Exotic Pets

At this time we are currently referring all exotic pets to Amador Valley Veterinary Center in Pleasanton, CA. You can call Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center and we will assist in making the necessary appointment for you and your pet. Frequently Exotic Pet Owners are looking for Urgent Care or Emergency Support for their pets. Unfortunately not all Pet Emergency Hospitals take care of exotic pets. We Strongly recommend that you always confirm they have a veterinarian available who will treat your exotic pet before going to make sure they have a veterinarian on staff to take care of your pet. Here are some Bay Area Veterinary Emergency Hospitals and Practices that take care of exotic pets.

Medical Center for Birds 925-625-1878
For the Birds Health Care - 408-255-1739
All Animals Emergency Hospital: 415-566-0530
United Emergency Animal Clinic: (408) 371-6252
Bay Area Bird & Exotics Hospital 415-566-4359

Avian Services

At Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center & Urgent Care, we refer our pet owners with birds to go to Amador Valley Veterinary Center, in Pleasanton.

• Annual physical examinations

• Nutritional counseling

• Husbandry counseling

• Behavioral counseling

• Fecal exams for parasites

• Gram stains and cultures for bacterial and fungal analysis

• Blood profiles

• Radiographs

• Surgery

• Emergency and urgent care

• DNA sexing

• Grooming of nails, wings, and beak

• Boarding

Signs Your Bird Might Be Sick
Birds mask illness in an instinctive attempt to avoid predators. However, with many sicknesses, subtle signs are usually displayed. The key to early detection of illness – and successful treatment – is to learn to recognize the signs and symptoms.

Call your veterinarian immediately if you notice any of the following signs in your bird:

• Closed or swollen eyes

• Nasal discharge

• Diarrhea

• Sitting in one place for extended periods of time with feathers puffed out

• Noisy or labored breathing, with wheezing or clicking sounds, tail bob associated with breathing

• Scaling or crusting of the face/feet

• Weakness, limping, wing droop

• Lethargy

• Regurgitation

• Sitting at bottom of the cage

Feeding Your Bird
One of the most important things you can do to help ensure your bird lives a healthy and happy life is to feed it a nutritionally sound diet. For example, most parrots should be on pelleted diets with a small number of seeds or nuts and a wide variety of table foods and produce. Other individual avian species have their own specific dietary requirements that should be discussed with your veterinarian. High fat and high starch foods should always be avoided.

No matter which bird comes into your home, ask your veterinarian questions regarding your bird's specific nutritional needs. Feeding a balanced, varied diet and ensuring your bird's food and water sources remain as clean as possible will help your pet bird live a long and healthy life.

Do not feed your bird the following foods--even small quantities of these can result in illness:

• Alcohol or caffeine

• Apple Seeds

• Avocado (guacamole)

• Chocolate

• Garlic

• Onions

• Table salt

Useful Links

• Association of Avian Veterinarians

• Bird Channel.com

• National Audubon Society

Signs your Ferret Might be Sick
There are a number of diseases that can plague a pet ferret and can begin as early as the age of two years. This includes heart disease, adrenal disease, insulinoma, intestinal disease and various types of cancer. Ferrets are also notorious for ingesting inappropriate things like plastic and rubber, which can cause an intestinal blockage.

It is important ferrets receive regular physical exams and for you to be observant of any physical or behavioral changes. If you notice any of the following symptoms, consult your veterinarian immediately.

• Loss of appetite

• Lethargy decreased play activity

• Diarrhea

• Straining to urinate or defecate

• Vomiting

• Excessive urination

• Excessive drinking

• Dazed look or staring

• Drooling

• Pawing at mouth

• Tooth grinding

• Loss of fur

• Excessive itching or scratching

• Weight loss

• Development of lumps or skin changes

Feeding your Ferret
Ferrets are natural carnivores, evolved to eat meat, and in the wild their diet would consist mainly of small rodents like rats or mice. They use fat, rather than carbohydrates, as their energy source and as a result, plants, fruits and vegetables are not a significant part of a natural ferret diet. In fact, ferrets should never be fed carbohydrates or fiber. Ferrets need a highly digestible meat-based protein and should be fed a balanced raw carnivore diet specifically designed for ferrets -- not cat or kitten food. Both raw diets and whole prey diets are commercially available for ferrets. There is some controversy, however, over the safety versus benefit of raw and whole prey diets. Consult with your veterinarian about which diet is right for your pet. Feeding your ferret the proper diet is critical in helping them live a long and healthy life.

Useful Links

• The American Ferret Association

• Ferrets Anonymous

Articles and Information

• Small Mammal Health: Ferret World

Rabbits

With their friendly and social nature pet rabbits have become integral members of the family. Curious, playful, and affectionate, rabbits love being the center of attention and there is no end to the entertainment provided by their mischievous personalities!

However, rabbits are often mistakenly thought of as low-maintenance pets. In reality, they require as much attention as a dog or cat. Because they are prey animals, rabbits are experts at hiding their illnesses. Our goal is to help educate you about which signs to look for should your rabbit become sick or ill. Our veterinarians will provide you with information about proper dietary needs, perform complete physical exams, and perform routine procedures such as spaying or neutering your rabbit.

Rabbit Services
At Amador Valley Veterinary Center Annual physical examinations

• Spay and neuter surgeries

• Fecal exams for parasites

• Nutritional counseling

• Complete medical work-ups

• Blood evaluation

• Surgery

• Radiographs

• Anesthesia, including IV fluids and use of an endotracheal tube

• Dental care

• Emergency & Urgent care

• Boarding

Signs your Rabbit Might be Sick
When trying to determine if your rabbit is sick, it is important to remember that rabbits by nature hide their illnesses for fear of being harmed by predators. This may be a good survival tactic in the wild, but for domestic rabbits, hiding their symptoms only misleads their owners and prevents prompt medical attention. If you notice any of the following signs or symptoms, call your veterinarian immediately.

• Lethargy or other changes in behavior

• Runny eyes or nose and sneezing

• Diarrhea

• Loss of appetite

• Drooling or dropping food from mouth

• Head tilting or walking in circles

• Scratching/itching/shaking head/fur

• Lumps or abscesses

• Irregular droppings, diarrhea, straining to

• urinate or defecate, lack of feces

• Change in urine

• Constant teeth grinding

Spaying and Neutering Your Rabbit
At Amador Valley Veterinary Center we routinely perform spay and neuter surgeries on rabbits. There are many advantages to spaying and neutering your pet rabbit including helping prevent the problem of pet rabbit overpopulation -- far too many bunnies end up at shelters and are in need of good homes. Other benefits to spaying and neutering your pet rabbit include:

• Reduced Aggression
  As rabbits reach maturity, hormones tend to bring out aggressive and destructive behavior. Rabbits that are spayed or neutered tend to be calmer, easier to handle, and more affectionate with their owners.

• Reduced Urine Marking
  Spaying or neutering your rabbit will greatly reduce territorial urine marking and will help make litter box training easier.

• Eliminating the Risk of Uterine and Testicular Cancer
  In females, spaying eliminates the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer and reduces the risk of mammary cancers. Spaying also eliminates the risk of pyometra, a severe infection of the uterus. In males, neutering eliminates the risk of testicular cancer.

Feeding Your Rabbit
Our veterinarians will work with you to determine the proper nutrition for your rabbit. In general, a rabbit's diet should normally consist of the following:

• Unlimited Timothy or grass hay, not alfalfa, which accounts for the majority of their natural diet

• A nice selection of vegetables (ideally 3 different veggies per day). Recommended vegetables include:

  • Broccoli

  • Beet Tops

  • Carrots

  • Parsley

  • Mustard Greens

  • Collard Greens

  • Sprouts

  • Endive

• A limited amount of high quality Timothy hay pellets

• A small amount of fruit intermittently

• Unlimited water

Foods to Avoid
You should not feed your rabbit lettuce, cabbage, parsnips, potato tops, tomato leaves or chocolate. Table scraps and human foods (other than those listed above) should also not be fed to your rabbit. If in doubt, call us to see which foods are appropriate for your rabbit.

Useful Links

• House Rabbit Society

• AAHA Rabbit Care

Signs Your Pet Reptile May Be Sick
One of the most important things to do for your pet reptile is to research its natural behavior as well as its needs while in captivity. Unless you are aware of what constitutes natural behavior for your reptile, you may miss the early signs of disease and not realize it until it is too far advanced. Use the following list as a general guideline for signs to monitor so you can take your reptile to the veterinarian if needed.

• Changes in eating or drinking
  Increased or decreased appetite, and vomiting or regurgitation.

• Shedding problems
  Incomplete, prolonged or lack of shedding.

• Changes in stool or urine production
  Any changes in stool appearance, straining to urinate or defecate or an increase or decrease in waste production.

• Lumps or bumps
  Any unusual blisters, scabs, bruises, inflammation or redness of the skin.

• Changes in general appearance
  Any changes in weight, skin color, swelling of the limbs or jaw, soft spots or any other lesions on the shell.

• Change in activity levels
  For example, acting more lethargic or more active than usual or hiding or staying in one corner of the cage.

• Behavioral changes
  Any changes in behavior, including aggressive behavior, tremors, seizures or excessive digging.

• Unusual breathing
  Unusual breathing includes open-mouth breathing, wheezing or squeaking, excessive saliva, bubbles coming from nostrils, or listing while swimming.

• Limping or lameness
  Observe closely for any signs of trauma and monitor to be sure they climbing as much as usual.

Useful Links

• The Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians

• Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection

• AAHA Healthy Pet

Articles and Information

• Reptile Brumation