Unusual Pets

One minute I was out in the yard putting out the washing, and the next, you know how it is, wallop, there's an alligator lying on the floor beside me! This all happens in Brazil. Alligators that just drop out of the sky!

Well, not quite. What this Sao Paulo pensioner had just missed out on was being hit on the head by a pet alligator that lived in an upstairs flat. The alligator had decided to go for a wander and had toppled off the upstairs balcony and, although injured, managed to evade capture by the local police for a few hours while the neighbourhood came over all Crocodile Dundee.

"An exotic pet needs an awful lot of care and attention."

People keep the strangest animals as pets. Boa constrictors, pythons, tarantulas, the odd lion and you could even imagine the Beast of Bodmin must have a human mum and dad somewhere. It all makes life exciting for the average vet called out to treat them, but if you're an exotic pet it can't be much fun being kept somewhere less than exotic like the back bedroom of an upstairs flat. And it's always unclear how they are going to be cared for. Not everyone's an alligator aficionado are they?

Many exotic pets don't get the care and attention they deserve. Many suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies directly related to the imperfect conditions of their confinement. An exotic pet needs an awful lot of care and attention. By comparison, dogs and cats are almost self-catering. Our alligator with altitude has found a new home at the local zoo and seems none the worse for his bellyflop, while our Brazilian pensioner friend has found a new interest in tumble-drying. Well, you can never be too careful, can you?

Ask the vet...

My elderly German Shepherd Thor seems to find increasing difficulty passing urine. He doesn't seem in pain, but I can tell that he's uncomfortable. What do you think is causing his discomfort?
I wonder if Thor is having a few problems with his prostate. The prostate's a gland that sits at the neck of the bladder. In older dogs it often enlarges for a variety of reasons and causes varying degrees of urinary obstruction. Your vet can examine Thor to find if his prostate is implicated in his troubles. Treatment usually involves combinations of hormonal and antibiotic medicines that encourage the prostate to shrink back to its normal size. Most dogs respond pretty well to such treatment although, sad to say, we do from time to time come across affected elderly male dogs who have a prostate cancer. Pop Thor along to the vet as soon as you can and then he should soon become more comfortable.

I've just bought two pet rabbits. I'm used to having pet puppies and kittens vaccinated, but is it really necessary to vaccinate pet rabbits?
There are two illnesses that cause the most unhappiness for rabbits. The first, myxomatosis, has been with us for quite a while. We don't have any effective treatment against myxomatosis but we can prevent its unpleasant effects by simple vaccination. Most vets currently suggest a vaccine twice a year for full, effective protection, especially in areas of high risk. The second disease, Haemorrhagic Viral Disease (HVD), is a comparatively recent rabbit problem and has been responsible for many sudden rabbit deaths and debilitating illness in rabbits that have contracted HVD but survived its initial infection. Again, we have no treatment for HVD but we do have very effective vaccines that give good protection against it. One injection annually is enough to protect your rabbit against HVD. Ask your vet about rabbit vaccination today!