» OCW Home » Zoological Medicine » Lectures

Exotic Companion Animal Practice

Author: Gretchen Kaufman, DVM

Color Key
	Important key words or phrases.
	Important concepts or main ideas.

1. General Issues

1.1. Exotic companion animals in society

Exotic companion animals seem to be gaining in popularity - why is this happening?
Wild vs. domestic
Regulation - landlord, city, state, federal, international

1.2. Common exotic animal species seen in general practice

Snakes, lizards, turtles and tortoises
Psittacines - parrots
Passeriformes - finches, canaries, songbirds
Anseriformes - ducks, geese, swans
Galliformes - chickens, turkeys, pheasant, peacocks, quail
Ratites, Raptors, Columbiformes (Pigeons)
Mammals - ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and mice

1.3. Captive animal circumstances

Sources - captive breeding vs. wild harvest
Pet store/retail resources
Owner education?

1.4. Role of the veterinarian

Animal health
Human health and safety
Owner education!!
Animal advocate
Practice builder?! - economic implications

1.5. Target Issues

Client knowledge base
Industry reluctance to improve standards (cost factors)
Perception of poor economic worth
Resistance by traditional veterinary counterparts

2. Support resources and continuing education

2.1. Professional organizations

Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) http://www.aav.org/

Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians (AEMV) http://www.aemv.org/

Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) http://www.arav.org/

2.2. Continuing education resources

Veterinary Information Network - free to students! http://www.vin.com/

International Conference on Exotics

North American Veterinary Conference, Western States Veterinary Conference, etc.

2.3. Formalized Training/Board Certification

2.3.1. Internships and Residencies (selected)

There are very few exclusive companion animal exotic internships and residencies. These are listed below. Many of the academic zoological medicine residencies and internships include a component of companion animal exotics.

Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine and Surgery Residency at the New York Animal Medical Center http://www.amcny.org/veterinarians/education/avian.htm
Residency in Avian and Exotic Medicine at Angell Memorial http://www.angell.org/vet_train.html#top
Residency Program in Zoological Medicine at the University of Florida - Gainesville http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/sacs/wildlife/RESIDENT.html
Avian Specialty Residency at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville http://www.vet.utk.edu/avi_zoo/residency.shtml
Rotating Internship in Bird, Zoo and Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery and Bird, Zoo and Exotic Animal Medicine & Surgery Residency at Louisiana State University http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/vcs/
Residency in Special Species Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania http://www.vet.upenn.edu/residencies/index.php?ID=15
Exotic Internship and Residency Programs at Kansas State University - no web information available
Avian Residency at the University of North Carolina - no web information available
Zoological Medicine and Surgery Residency Training Program at the University of Wisconsin http://vmthpub.vetmed.wisc.edu/sa_services/special_species/residency.htm
Residency in Zoological Medicine at UC-Davis http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/vmth/residency/otherres/zoomed.html
Exotic Companion Animal Internship at TUSVM

2.3.2. Board Certification

American Board of Veterinary Practitioners - Avian Specialty http://www.abvp.com/avian_practice.htm

American College of Zoo Veterinarians - Avian Specialty http://www.aczm.org/aczmmain.html

3. Current topics

3.1. Exotic Pet trade articles

Health concerns prompt US review of exotic-pet trade. Nature 427 (277), 22 January 2004.

4. Ancillary Material

4.1. Readings

4.1.1. Texts and articles

Altman, Robert B., et al. Avian Medicine and Surgery. Philadelphia. W.B. Saunders Co., 1997. Chapters 1, 4, 7, 38, 57, 58.

Exotic DVM. Lake Worth, FL : Zoological Education Network, c1998-

Johnson-Delaney, Cathy A. Exotic Companion Medicine Handbook for Veterinarians. Wingers Pub. Inc., 1996.

Orcutt, Connie J., and Kristine Palmer-Holtry. Editorial. Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery 11 (3), 1997, pp. 149-150.

Ritchie, Branson W., et al. Avian Medicine: Principles and Application. Lake Worth, Fla.: Wingers Publishing, c1994: Prologue, Chapters 1,2,4.

Smith, Ione L. Basic behavioral principles for the avian veterinarian. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Association for Avian Veterinarians, New Orleans, LA, 1999: 47-55.

Veterinary Clinics of North America. Exotic Animal Practice. Philadelphia, PA : W.B. Saunders Co., 1998-

Welle, Kenneth R. Clinical approach to feather picking. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Association for Avian Veterinarians, New Orleans, LA, 1999: 119-124.

Welle, Kenneth. Psittacine behavior handbook. Bedford, TX: Association of Avian Veterinarians, 1999.

People who viewed this content, also viewed...