Veterinarians lead council for animal protectionNovember 20, 2019Ten veterinarians from across the U.S. have joined forces as the leaders of national advocacy campaigns for animal health, safety, and wellness.
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2019 They Ate What?! X-ray Contest winnersSeptember 30, 2019 You can't help but marvel and shake your head a little when checking out the X-rays we get every year as part of our They Ate What?! Contest. You've got to wonder what an animal is thinking when they swallow an object whole, especially the long pointy ones (think fishing poles and forks). This year's entries didn't fail to deliver in the wild and wacky department, which made choosing a winner especially challenging for our panel of experts. Check out the X-ray that nabbed the highest scores in relevancy, appeal, originality, description, and appearance, along with the runners-up and honorable mentions. This year, the winner receives a $500 VISA gift card from contest prize sponsor, Trupanion. Contest judges Marty Becker, DVM, writes VPN's "In the Middle" column John Lewis, VMD, FAVD, DAVDC, writes VPN's "Dental Pearls" column Brennen McKenzie, MA, MSc, VMD, cVMA, writes VPN's "Evidence-Based Medicine" column Alice Villalobos, DVM, FNAP, is a member of VPN's editorial advisory board Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ, Fear Free Certified, writes VPN's "Surgical Insights" and "Practice Management" columns Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA, writes VPN's "Off Leash" Check out the winner >
Getting a leg upJanuary 3, 2018While prosthetics have been used in veterinary medicine for more than a decade, the application of these devices in this sector is still relatively new compared to human medicine.
How to include exotics in your vet clinicMarch 29, 2017The thrill of seeing a different species at almost every appointment is a wondrous day for those of us who enjoy treating avian and exotic pets. More and more veterinary students are seeking course work on exotic species, and more graduates are looking for employment opportunities that offer an avian or exotic pet-owning clientele.
Texas A&M Compares Chromosomes of Congo African Grey to Other ParrotsMarch 15, 2016Congo African grey parrots are considered one of the top 10 best pet birds to own according to BirdChannel.com, but little is known about their genetic makeup. But that’s all changing thanks to the researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) who have been studying the parrot’s chromosomes. In a paper published in Cytogenetic and Genomic Research, scientists looked at the Congo African grey parrot’s chromosomes and compared them to other parrot species from South America and Australia. “This is the first study of its kind in true African parrots,” said Dr. Terje Raudsepp, associate professor and lead author of the study. “So far, analogous work in parrots has been done in three South American macaws, Australian budgerigars and cockatiels, and peach-faced lovebirds from Asia and Africa.” The study found that Congo African grey parrots were strikingly similar to Neotropical macaws found in South America. Unexpectedly, Congo African grey parrots were genetically more similar to Neotropical macaws, such as the scarlet macaw and the green-winged macaw, than parrots from Australia, such as cockatiels and budgerigars (budgies). …
LafeberVet Schedules Webinar on Feather Destructive BehaviorJune 11, 2015Feather destructive behavior can be one of the most common and frustrating behavioral problems seen in captive psittacine birds. To learn more about this, attend LafeberVet's free, interactive, RACE-approved webinar “Feather Destructive Behavior in Psittacine Birds” on Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. ET. The presentation is worth 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions that accept American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) RACE approval. Lynne Seibert, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, will review feather picking, feather chewing and self-inflicted trauma to soft tissue in parrots and their case management. Registration opens in early September. For more information, go to LafeberVet.com.
The Latest on Proventricular Dilatation DiseaseFebruary 6, 2015Researchers are making progress in the fight to track and treat one of the most common illnesses affecting exotic birds. Proventricular Dilatation Disease, or PDD, is the result of an avian bornavirus infection and is characterized by intestinal paralysis, which results in food becoming stuck in the bird’s proventriculus. The intestine swells, causing discomfort, and when the gut cannot absorb nutrients from the stalled food, the bird dies. Interestingly, not all birds with PDD show these symptoms, and some can live years after exposure to the virus—as many as six or seven—before developing the illness. PDD was once called Macaw Wasting Disease, as it was originally thought just to impact macaws, but we now know it can be found in parrots, finches, lovebirds, quaker parakeets, and cockatiels, as well as wild water fowl such as geese and mute swans. Scientists have made some headway in their quest to better understand the disease in the past three years. Dr. Ian Tizard, DVM, Ph.D, and director of the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center at Texas A&M University, has made PDD a career-long focus. Recent progress has provided something of a good news/bad news situation, according to Tizard. Recent projects have revolved around …
Avian Vet Specialist Part IFebruary 23, 2014Take a virtual tour of vet offices, and find out how vets run their offices, ORs and more. brightcove.createExperiences(); Watch Part 2 here.
Avian Vet Specialist Part IIFebruary 22, 2014 Take a virtual tour of vet offices, and find out how vets run their offices, ORs and more. brightcove.createExperiences();
Teaching Clients About The Birds And The SeedsAugust 26, 2013 "Probably most pet owners still think ‘seeds’ when it comes to food for their parrots," admitted Larry Nemetz, DVM, an avian-only veterinarian in Santa Ana, Calif. "Nationwide, the pet owners who opt for a formulated diet for their birds are still in the minority." But he said the number of pet owners who are switching to a formulated diet is growing each year. Avian veterinarians generally recommend that 70 percent to 90 percent of a parrot’s diet be comprised of an extruded or pelletized formulated diet, and the remaining 30 percent to 10 percent be made up of healthy table foods, fruits and vegetables, and seeds or nuts. As veterinarians continue to get the word out about formulated diets, Dr. Nemetz believes, this type of food will become more popular. He estimates that 70 percent of his clients are feeding their birds a formulated diet. Many veterinarians across the country have made similar observations. "Pet owners are becoming more aware of the formulated diets," said Julie Burge, DVM, of Grandview, Mo. In her area, many breeders are now weaning their baby birds onto pellets and instruct new bird buyers to feed them a …
