Common “exotic” pets GP vets should be able to attend to
Working in UK and in Portugal allowed me to see a big difference between how “exotic” species are seen.
People in the UK love animals. They are members of their family, even those you would not necessarily expect. And they don’t consider that only dogs and cats are part of the family.
Interestingly, I also found that clients in Portugal tend to have a strong attachment to their pets, even exotic species. What shocked me more was how little veterinary support they could get in most practices from their vet, and I believe that as general practitioners, we should be able to provide immediate care and relief even to species we are less familiar with.
One of the saddest cases that happened to me recently in my own practice was being approached by a couple at the end of the afternoon to ask if I could see their rabbit. They had been going from vet to vet for the last couple hours and no one would see them because they had no one that could do exotics, or the vet that did was off. It was so sad, because this rabbit was in a lot of suffering and literally died on my arms. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must have been for these owners, who were trying so hard and attempting to find a solution for their pet rabbit and they were having the door shut in front of them.
I would like to change this! So here’s two things to do!
The first one is to go over the most commonly seen “exotic” species.
Rabbits
Pet rabbits are so common that some vets don’t even consider them as “exotic” pets anymore, but as you’ve seen from my story, this is not the case everywhere. Vaccinating and neutering rabbits in countries like the UK is common practice, particularly in some small animal practices. That means you also have to deal with sick rabbits once in a while.
The majority of times, pet rabbits suffer from problems such as gut stasis, dental disease, respiratory infections and uterine tumors. Other infectious diseases may also be common in some areas of the country or outdoor rabbits. There is pet insurance for rabbits in some countries, meaning some of these may well have owners willing to spend a good bit of money on them – I knew a case of a 9-year old rabbit receiving chemotherapy for a thymoma!
Ferrets
Some clients will own ferrets and they are probably the second most common larger mammal after rabbits. Although they are slightly more "exotic" pets, they are still quite frequent and even surgical procedures are not uncommon in UK practice. Ferrets may be quite dangerous when they bite (they have a VERY strong bite!), so you need to be careful handling them, but most ferrets I’ve met are quite friendly.
Ferrets are not like small dogs or small cats, although neutering is similar to cats. They are prone to endocrine diseases like insulinoma and adrenal disease, as well as lymphoma. They can also get canine distemper, to which they are extremely sensitive to!
Llamas and alpacas
Ah you didn’t see that coming! Ok, so this is not common in small animal practice, but in mixed and farm practice in specific countries. Some clients may own and keep llamas and alpacas, and these are probably the most "exotic" pets in this list.
They are both camelids and have only three stomach compartments, and remember, their red blood cells are elliptical! They may have respiratory and gastro-intestinal disease, but to leave you with a different overview, here’s a chapter about diseases of llamas and alpacas.
Hamsters and guinea pigs
Hamsters and guinea pigs are taught to us at vet school as "exotic" pets, but they are very common for you to see when working in the UK and many other countries. These two are often called “small furries” and they are very different from one another. Hamsters are often smaller and Syrian hamsters are solitary animals and do NOT cope easily with other hamsters!
Put two together in a cage = bad idea!!! Dwarf hamsters, on the other hand, may be kept in pairs (females get along much better than males, though they can still fall out).
Guinea pigs are the opposite – they are social animals and thrive when kept together. Agata, who teaches our exotics online course, affectionately calls them "potatoes with legs" and they are more like rabbits and mini-round horses than hamsters.
Both can have teeth problems regularly, often because of an inappropriate diet, and guinea pigs are prone to foot problems (“bumblefoot”) and obesity (potatoes with legs!!!).
Chickens
Now, chickens are not “exotic” pets, but it’s common in some areas and rural countries to find pet “backyard” chickens, and they are more like pets or animals that the clients want to keep healthy. In these cases, you are treating the chicken as an individual and not as part of the flock.
Many of these will be rescue chickens or previous egg-laying chickens (also called “hens”). They may have problems with egg binding, parasites, infectious diseases (coccidiosis,salmonellosis) and many others. In Portugal, they are more commonly found in small farms or rural areas, where one of the chickens may be a pet for the child, for instance.
As I mentioned, I believe that as general practitioners (GP), it is our duty to be able to provide these pets with immediate care and attention, even if we can’t diagnose them and treat them. This is why I recommend that you look into our Foundation of Exotics Practice course, which was put together by Dr. Agata Witkowska, where you can learn the basics of husbandry, clinical assessment, common differentials and diagnostic and treatment options for the most common “exotics” you may need to attend to.
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