. gpig 
jaw has fixed angle of closure. if you clip the incisors on a rodent, you 
are not helping - UNLESS teeth are overgrown and curving. if you overtrim 
teeth, can take months to grow back. anorexia in gpig usually caused by 
liver dz, infxn, trichobezoars, cancer.

2 yr old iguana shoudl weigh 2 lbs, not under one lb. owners don't know 
what to feed the reptiles, in general. they aren't aware of how fast they 
should grow. they need to know that 2-3 mos iguana should double in size. 
females don't grow quite as big as a male. rapid growth is important...if 
you are green, small, and succulent, you don't last long in the rain 
forest - you have to get BIGGER.

also need to know normal skin color of animals.
normal belly color of ball python - should be creamy, not pink. pink --> 
septicemia or something.

large male iquana can be green, brown/orange, blue/grey - depends on 
subspecies. most are not bright green anymore. baby iguana SHOULD be 
bright grass green, to blend in with leaves of forest canopy.

so always ask owner why they came in. often their concerns are not the 
real problem, but may give clue. eg owner says lizard hasn't eaten for 
three weeks. WHY NOT? who knows. get a history. what do you usually feed 
the animal? Often it is the wrong thing. esp with tortoises, lizards, 
(not so much your carnivoreds, which eat mice, chicks, insects, or 
dog/cat food + supplements), but with herbivores, omnivores - often 
getting iceberg lettuce and zucchini, maybe some crickets - no calcium, 
no vitamin a.

if owner says they feed "lettuce" find out what they mean. "leafy greens" 
can be anything from iceberg to spinach and variety of lettuces. need a 
variety of leafy greens. iguanas are primarily herbivores. rabbits get 
hairballs/hairblock - theory is that animals getting this dz have problem 
with gastric motility due to low fiber diet. rabbits should not get all 
pellets. rabbits should get free choice hay. these rabbits tend to be 
obese. should get good quality timothy hay with supplements of leafy 
greens - dandelion greens, grasses, carrot, etc. greens also important 
for Gpigs - cabbage, high in vit c, broccoli and brocolli rabe also high 
in vit c.

gpigs should also have citrus. birds need good vit a source, so do igs 
and turtles. turtles get vit a deficiency, swollen pussy eyes, bacterial 
pneumonia. fruits and vegetables are important. vegetables more so.

pelleted feed for birds and reptiles are now available. reptile pellets 
not as well researched, but seem like ok in addition to fresh fird. bird 
food well researched. don't feed parrots seeds. seed eaters - canaries, 
soft bills. but they need other feed as well. also, dried fruit/nut mixes 
suck.  a number of pellets are on the market. dr clark has no preference 
between them. some birds do though! try different ones til you find one 
the bird will like. there are different types of pellets with different 
tastes, smells, visual appearances, etc. 

pasta - cooked or uncooked - birds will like that :) esp with sauce. some 
big birds need nuts, too.

---break---

exam - lec 1.27 on. will be a few "general" questions from the whole 
course, and a few "practical" questions. Is all multiple choice, is 55% 
of grade.

about psittacosis: parrot fever. one of most commonly underdiagnosed dzs 
in pet parrot trade. caused by chlamydia psittaci; is zoonotic; can kill 
infants and old people, can kill birds. is treatable. for many years 
there wasn't an adequate test, but now can diagnose well. 

most people now test the Ag level and serum electrophoresis, testsdone at 
U of Miami. other dx methods: if someone has 50 birds, and wants to 
screen them, it's possible to take a culturette swab and put it into 
fresh droppings at bottom of cage every day for seven days. ultimately 
that culturette is sent off for Ag/elisa test. relatively accurate. 
problem is that chlamydia isn't shed constantly. blood test probably more 
accurate, but also more expensive.

ok, you know why animal is in the cilnic, you're getting history etc from 
owner...now what? find out what kind of cage bird has, what perches, how  
many cagemates, foodbowls, waterbowls....multiple bowls and perches are 
important. alternate substrates to sit on also important. use perches 
that are all different substrate and diameter. make sure owners know 
that.
with reptiles, cage is very important...many of these animals are in 
cages that are too small, especially snakes. people think that if you put 
it in small cage it won't grow that big. that's not true. animal needs to 
be caged appropriately. 100lb snake shouldn't be in 20 gallon tank. go 
over cage size and substrate. bedding material for snakes, lizards, and 
turtles are BAD. they lodge in gumline, cause abcesses, cause GI 
obstructions, get under belly scales of snakes, and leach out humitdity 
from ambient tank area. so use paper or reptile carpet. not 
indoor/outdoor stuff - cuts their toes (iguanas). need to talk about heat 
source. hot rocks are dangerous, cause burns. snakes, lizards get bad 
burns. turtles can burn their shells. you do need a radiant source of 
heat for animal to sit on. need a heat element above the cage to radiate 
into the cage and heat the bottom. dr clark likes ceramic heaters placed 
above the cage, like a china light bulb that doesn't give off light. 
LIGHT bulbs aren't good. they give off light. constant light is a major 
stress. you need to give heat all the time, but light only during the 
day. commonest problem with reptiles are light, heat, humidity, then 
diet. you can't let them getcold at night! need 85-90 degree at one end 
and sl cooler at other end. can't take warmth away at night. also, some 
species eg chameleons need to be at about 75 or 72 degrees. you don't 
have to memorize all this stuff, just find out WHO knows this stuff. eg, 
call the zoo, or another colleague, or something.

rabbits often get housedon cedar chips. that stuffSUCKS. cedar is bad on 
lungs, causes allergic pneumonias and death. hardwood bedding is best, 
pine is ok, cedar is a no-no.  also, hopefully you can usually get a 
stool sample from birds or ferrets or rabbits. hard to get from a reptile 
sometimes. but it's important to check. also birds are hard to evealuate, 
and you should educate the owner about the droppings. birds will make 
droppings every 10-15 min so it's easy to get them,a nd you should ask 
owner if appearance is same at home as it is in office. explain about 
light and dark part of dropping.,
 popcorn droppings: pale, indicate possible pancreatic problem, 
psittacosis. budgie droppings...very dry.
psittacine w/bloody dropping - probably lead poisoning. bloody droppings 
very rare in psittacines. wet dropping that is very yellow - ask if owner 
is giving vitamins - that's why it might be yellow. other things to 
consider: when looking at birds, doing history and PE, look at feathers. 
if you see feather dystrophy, think disease. one big cause of baldness in 
birds- beak and feather disease. parrots;esp african greys, are commonly 
affected. slide: african grey with beak and feather disease. baldness on 
top of head CAN NOT be feather picking...

sun conure baby who didn't have beak and feather - had poor diet - was 
being starved by owner. did fine when they started feeding him. when his 
feathers grew in, though, they were yucky, due to his prior malnutrition.


hotrock burns. people bring  in animal because it stopped eating. when 
you look at the animal (THE WHOLE ANIMAL including the BELLY!) you see 
the beginning of thermal burns on the ventral pelvic region - a 
discoloration brown, blue, or grey.

metabolic bone dz. stunts growth, shortens jaw, widens bottom 
jaw....produces lack of calcium in bone due to lack of proper lighting. 
lighting is important. not a plant grow light. need light with hgh amt of 
UVB rays which turn on production of vit d. most pet stores don't provide 
the right lights. vita-lights are not adequate. incandescents really bad. 
must be fluorescent and must be unfiltered. must be replaced every few 
months.

turtles...look at the shell. that can tell you a lot. slide: pocking and 
scarring on side of shell. probably bacterial or fungal from dirty 
environment. this aniaml also had cellulitis near head. water turtles are 
hard to clean, so people let them get all yucky.

when you do PE - put hands on animal. use all your skills as a vet.

dr clark saw a very sick bird that had been treated by other vets...she 
found an egg that was compressing the kidneys. owner had explained to 
ther vet that bird was straining to defecate, but that vet never palpated 
the bird so never found the problem, and bird died. so look and feel all 
parts of the patient. you can palpate the absdomen on the lizards, 
snakes, birds, etc. feel them, learn about normals, and know abnormals.. 
missing an egg, that's really bad. anyone can feel an egg.

always weigh your patient. should get a baseline, and then you have 
something to refer to. animals like this will hide wt loss really well. a 
few grams difference can be a big deal for these animals. use a gram 
scale, not a lb scale. a baby scale weighing in oz isn't good enough. 
these animals may weigh only grams, below an oz. need good wt for dosing, 
etc.

clients will be happier if you use gram scale and act like you know what 
you are doing. exotic owners tend to think that vets don't know anything 
about their pets. take the time to have ocrrect equipment and show that 
you have knowledge and that you care about the animal.

[this sucks. my batteries are dying any minute, my screen is turned off, 
i can't see what i am typing, arg argh argh argh ]

restraint is also very important. it's very important to gain client's 
confidence, and show them how to properly restrain the pet. some birds 
and lizards really don't like being restrained.


towels are very useful for restraint with birds, not for protection from 
the bird, but protecting the bird from fear of hands.  
rabbit restraint is key to avoid broken backs...it does happen, it will 
happen, you need to try to avoid it. put the buny in a towel and fold the 
towel over the top of the rabbit, so he can't back up. make sure to check 
incisors and molars. rabbits often need to have their teeth floated. if 
you restrain rabbit well, no one gets hurt. you can use the bunny burrito 
technique to give meds, etc. if you don't use proper restraint, someone 
will get hurt.

equipment:  incubators, speculums to look in mouths, toenail clippers, 
feeding tubes (metal gavage tubes), plieers to remove import bands, 
dremel tool for floating rabbit teeth. also can clip back teeth with a 
rongeur, then dremel down the sharp edge. big debate about clipping 
incisors. malocclusion is a big problem in bunnies. more so than rodents. 
but clipping teeth stresses the root; ultimately causes root abcesses. it 
is suggested to remove the incisors, but owners don't like it. bunnies 
can prehend food with lips, use the molars to grind. do not need incisors 
to live. maloccluded incisors are useless anyway so better to remove.

large otoscope cones - rabbit oral speculum.

when a new pt comes in, ...
oh, this is lame i cna't do this anymore. my ab

argh
my battery is going to die any sec. gota do a graceful shutdown now.
.




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