Emergency care and managing toxicoses in the exotic animal patient

Coagulation Disorders, Testing, and Treatment in Exotic Animal Critical Care

Despite poor recognition in the literature, exotic companion animals are affected by many diseases that can result in disordered coagulation and fibrinolysis. This article outlines current knowledge of hemostasis, common diagnostic tests and reviews reported diseases associated with coagulopathy in small mammals, bird and reptiles. A range of conditions affect platelets and thrombocytes, endothelium and blood vessels, and plasma clotting factors. Improved recognition and monitoring of hemostatic disorders will enable targeted therapy and improved case outcomes.

Respiratory Diseases in Guinea Pigs, Chinchillas and Degus

The diagnosis and treatment of respiratory disease in pet guinea pigs, chinchillas, and degus still face profoundly serious challenges owing to their relatively small size, conspicuous clinical signs, difficulty for sampling, and insufficient scientific evidence to correlate signs and particular pathologies. This article is intended to summarize the available information on the relevant anatomy, physiology, and respiratory pathology in these species.

Ambulatory Emergency Medicine

While practicing exotic animal medicine as an ambulatory practitioner, veterinarians need to be prepared for the inevitable emergency call. Emergencies in exotic animal medicine come in all shapes and sizes and the veterinarian must be prepared for a variety of situations. With the proper training, equipment, and managing client expectations, an ambulatory exotics animal practitioner can successfully address emergencies. This article provides a brief overview in managing emergency cases in an ambulatory exotics animal practice.

Common Emergencies in Small Rodents, Hedgehogs, and Sugar Gliders

Small exotic mammal pets such as rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, degus, hedgehogs, and sugar gliders are becoming more popular. Because these animals are prone to a variety of health problems, and require specialized husbandry care to remain healthy, they may present to emergency hospitals in critical condition. This article provides a basic overview of common emergency presentations of these species.

Emergencies and Critical Care of Commonly Kept Fowl

Fowl are birds belonging to one of the 2 biological orders, the game fowl or land fowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Studies of anatomic and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives. Multiple fowl species have a long history of domestication. Fowl are considered food-producing animals in most countries and clinicians should follow legislation regarding reportable diseases and antibiotic use, even if they are pets. This article reviews aspects of emergency care for most commonly kept fowl, including triage, patient assessment, diagnostic procedures, supportive care, short-term hospitalization, and common emergency presentations.

Respiratory system anatomy, physiology, and disease: Guinea pigs and chinchillas

Respiratory diseases are common in guinea pigs and chinchillas. There are multifactorial causes of respiratory involvement in these species of rodents, from infectious (bacterial, viral, and fungal) to neoplastic causes. Toxicoses and diseases affecting other systems may also induce respiratory signs. Knowledge of biology, including husbandry, nutritional requirements, and behavior, are important clues for the clinician to determine the role these issues may play in the development, progression, and prognosis of respiratory clinical cases in rodents. Current approaches in the diagnosis and therapy for respiratory disease in small mammals warrant more research concerning response-to-treatment reports.