Nutrition

There are many things that are special about keeping unusual pets, and while it is interesting and exciting, it can also be difficult to know whether your pet is healthy and being properly looked after.

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Nail Clipping

Nail and Beak

Are your pet’s nails getting a little sharp? Many pet’s, particularly those kept indoors, often don’t wear down their nails as they naturally would if they were out in the wild. Over time this leads to them becoming sharp and overgrown. Some nails will even curl back on themselves and start to dig into your pets foot which can be very painful.

We recommend regular nail clipping for rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, many birds, some reptiles as well as some rats.

Beak Trimming

Beak Corrections (Beak Trims)

Normal birds generally wear down their beak naturally and do not generally require regular beak trimming. Unfortunately some birds develop abnormal beaks, this can be as a result of a developmental problem, nutritional deficiency, illness or can also be due to an injury.

In these cases the two different parts of the beak (the upper and lower) may start to miss each other, which becomes a problem in some cases as the area that is not connecting with the opposite beak then continues to grow. If this occurs then beak correction is generally recommended

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Sexing

It is often necessary for people with multiple animals to know the sex of their animals, either to avoid breeding or to allow breeding to occur. We recommend the use of DNA sexing for avian species as it is a safe method that provides accurate results.

For reptilian species there is a range of different techniques that can be used to sex your animals. These include probing, ‘popping’, sexual dimorphism, endoscopy, radiography and ultrasonography.

We offer all of these services and the type of sexing method used depends entirely on the age and species. For further information on which method would be most appropriate for your pet, contact us.

Disease Screening

There are many infectious diseases that our unusual and exotic pets can carry, some of these are zoonotic which means they may be transferable to humans. We offer a range of disease screening testing options for your new pet. For specific details and to discuss the testing that would be recommended for the species you are keeping please get in touch with us.

Vaccinations

Ensuring your pet is up to date with their vaccinations is very important to prevent against deadly diseases. Vaccinations involve your pet having a small injection under their skin that then allows their body to become familiar with the inactivated disease particles so that if they are ever exposed to the real disease they are ready to fight it.

Sterilizations (Desexing Or Neutering)

Sterilization (otherwise known as desexing or neutering) is recommended for many exotic pets and it is important in preventing many problems that can occur later in your pet’s life. We recommend that rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, rats and mice should all be routinely desexed to prevent a range of issues.

In some cases sterilizing your reptile or bird is also indicated for some diseases. For further information or to book in your pet please contact us today.