Pathology of the Exotic Companion Mammal Gastrointestinal System

Exotic Companion Mammal Dermatological Disease

Peter G. Fisher, DVM, DABVP (Exotic Companion Mammal) Pet Care Veterinary Hospital, Virginia Beach, VA, USA Dermatological conditions are common in the exotic companion mammal. Causes may include ectoparasitism, underlying endocrine disease, infectious agents (bacterial, viral, fungal), conditions related to anatomy such as obesity or pain from osteoarthritis that inhibits grooming behavior, en...

Protozoal Disease in the Exotic Companion Mammal

Exotic Companion Mammal Zoonoses: Small Animals Can Have Big Consequences

Nearly two thirds of human diseases can be transmitted to animals. As veterinarians, however, we tend to use the term zoonosis when infections are transmitted from animals to humans. An estimated 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, mainly of viral origin, and likely to be vector-borne. Among the major causes of these emerging diseases are alterations in human behavior and modifica...

Ocular Disease in the Exotic Companion Mammal: Seeing beyond the Eyes

GENERAL ADAPTATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS Ophthalmic examinations in exotic companion mammals can be performed as in other species but may be more challenging due to the small patient size. Indirect ophthalmoscopy can be beneficial as it enlarges the view for the examiner. Normal values are reported for Schirmer tear test, but the strips are often too large to be used in most species, although the...

Microsporidiosis in Vertebrate Companion Exotic Animals

Veterinarians caring for companion animals may encounter microsporidia in various host species, and diagnosis and treatment of these fungal organisms can be particularly challenging. Fourteen microsporidial species have been reported to infect humans and some of them are zoonotic; however, to date, direct zoonotic transmission is difficult to document versus transit through the digestive tract....