In addition to dogs and cats, Pismo Beach Veterinary Hospital provides comprehensive medical care for most pet exotics, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Several of our doctors and staff have received specialized training in the care of pet exotics and we are equipped to provide clinical diagnostics, radiology, surgery, husbandry counseling, and other medical needs. We also collaborate with our sister clinic, Cat and Exotic Care, for more complicated medical procedures and treatments.
Along with Cat and Exotic Care, we are one of the few clinics in San Luis Obispo County that provide medical care for exotic species, especially on weekends. Exotic pets have wide and varied medical needs. These can vary dramatically even within different species of the same type of animal. For example, some types of lizards must have a strong source of heat and UV light, whereas others may be nocturnal and not need any additional light or heat supplementation.
Since exotic pets are typically fairly good at hiding symptoms of illness, it is important that they receive regular check-ups by a veterinarian that is an expert at detecting subtle abnormalities on physical exam. Husbandry (food, caging, light and heat source, etc) is also incredibly important and creating a more perfect habitat is one of the things that we can help our exotic pet owners to achieve.
Unfortunately, we often only get to see these pets when they are already very sick and in some cases it is already too late for us to help them. Therefore, preventative medicine is very important in order for your exotic pet to live a long and healthy life! Just like dogs and cats, we recommend that these pets be seen annually when they are healthy so that we can detect any problems early, make habitat recommendations, and prevent problems before they occur!
