Exotic Pets™

#259: Dr. Micah Kohles talks about the importance of "keeping things moving along in your bunny’s G.I. tract" by feeding a variety of fibers, like different hay and grasses and dark leafy greens to avoid shutting down the G.I. tract and causing a serious problem.

#258: Dr. Karen talks about how to choose a pet snake. Corn, King, Milk, and Ball Pythons are all docile snakes costing from $50 to $200. Dr. Karen recommends going to a “reptile expo” to learn about good breeders, veterinary needs, and to join a reptile enthusiast club to learn from those who are passionate.

#256: Annie Petersen speaks about her fascination and love for guinea pigs and how she founded the Association for Human-Animal Bond Studies particularly to promote small animals in classrooms (and in homes like her own!)

#255: Dr. Doug Mader talks about the value of vaccinations for exotic pets, urging people not to be afraid of vaccines, especially rabies which all mammals can get. Ferrets can also get canine distemper which can be deadly — but it is essential that it be the killed vaccine for them, never the live distemper vaccine.

#257: Chris Leone of Garden State Tortoise on the South Shore of New Jersey, tells how he and his wife Casey bonded over a shared love of turtles and now create social media content every day to educate and delight over 2 millions followers, while raising and selling tortoises to pre-approved homes.

#254: Dr. Karen Rosenthal gives an overview of Ferrets as pets — the highly friendly, social, playful little pets who remain kittenish and will give you years of loving companionship. They use a litter box immediately: just put a litter box in a corner (their preferred location to relieve themselves) and cover the bottom with Dr. Elsey’s Touch of the Outdoors litter.

#253: Dr. Doug Mader explains how important dental care is for all rabbits and what happens when it is neglected. He answers Tracie's question about whether her childhood veterinarian really did suggest braces for one of her rabbits with buck teeth.

#252: Doug talks turtles — and the differences between turtles, tortoises and terrapins. Doug and Tracie reminisce about the “penny turtles” [red eared sliders] they had as kids, and how far we have come with environments designed by ZooMed instead of the little  green plastic dishes with a plastic palm tree.

#251: Dr. Doug rarely says "don't" about exotic pet ownership if you're ready to provide the right environment. But in the case of monkeys, he explains all the reasons why it is impossible to create what a monkey needs at home. He makes clear it is simply wrong on so many levels to have a pet monkey. DON'T DO IT!

#250: Leading avian and exotic pet veterinarian Dr Laurie Hess raises the ethical question of whether people should have birds as pets at all.  Are you giving them a good life? Taking your bird in the shower with you? Playing TV and music he likes? Providing social interaction, UV light, something safe and satisfying to chew on all the time? And can you continue to do that for the 40 years that some of them live?