Exotic Med - Art Of Adding Exotic Animals To Your Practice

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Back 1

King snake

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Back 2

love bird

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Macaw

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Back 4

Budgie

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Back 5

Eclectus

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Cockatiel

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What must be done if you want to try and add exotics to your practice?

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must make investments beforehand and be committed
-can't just start seeing them and see how it goes

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Back 8

new Zealand white

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Why do you not want to be the only doctor in the practice seeing exotics?

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It's not fair to:
-you
-the client
-the animal
-associates and staff

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Places to get support for going into exotic medicine

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-employer
-associates
-staff

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Strategy to looking at exotic animals

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-decide which animals you're willing to see
-invest and study from available resources (anatomy and physiology, husbandry, diseases)

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Why is an exotic animal exam not the same as an exam for a cat an dog?

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-not just a pet exam
-in depth discussion of diet, housing, nutrition, etc.
-history very important because exotics are adept at masking signs of disease and are often ill

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Best way to learn and improve knowledge of exotic animal medicine

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-share what we see and know

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Exotic animal continuing education

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-association meetings
-national meetings
-regional meetings
-hobbyist meetings

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What is the key to success in exotic animal medicine?

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Staff members

Needed to enlist, excite and educate on:
-animal handling
-procedures
-client ed

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Methods of client education

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-exotic practitioners (primary source)
-web
-club meetings
-staff
-client handouts
-brochures

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Biggest mental hurdle in exotic animal medicine

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-fee schedule

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How to establish fees?

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use guidelines for other animals
-practice overhead
-time spent with client and patient (usually longer)
-direct costs of each case

Don't think that small animals = small fees
Don't assume that a cheap pet = cheap owner
Don't believe that no one would want to spend much on an animal that only lives 2 yrs

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Types of marketing

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Direct
-yellow pages
-hospital brochure
-follow-up communication
-other media
-hospital logo

Indirect
-word of mouth
-retailers
-complimentary classes

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Easiest part of getting ready to see exotics

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-equipping the hospital

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Things to equip the hospital with if possible

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-separate waiting area
-client education
-retail
-closed shelves
-no ceiling fans
-covered windows

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Things needed for hospitalization

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-some way to keep away from predators
-hot room (reptiles/avian)
-ambient temp, humidity, lighting
-isolation

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Housing considerations

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-standard cages
-aquariums
-incubators

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Surgery equipment

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-small suture/hemoclips
-ophthalmic/vascular instruments
-radiosurgery (cut w/ coag)
-magnification

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Anesthesia equipment

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-gas anesthesia (iso, sevo)*
-non-cuffed endotracheal tubes
-small face masks

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Monitoring and support equipment

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-stethoscope
-ECG
-Doppler
-pulse oximetry

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Endoscope equipment

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-rigid endoscope
-flexible endoscope?

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Dental equipment

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-Ferrets --> same equipment as cats
-Rabbits/rodents --> special tools for cheek teeth, dremel with cutting disk

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What can be used in place of an e-collar?

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radiograph film

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Why is a gram scale needed?

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-need an accurate measurement of weight before administration of any drug

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Types of diets

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-formulated diets
-fresh produce
-hay
-critical care diets

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Medication needs

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-most medications are ok
-look in exotic animal formularies
-compounding pharmacies

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Radiographic needs

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-high detail
-dental
-mammography

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Clin path needs

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-in-house
-outside labs for abnormal tests
-small tubes for samples