Small furries – diseases and cures

Tiny little hamster with a tiny cast in his tiny arm

Tiny little hamster with a tiny cast on his tiny arm

I’ve had lots of small furries through the door this week. I just love this picture I found on Reddit! It makes me laugh and it also makes a point. Exotic pets such as guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, rabbits, rats and ferrets are some of my favourite little guys to treat. Anything a cat or dog can have done; they can have done too -even fracture repairs are possible!

They come with swathes of problems of their own. Dental disease is common; and also bite injuries. I worked in an exotic small animal referral centre in the UK for a year as a young vet, and I learned a great deal from the expert vets working there. Rabbits are a special class of pet when it comes to veterinary care, and they are very delicate and difficult to treat. I love to see them coming to Park Pets where we have all the skills to get them better.

I saw a guinea pig during the week as a second opinion. He had a bite wound that wasn’t healing. After an assessment, I started him on a special antibiotic for his specific condition and he’s almost better now in just a few days. Guinea pigs can be hard to dose and so I gave the owners one of my special tips… Ribena mixed with the medicine goes down a treat!

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