The increase in exotic pets is sparking a demand for veterinarians to care for them. The question is: Is it worth the trouble?

Most experts say the answer is: It depends.

What Is an Exotic Pet?

Exotic pets comprise many types of animals, everything from a rabbit or ferret to a snake to a tiger. For the purpose of this article, we’ll deal with companion animals a client may transport to your clinic. That includes pet goats, chickens, avians, reptiles, rabbits, and rodents.

No practice should commit to exotic pets just because there is no nearby practice that handles them. Adding them to your practice involves extensive training for veterinarians, vet techs, and other staff members and, in some cases, developing new procedures and reconfiguring surgeries and recovery spaces.

Potential Benefits of Adding Exotic Pets to Your Practice

The potential advantages of adding exotic pets to your practice vary according to what animals you add. For example, adding rabbits, ferrets, and goats is much easier than adding avians and reptiles.

With the increase in ownership of these pets, your practice may receive the following benefits from treating exotic pets:

1. More clients and more dedicated clients and, as a result, increased income
2. Clients may bring their other non-exotic pets to you, too
3. Being seen as a thought leader because your practice will be perceived as being on the cutting edge by current and potential clients
4. New challenges for the entire staff to keep them motivated and engaged. “Exotic animals have evolved to mask their illness to avoid predation. Therefore, to fully ascertain the status of an exotic pet requires the pursuit of diagnostic tests. A physical examination alone will not suffice. At minimum, a database for exotic pets should include a complete blood count, plasma chemistry, urinalysis (mammals), and fecal examination. In many cases, radiographs, ultrasound, or endoscopy are also required.”

Concerns with Adding Exotic Pets

1. Additional training required for all staff
2. Additional equipment to serve new patients
3. Potential reconfiguring of waiting room, surgery, and recovery spaces to meet needs of new patients
4. Continuing education for all staff
5. Advertising of new services

Assess Your Practice Before Adding Exotics

Below are questions you should ask yourself and your staff before making the decision to accept exotics:

• What is the marketplace like? Is there demand for such services? Do local pet retailers sell exotics? Is there competition? Are potential clients willing to pay to keep their animals healthy?
• How much will necessary education cost in time and money? Should I become certified? Can education for most staff be conducted in-house? What professional organization memberships are a must?
• Which animals will I add? As noted above, treatment of avians and reptiles may require the purchase of additional equipment. Treatment of hamsters and guinea pigs may not be especially profitable. What additional costs—in time, money, and effort—will be required?
• Which services/products will I add? Examples include surgery, boarding, check-ups, vaccinations, emergency treatment, and retail products. What is the potential cost and benefit for each?
• Will I have to make changes to the premises? Will I need to add a separate waiting room or recovery room?
• Is my staff enthusiastic about this new opportunity?
• Am I taking on too much? Do I have a mentor? Do I have a backup?
• How will current clients respond to the addition of exotic pets to the practice?

How to Add Exotic Pets to Your Practice

After assessing what’s required to treat these animals, the next step is to consider the practical measures required. They include:

Purchase of new equipment, if necessary

Today’s Veterinary Practice recommends adding resources, including:

• Escape-proof containers
• Smaller needles/syringes for blood sample collection
• Transparent surgical drapes
• Smaller endotracheal tubes
• Incubators with temperature control and oxygen inlets
• Rodent dental equipment

Certain equipment, such as a radiosurgery unit or chemistry analyzer, while a necessity for treating some exotics, provides benefits for any small animal practice.

Education

Options include:

• Multi-day exotics-only conferences offering hands-on laboratories
• Traditional conferences that offer exotic animal topics
• Veterinary visitors at an established exotics practice
• Custom in-house training by an exotics expert

Veterinarians can subscribe to such industry journals as:

• Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery
• Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine
• Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery
• Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice

Membership in the following professional organizations may prove helpful, too.

• Association of Avian Veterinarians
• Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians
• Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians

Physical changes

Because many exotics are prey animals, exposure to dogs and cats may be traumatic. Your waiting room should already be configured to minimize contact between animals, but that is even more important if you add exotic animals to the mix. One money-saving option may be to escort such animals to a private exam room when they arrive.

Your surgery is unlikely to need many changes, with the exception of the addition of equipment. However, your recovery area may pose problems if you have limited space, especially for those animals that may need special lighting and incubators.

“Reptiles require the proper temperature range, and they need appropriate ultraviolet A/B lighting if they are staying more than a few days. Guinea pigs are highly nervous creatures and need a box or hut to hide in. Many rabbits are litter box trained and will not defecate or urinate without one. Ferrets are adept at escaping through basic foldout cages or unsecured doors. Birds need cages with appropriate perches and cage bars, and some parrot species may need secure door locks,” notes Veterinary Practice News.

Setting fees

Consultations with clients who own exotic pets tend to take longer, because many clients do not possess the information they need to adequately care for their animals. Diagnosis and treatment of exotics may also take longer. And it’s important to include your investment in education and equipment when determining your costs.

Sources:

https://veteriankey.com/preparing-your-hospital-for-exotic-pets/

http://todaysveterinarypractice.navc.com/practice-buildingare-exotics-a-fit-for-mepart-1-development-of-the-exotics-practice/

http://www.aav.org/?page=jamshome

http://www.exoticpetmedicine.com/

http://jherpmedsurg.com/loi/hpms?code=arav-site

http://www.vetexotic.theclinics.com/

www.aav.org

www.aemv.org/

www.arav.org/