Exotics

We take pride in offering high standards of care for rabbits and rodents, and we offer neutering, microchippng, worming and vaccinations for all our rabbit patients. Regular health examinations are encouraged with the emphasis on good husbandry and diet at home to help prevent disease problems. Our vets and consulting nurses are happy to discuss good management strategies with rabbit owners.

All our rabbit patients benefit from modern high standards of anaesthetic care,making operations safer for your bunny. Our veterinary nurses are highly trained to monitor all patients closely, using pulse oximetry, capnography and Doppler, while recording temperature, pulse and respiratory rate throughout  the anaesthetic period. All rabbits have an intravenous line and are intubated even during routine surgery making anaesthesia much safer.

At The Veterinary Hospital in Estover, we have specialised equipment for rabbit and rodent dentistry.

We treat a large variety of caged birds ranging from canaries to cockatoos, and are also treating a growing number of pet hens. Birds are very good at disguising the fact that they are ill, so regular health examinations are a good idea and if your bird looks ill, then it needs veterinary treatment as soon as possible.

If it is possible, bring your bird in its usual cage and cover the cage with a towel or blanket to help keep the bird calm.

We carry out claw and beak trimming, blood sampling, microchipping, and full physical examinations on a regular basis. Our vets and nurses are confident in anaesthetising birds if required for other procedures too, such as surgery and radiography. Sick birds can be hospitalised for intensive care.

Reptiles are fascinating patients but can ‘tolerate’ disease very well, only showing signs of ill-health when they are extremely ill. For this reason regular health checks are recommended to ensure your pet is in optimum condition and to discuss management. Many diseases in reptiles can be prevented by good husbandry and diet and if you are unsure about either of these then please do not hesitate to ask for advice. We offer routine microchipping of all species including tortoises, routine faecal examinations, blood tests, radiography and ultrasound.

We aim to use the most up-to-date techniques for anaesthetising animals and our highly skilled nurses are trained to monitor all of our patients closely using such techniques as Doppler, capnography and ECGs where necessary. Anaesthetised reptiles are unable to breathe for themselves and throughout the entire anaesthetic a nurse or ventilator machine will ‘breathe’ for your pet. Reptiles are cold-blooded animals so it is vital that we monitor body temperature throughout anaesthesia and use the necessary equipment to ensure that your pet stays as close to its optimum temperature as possible.