METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) – When you think of pets, cats and dogs leap to mind, but there’s much more to it than that. From birds to snakes to ferrets and chameleons, exotic animals can come in a wide variety of forms.
While most of the time, we think of pets as our furry friends. They can also be feathery, scaley or even have a shell. And if that’s the kind of pet you’ve decided to make your forever friend, you’ll need to make sure you’re taking them to a vet who specializes in exotic animals.
Dr. Rich from the Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana says this special care can keep your pet with you a lot longer, “For our exotic species like rabbits, or chinchillas or guinea pigs, knowing the right supplements and the right nutritional care will keep them healthy and keep them in better shape for a lot longer period than feeding them what you find in the grocery store.”
Just like any pet, you’ll want to treat your exotic animal to the preventative care it needs to thrive. Most animals won’t show you they’re sick until it’s almost too late. The reason is instinct. The mentality is that if they show weakness, they’ll be food for someone else, even though a predator isn’t anywhere close to them.
That’s why preventative care is so important in the animal world. A routine trip to the Animal and Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana can give you the peace of mind that your loving pet is, in fact, healthy. And on the off-chance, it isn’t, Dr. Rich, Dr. Pence and the staff are able to care for your pet with their many years of specialized experience.
