The wonderful world of exotics

Merry Christmas dvm360 readers! As a present to you, we are dropping this Christmas episode to bring you into the world of exotic medicine. Our host, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomed Rachel Siu, DVM, to share what it is like to be an exotic veterinarian, debunking some myths about costs and care, and providing tips to help professionals be more comfortable when treating an exotic pet in their clinic.

Below is a partial transcript

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: What would you say to those that are tuning in that say, like, Oh, I'm still a little leery about it. I don't know if they say, oh my gosh, are rabbits coming down? I don't know, you know. Like, what would you say to some of those listeners out there?

Rachel Siu, DVM: I would say your critical thinking and research skills are super important. If you know, you have a rabbit coming in, for instance, make an hour long appointment, or even hour and a half you're really uncomfortable with them. Make sure you have enough time to really do your exam very slowly if you nee, do your research on which drugs are safe to give, and I know have the resources available, whether that be, you know, exotic textbook or VIN, or, you know, there's like the favorite, the Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary is, you know, one of the exotic Bibles. So make sure you have those resources available to you and really research, you know, things through before you just go prescribing things willy nilly, because I have seen other veterinarians prescribe, you know, antibiotics to rabbits and Guinea pigs that have killed them because it wasn't a safe medication.

So, you know, I want people to be comfortable and start seeing exotics, if that's what they're passionate in, but make sure you you research things either ahead of time or, take the time during your appointment to to really make sure you're comfortable with what you're doing.