Wild Pets at the Vet | Reptiles, Birds, Farm Animals & MORE

There are species of animals that don't have feathers or fur, and those would be our amphibians, like frogs, lizards, fish, and snakes. I've treated numerous species of snakes, from very, very common ball python. I love her. To something really rare, like a two-headed boa. What? Everybody gets excited when they see it, and they can't believe it. But when you see Dr. K, somebody who's been in the industry as long as she has, and you see the excitement on their face, it's pretty exciting. That's a really cool thing to see in person. I've never seen a two-headed snake. So we came to bring Hercules here today because he was acting lethargic. My absolute favorite reptiles, I'm going to have to say, are cicada tortoises. People don't think of tortoises like a dog, but they're like a dog. I have one personally, and that's probably why they're my favorite. He has a huge burrow, and he lives in my yard. Where's the food? Oh no! I've had Kai approximately six years, and I take her sometimes to the grocery store with me. I sit her on my shoulder. Everyone gets excited, and she kind of poses. She like tilts her head a little bit. She's really fun. My favorite reptile to have as a pet is a bearded dragon. They're so cute, and they're one of the few reptiles I know that likes to cuddle. Prehistoric. Wow. Anastasia is a black-throated monitor. She's five and a half feet long and tame as a puppy dog. So there's some pros and cons to owning a reptile. They do need special care. Each species has different things that we need to know about to keep them healthy. I am really concerned about her respiratory issue with pythons. They can get really bad. If these snakes aren't kept at at least 60% humidity, they can have respiratory issues quite frequently. All right, buddy. In the warm room you go. When owning a reptile, there's a lot of things we need to remember. We need to mimic the environment where they came from. So we need UVB light to mimic the sun, but we also need it to be really hot so they can maintain their body temperature. Whether they eat insects or lettuce, we've got to make sure we know what they eat. It's hard for people with cats and dogs to understand, but these people are crazy about their fish. Fish can be a great first pet for a kid because it teaches them ownership and responsibility. Their water quality is everything. You must make sure they have really clean water so they can breathe and live very happily. Everybody loves to feed their pet, but it's really easy to overfeed a fish and then their water gets polluted and then they can get sick. Hey, buddy boy. Some of the biggest misconceptions about owning a reptile is they don't have very big personalities. She snuggles. Oh, she does snuggle. Many reptiles have big personalities. Come right up to the enclosure as soon as you walk in, recognize your voice, and even come by name. I think one of the biggest things that make pets cuddly and appealing to people is the animal's response to the people. If you have an animal that doesn't want to come near you, that's not necessarily attractive to you. But when you have a bunny that just wants to snuggle in your lap and get its cheek rubbed, who doesn't want to love that? I have a lot of prairie dog patients and they really do make good pets. We have several clients that actually have full-blown colonies of prairie dogs living in their home. Yeah, I have five prairie dogs. They're all my buddies. They need to be socialized with. They're extremely social. They're climbers. They're diggers. They're civilization builders. One of the big things that makes an animal cute and cuddly are if they have really, really big eyes and they're extra soft and fluffy. I brought a rainbow, my bunny. He's a magic bunny. I'm a magician. I use him in my magic shows. Some of my top five cutest and cuddliest patients are absolutely number one rabbits because they're just extra adorable and they love to snuggle. My favorite are baby bunnies, of course. Of course, baby bunnies. Yeah. I'm a sucker for bunnies. Everybody knows that. Who doesn't think a bunny's cute? They're cuddly and furry and snuggly. This is Suki, the ferret who came in with the low blood sugar episode. I also really, really like ferrets because they're just so funny, just bouncing around that you pick them up and they just melt in your arms. I love you. We just checked Suki's blood glucose and thank goodness it's the highest it's been. She's loving the attention. Look at you. Bye, Suki. I miss you. You go home and play with your friends though. We really love her. Oh my goodness. Possums make pretty decent pets. They're not grouchy. They're very mellow. Aren't you just the sweetest little creature? Getting able to see little girl is really interesting and also super cute today. Hey, who didn't put zip ties on the box? She's out? An animal that I definitely wouldn't want to cuddle up next to is a very large snake that could squeeze me. Ew. The one animal that I don't want to cuddle up next to is probably a porcupine. For obvious reasons, I don't want to get poked. Oh, I just love the way bunnies smell. Rabbits can be a good pet for kids to have, but this is a pet that needs a lot of adult supervision when the children are around. Bunnies are very fragile. Their bones make up only 8% of their body weight and they do have very specific needs. They need to be fed a lot of hay, fresh vegetables on a daily basis, a limited amount of pellets, and fresh water every day. We have a big routine. She only fed vegetables and lettuce and hay. Bunny eats better than me for sure. I don't recommend rabbits for really young children, but any child over the age of around seven that understands, I think they can make really great pets because they're super interactive and can be very loving. Who doesn't want cute, adorable bunnies to be able to pet every night? I'm dropping off Charlie, my father's Amazon parrot, and Charlie hasn't seen the doctor in a long time. Better late than never. Well, obviously the main flying animals we have as patients are going to be our bird patients. Okay, well, now we're friends, huh? All right, up you go. Incoming! When I first got out of vet school, I wanted to do only birds. One of my favorite birds, a lot of people don't think of them as very glamorous, but they're just the most wonderful pet birds, is little budgies. Little American parakeets. Birds can make excellent pets. There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of species of birds in the pet trade, and it's really important that people talk to an avian veterinarian before they get a pet bird so you can try to match which personality would be right for your family. Some families are great for a bird like a cockatoo, which is very cuddly and demands a lot of attention. Other families can't provide that much attention because of work and school and might be better off with a more independent bird like a black-headed cake. He's so chill. I think one of the biggest misconceptions people have about owning a bird is that they're easy. They're the most difficult pet you can own. They require so much attention that's super specialized. They're a definite challenge that not everyone's going to be able to undertake. What does he eat? His diet is not the greatest, and that does play a toll on a bird over time. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about caring for birds is that birds eat bird seed. When you take a look at what's in a bird seed mix, you see sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, corn, and peanuts. So what that tells us right there is that these seed mixes, they have very little solid nutrition for these birds. The conclusion was, he's fat. And get you skinnier because you are fat, fat, fat for a parrot. We prefer that birds are on a pelleted diet that's more of a nutritionally balanced kibble. See how this macaw is posturing? See how their wings are kind of drooped? That's like abdominal pain for a macaw. Some of the big challenges of having an animal that flies as a pet is, well, they fly. Nice! Bird on the loose! You need to make sure you turn off ceiling fans so they don't get hit. Close all your toilets so they don't fly into there. And also make sure all windows or doors are shut so you don't get an escapee bird. You gonna listen? No. They're really, really smart. Your whole life needs to be revolved around having this animal as your pet. They need to make sure they have the right diet. They need fresh air and sunshine. They need social and mental interaction at all times to be a happy, healthy bird. Some of the farm animals I see as patients are chickens, rabbit, the dog, goats, but a lot of pot-bellied pigs. This one will lay right up on you like she's doing right now. They're very loving. We have some piggy patients that go up to about 300 pounds, and I'm okay with that. 125. A lot of people buy mini pigs thinking they're going to stay mini, and it's just not that straightforward. A lot goes into the breeding of these guys, so you could end up with a pig like Carmela that's over 100 pounds. Chickens are much smarter than people give them credit for. In my opinion, the farm animal who has the best personality is the chicken. Look at Chewbacca. He's so cute. They're hilarious, very intelligent, extremely personable pets who give you a lot of love. Come here, sweetie. And then sometimes also eggs. She has a big old egg. The goat's name is Bella. You know, you're the only one in the area that handles goats. We just started seeing them because no one will help them. So as far as personalities for farm animals, the goats can be very affectionate and a lot of fun as well. Oh my goodness. I went through a phase where clients were coming in with house goats. Dr. K, your goat's here. Okay, got it. Smaller goats are very, very cute. Sometimes the big goats. Can you help me lift a 60-pound goat? I can lift a 60-pound goat. I can't lift a 60-pound goat. I know you can't. I'll see him because nobody else will help the little goats. I don't mind. My goodness. I brought in my pig Cuddles. Don't seem like he likes to be left alone. Once you walk away, he runs after you. Pot-billed pigs, in general, can be quite the loud little complainers. I actually have grown to absolutely love my pot-billed pig patients. They're good little animals. I brought my pig Bacon Bits and she's got some kind of eye problems. Farm animals that act like dogs or cats definitely have to be those pot-billed pigs. Can I have a kiss? The pot-billed pigs are probably the easiest to keep as indoor pets. They are incredibly intelligent. They're affectionate. Obviously, some of the animals you shouldn't have as house pets are some of the larger animals, like a cow or even a horse. No one would keep that in their house. Just a little bit too big. Some of the top things to remember when caring for a farm animal is, number one, they're not a dog or cat. So they have different requirements. They need to be outside a lot. They need to be able to run really long distances to be able to get enough exercise. It's really important that these animals kind of stick to their roots so they can be a pig, they can be a goat, or they can be a chicken.