Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Thankfully we are through the polar vortex and heavy snow of last week! Unfortunately, it looks like temperatures will soon be dropping again, though. If you don't have one in place, now is the time to be sure your bad weather/power outage plan is ready! Many exotics pets do not tolerate temperature decreases well, especially tropical reptiles and small birds such as finches (especially the Gouldian finch). So, before the next cold snap, be sure you have the following:

• A backup source of heat, such as a generator or wood-burning heat source, with proper ventilation to protect pets from fumes
• An alternative backup location (boarding facility/hotel/friends' homes) that will temporarily house your pets if you have to leave the house
• A labeled, safe and secure carrier for each and every pet for transport
• A travel container with pet foods, bowls and medications
• Portable chemical heaters (for camping, hunting or cold weather sporting events) that can be placed close enough to provide warmth, but protected from chewing and puncturing.

Call us for advice and emergencies, should the need arise.

We wish you a safe and warm winter season!  We will update you with what to do when the weather is too HOT in about 6 months!

Teaching in Asia: Part 2

The conference in Japan was hosted by the Japanese Society of Exotic Pet Medicine (JSEPM) http://www.jsepm.com/ and the Japanese Association of Avian Medicine

The first two days were all mammal topics, and the third day all avian topics.  In between we feasted on authentic Japanese cuisine and explored Japanese culture. Our hosts were very kind, enthusiastic, and best of all, had a great sense of humor.

In order to lecture in Japan, my lectures were translated by the very talented veterinarian Dr. Masayuki Naoi.  It was interesting to hear what I said in repeated in Japanese. Here is Dr. Naoi on the left, and conference organizer Yasutsugu Miwa on the right.

The day in between the mammal and avian lectures, I bought a cute little budgie to bring back with me to the states.  I even brought him to the avian lectures the next day to show everyone. After the break I returned to find my hosts had given the bird permission to take over for me.

Teaching in Asia: Part 1

Hong Kong Our one day conference was well attended, and was scheduled from 3-10 PM, which makes for a late night.

The next day was a free day.  We started with breakfast: some chick pea curry with rice and bacon. But no worry, I was able to find a container of good old oatmeal and some gluten free toast. We met a group of veterinarians at the conference who practice 70% exotics at the Tai Wai Small Animal and Exotic Hospital Hong Kong, and we were invited to come see their clinic and  the Kaddorie Farm and Botanic Gardens, where some of the staff volunteer from time to time.

This wildlife facility at Kadoorie Farm sees all the kinds of wildlife you might expect, like hawk and owls, with some other, more unique critters like macaques, barking deer, small wildcats and probably the most DARLING animal in the world: pangolins. They also see reptiles, and lots and lots of .....snakes. Apparently Hong Kong is crawling with Burmese pythons, which is a pet species we see a lot in our practice, but they are native wildlife here.  And they have a dozen or more venomous snakes including cobras.  Every day, the police get calls about snakes that are found in places like people's porches, yards, the street, or even in the houses.  The police call a group of snake catchers who, years ago would catch the snakes and take them to restaurants for people to eat.  Fortunately, that is not the case now- the police pay these professionals to catch them, put them in special bags that go inside special boxes. The police then transport the box to this wildlife facility along with a description of what they think the snake may be, and how big it is. The staff carefully opens the box, gets the bag, opens it and peeks in.  Then they catch the snake with snake tongs and gloves and check it for injuries. If it's in good shape, the snake is put back in the bag and into a large box either marked "venomous" or "non-venomous".  I looked in the boxes and there were about 7 bags in the "venomous" box and 4 in the "non-venomous" box.  Then they are released eventually to safer places. The largest snake brought in this day was identified by the police as a "Burmese Cobra". The staff at the wildlife center asked us to leave the room for that bag, just in case it was a cobra!  Thankfully it was actually......a Burmese python!  We see these guys frequently in our exam room.  I took a good look at what a nice healthy wild caught python is supposed to look like. We also saw a lot of turtles, including some unusual species the wildlife center is trying to replenish in the wild.

Next stop: Tokyo!

An Unexpected Visitor

This beautiful bird visited us after getting into some trouble.  This is a common loon. His only injuries were multiple damaged and bleeding toes.  The loon is an amazing water bird, but can't actually take off from land, so if they accidentally mistake a shiny water covered road or parking lot for water, they can injure themselves during landing, and then not be able to take off again. This is what we think happened to this bird. Our visiting vet student Jennifer cared for his wounds, and he's off to heal and eventually be released again-onto a nice, full body of water this time.

Why it's Way Important to Find An Easy Way to Weigh

Coming to Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic in October!

Did you know that a digital scale is one of the most important preventative medical devices you can buy for your exotic pets?  Most exotic pets are expert at hiding signs of illness, and fur and feathers can hide weight loss, even from experienced owners.  (This is especially true for pet birds!) That's why an inexpensive gram scale can be one of your best tools to help note early weight loss, which often accompanies illness in any pet. Pets can be trained to sit on the scale in a box or on a perch in exchange for a treat. This is why all pets boarded at the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic are weighed on a gram scale multiple times during their stays.

Recently we learned of the sad experience of an owner whose pet stayed at a friend's house for babysitting.  Within two days of coming back home, the pet was in our hospital, completely emaciated, and did not survive. Both the experienced babysitter and the owner were completely unaware of the severe weight loss. This is why the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic is declaring October Way to Weigh month-we're featuring a good quality inexpensive gram scale for smaller exotic pets who weigh less than 11 pounds (that's most of them).  Come by to say hi and pick up your scale today!

ExoticsCon 2015 Report

Hello from  (clap clap clap clap) Deep in the Heart of Texas! In 24 hours I'll be attending the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians' board meeting, then instructing a lab on rabbit facial surgeries at 8 AM the next day.  This conference is the highlight of our year, and is a gathering of the best and brightest in exotic pet medicine.  It's also Dr. Swisher's debut as she presents a terrific case report on sepsis in a rabbit: this rabbit was one of our own patients with a severe bacterial disease that Dr. Swisher managed for over a week before he was able to go home with his owner. Now she will present that case in the hopes of sharing what we leaned with our colleagues.  More reports as they come in!

Big Changes for Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic

We say a fond goodbye to two members of staff. Dr. Amber Lee, who successfully completed her two year Avian residency, and is on the way to sitting for her final examination in the fall.  Once that is completed, she will be a board-certified Avian specialist, through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (www. abvp.com).  Dr. Lee goes on to head the exotics department at a VCA specialty hospital in Massachusetts.  Check out Dr. Lee’s new practice here: http://www.vcaspecialtyvets.com/south-shore-weymouth We also say goodbye to Phil, our clinic degu, who after a series of health problems will retire from his enormous clinic condo in the examination room for a more manageable retirement home with one of our staff members. Peaceful, quiet surroundings should really help! Caring for older pets can be a challenge.  If you have concerns for your aging pet, let us know and we will share our experiences to help your elder pet age gracefully and comfortably.

The clinic welcomes Dr. Elizabeth Shaw as our newest resident, who like Dr. Samantha Swisher is working towards a specialty in Exotic Companion Mammals.  Dr. Shaw graduated from the veterinary school in Dublin, Ireland, and has a special interest in veterinary acupuncture. Look for more details on our “staff” page.

Holy Wind Tunnel, Batman!

People aren't the only ones having trouble with the recent storms. This morning the clinic was inundated with soaked and freezing wildlife, mostly baby birds blown from their nests.  We heard reports that some of birds that didn't make it, but the survivors have been showing up since we opened at 8 AM.

But it's not just the birds-this morning we had a visit from a very water logged and grumpy wood chuck who apparently couldn't find high ground, along with a young raccoon.

Remember to never try to care for injured or orphaned wildlife yourself-we have an army of experienced and licensed wildlife rehabilitators who do a wonderful job providing care for immediate needs, and for the ultimate goal of successfully releasing animals back into the wild.

See our Wildlife page for more details, and how to reach rehabilitators.

A Case of Not-So-Yummy Beads

Exotic pets occasionally eat things that aren't actually food. The most common culprits are young ferrets, who are known for eating rubber, cloth and other unusual objects (we removed some red cloth from the intestines of a young ferret on April Fool's Day, which was not a good trick for her to play. Birds do this occasionally, too.

This is the story of Boom Boom, the 9 year old African Grey parrot who after all of this time should have known what was good to eat and what was not.

Boom Boom came in weak and not eating.  Luckily, his owner agreed to let us run some blood tests and get some radiographs. A careful look showed bright objects in the ventriculus (part of the stomach of the bird). They appear uniform in appearance, which suggests they aren't small rocks or grit, but something man-made.

Since some innocent-appearing objects like beads or plastic can contain heavy metals or chemicals, some are actually very toxic.  For this reason, we recommended that Boom Boom needed to part with his tiny objects.

A few years ago Dr. Larry Nemetz introduced a great technique for flushing material out of the stomachs of birds without the need for opening the body and then the stomach.  This is exactly what we did with Boom Boom. The technique doesn't have an official name, but we like the term "Suck n' Flush". A small incision is made in the crop, and a tube gently introduced into the proventriculus (first part of the stomach). It's then gently flushed and aspirated until all of the stuff is gone, which is confirmed with another set of x-rays. This x-ray shows that a few of the beads are still remaining after the first attempt to flush them out (red arrow).  The second attempt got the rest of them out. The bottom red arrow is pointing to the intraosseous catheter used to give Boom Boom fluids during surgery. 

Here are Boom Boom's particles:

Boom Boom was so sick he stayed in the hospital for a week, and even required a blood transfusion. Luckily for Boom Boom, we had "Gandalf" a lovely African grey parrot in rescue who happened to be available for donation that day.  After a week, Boom Boom was much better and went home.  On the day Boom Boom went home, Gandalf  happened to be in the reception room and they got to say "hi" from across the room!

Here he is at recheck! You can see the bare spot where we made the incision to insert the tube for flushing. Even to this day his owner cannot find the source of the beads and Boom Boom is not telling! Mom is determined to keep a closer eye on that bird.

Dr. Lennox is back from iCare!

Dr. Lennox just returned from the iCare conference in Paris. iCare stands for:  International Conference on Avian heRpetologica and Exotic mammal medicine.  See more here! The conference was 6 days of exciting wet labs, masterclasses and lectures on birds, exotic mammals, reptiles and even zoo animals. Dr. Lennox taught a wet lab on exotic mammal intubation with colleagues Dr. Dan Johnson and JF Quinton, and assisted by hard-working resident Angel Curros and our old friend Dr. Rita Sousa.

There was plenty of new information to learn and teach, including new techniques on dealing with prolapse in tortoises, newer research on evaluating blood work in reptiles, information on the results of different types of ear surgeries in rabbits, and updates on strategies for avian behavioral problems.

We took turns at the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians  (AEMV) booth as well.  AEMV is a professional organization dedicated to improving medicine and surgery of exotic companion mammals.

The best part is sharing our enthusiasm for exotic animal medicine with colleagues from so many parts of the world.  It's absolutely true across the globe-the desire to offer the very best in exotic animal medicine and surgery is universal!

Calling All Rabbit Lovers!

Come to our first annual Rabbit Health Day!  Join us on Saturday, June 6^th, 2015 for an afternoon of education, fun, and free prizes courtesy of Oxbow Animal Health.  Come meet some adoptable bunnies from the Indiana House Rabbit Society and EARPS. Participants of Rabbit Health Day will qualify for a reduced cost annual exam for their rabbit the following Saturday! Even if you can't make it, help us spread the word to your rabbit-owning friends, and especially those who are thinking about adding a rabbit to the family.  RSVP to exoticvetclinic@gmail.com. See you then!

The Joys of Foraging

At staff meeting this week we spend some time making Abba's next batch of foraging toys. Abba the Caique doesn't get food from a food dish....her food is hidden in paper cups and other destructible items to promote physical activity and mental stimulation.  Foraging has been shown to reduce feather destructive behavior in some birds as well. All birds can learn to forage. Here is a simple cardboard box taped up with newspaper. Inside are her regular bird pellets and a small treat (we recommend Lafeber's Nutriberries as healthy treats). There is a small hole cut in the top. Within minutes she was investigating.

Here Abba is surveying an amazing creation of paper cups taped together to resemble a weird paper plant!  Each cup contains pellets, but one contains a small treat as well.  It's up to her to find it.

Use your imagination to design foraging toys.  Paper, masking tape, newspaper, paper cups and cardboard are all good choices.  The staff came up with some creative toys for Abba for the coming week. Remember birds need to be taught to forage, if they've never tried it before.

For more on how to teach a bird to forage, go to "Jimmy's Page" for a complete tutorial featuring another cute bird.

Happy Easter

April 1st, 2015 This is the time of year when we see "Easter Bunnies", not just hiding eggs for us on Easter morning, but purchased for children as pets. While we LOVE rabbits as pets, we think it's important everyone understands that the cute baby bunny will grow up, will require up to 10 years of care, and may develop some personality quirks or other traits owners should be prepared for... For example these adorable fuzzy baby bunnies will grow up to be this:

Of course, none of those photos are real BUT, baby bunnies are often a 10 year or more commitment, require as much care and attention as dogs and cats, and don't always make the best pets for children. Many of these guys are dumped into rescue, or worse, dumped outdoors to fend for themselves when the Easter novelty wears off. Give us a call, or visit Indiana House Rabbit Society's excellent website for more information on life with a House Rabbit.

Oh yes, and cute baby Easter chicks (and ducks) will grow up to be this:

Here's Our Yearly Reminder: Wildlife Season 2016 is Almost Upon Us!

Every spring we brace for the onslaught of injured and orphaned wildlife.  The weather is warming up and we saw our first group of orphaned rabbits today so baby wildlife season is upon us! Here's our yearly reminder on what to do if you encounter injured or orphaned wildlife. Please click the here for more information. In the majority of cases, wildlife you encounter doesn’t actually need help. When they do, we are here to help. As always, we do not charge anything for the care of wild animals, but we are always in need of donations! Here is what is needed most:

Wildlife Donation Wishlist:

• Towels, washcloths, blankets and fleeces
• Paper Towels, Dawn dish soap, bleach
• Heating pads
• Food: Kitten Milk Replacer (powdered), powdered goats milk, baby bird handfeeding formula, jars of (human) baby food
• Simple monetary contributions

As always, please call us if you have any questions! 317-879-8633

Julie from Thailand

Recently, we said goodbye to another long term visitor. Dr. Rapeephat Phatcharinsak, or Julie for short, stayed with us for two months before returning back to Thailand. As usual, we asked her to share a bit with us about her experience. Here's what she said: I had the great opportunity to visit here for 2 months. I've learnt many things from this clinic. This clinic is such an excellent educational center for veterinary students, veterinary technicians, and veterinarians who are interested in exotic pets, as well as overseas veterinarians like me. Dr. Lennox and all her staff are so nice, friendly and smart. All of them love to study the newest and the best techniques and knowledge for developing how to prevent illnesses and treat their patients. They share their knowledge and practice together every week and all visiting can join studying in this program. That's so superb! I've studied and practiced a lot with them. Also, this clinic has great protocols for treatment, especially emergency case that I've never seen at other clinics before. Moreover, I've seen lots of challenging and rare cases dealing with exotic pet and wildlife! Some of the most interesting cases were a critical macaque with a huge belly that suffered from a gas filled GI tract, an anorexic red fox who suffered from GI foreign body obstruction for many days, an owl who had broken both wings, and many cases in reptiles. I've seen endoscopy in a lesser crested cockatoo and a scarlet macaw. I was so excited because that's my first time, but they do endoscopy all the time. Dr. Lennox has had a lot of experience with this. Absolutely, I didn’t want to leave this clinic but I had to. I really loved visiting. I don't have anything else to say except.. I really thank you for everything that you gave me from the bottom of my heart! I promise, I will apply all the knowledge that I received to develop my Thai Vet Society and I'm looking forward to meeting you again. I'll miss you!

Case Study: Bladder Stone

This week we feature Wilbur the guinea pig, who hasn't been feeling well lately.  His owner noticed he was a bit less social, and had seen what looked like blood in his urine. Wilbur's doctor, Dr. Swisher, noticed he was a little painful when she carefully palpated his abdomen. Next step: x-rays!

Happy Valentine's Day from Abba at the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic

Did you know that USA today reported in 2013 that Americans spent $815 million dollars on Valentine's Day presents for pets? Abba is certain some of that those presents should be coming her way.....

So what are good Valentine's Day presents for exotic pets?  Chocolate is absolutely out, and flower arrangements might be toxic, even if rabbits and guinea pigs might want to eat them.

How about the new Oxbow baked treats in new flavors?

Or Labfeber's Nutriberries for birds?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wildlife Report: 2014

Our wildlife rehabilitators are resting a bit from a busy summer, and gearing up for this spring's baby bird season.  Right now we see them mostly with injured hawks and owls, with a smattering of geese and other birds (remember that beautiful Barn Owl??).

Chris and Liz Hatton gave us a report on last summer: this couple, plus their volunteer group, cared for over 550 orphaned or injured birds, representing a total of 60 different species!  When asked what were the most unusual birds seen this, Chris replied "The pelican! Well, besides the non-native accidental visitor, the most unusual were the Bald Eagle and a couple of Least Bitterns."

Happy (Late) New Year!

The New Year is a time to look forward into the upcoming year with hope and wishes of good health & fortune. Some of us may already be dreaming and planning for a warm Summer vacation.  It is also a time to reflect on the past year and take an inventory of what went well and what we could improve upon for the upcoming year. We here at Avian & Exotic Animal Clinic want to wish you a Very Happy New Years and to share with you some of our New Year's resolutions.

Here are some resolutions from our friends at EARPS (these guys and many others are looking for homes in 2015!):

As the days grow colder remember to bring animals inside if you can and be sure to check your outdoor animals for signs of frostbite and ensure they have access to food and un-frozen water. Happy New Year!

Goodbye Dr. Frank!

Again, we said farewell to another overseas visitor! Dr. Frank Ruiz Acuña, a veterinarian from Spain, stayed with us for 3 months and we will miss him very much! Here's what he had to say about his visit: I arrived 3 months ago and it seems that it was yesterday. During these 3 months, I have lived with my "Indy Family" (it's how I call them) and I have checked their love and dedication for all the animals. They pamper to their client's pets as if they were their own. Since the first day, I have seen many cases and surgeries very interesting like a macaque spay, a cockatoo endoscopy and spay, rabbit gastrotomies and enteroctomies, as well as a lot of spay/neutered of many different species. Also, I have learnt new anestesia protocols, calculate CRI, extract blood from other bodyzones depending on the animal and a lot of useful stuff. It has also been very exciting to be in contact with wildlife animals, some animals that I have never treated before like pelican, hawks, owl, different kinds of small birds, turtles that have had the opportunity to be treated in the clinic. I only can say "Thank you so much" for this great experience and I hope to come back soon!