Veterinarians' guide to hedgehogs, chinchillas and chelonians.....oh, my!

Wildlife veterinarian Mark Mitchell co-edited the new "Manual of Exotic Pet Practice, " which provides detailed information on all of the major exotic animal groups. Click here for more information.

Ferrets, frogs and finches are becoming more common as pets, but the list of unusual species adopted into human households now includes some of the most exotic creatures on the planet. The trade in exotic pets has become a multi-billion dollar enterprise, but expansion of the industry sometimes outpaces veterinary knowledge of how to treat the maladies that afflict these unusual animals.

The new “Manual of Exotic Pet Practice,” published by Elsevier and edited by veterinary experts at the University of Illinois and Louisiana State University, provides detailed information on all of the major exotic animal groups. The book devotes entire chapters to invertebrates, ornamental fish, amphibians, crocodilians, snakes, lizards, chelonians (turtles and tortoises), birds, marsupials, ferrets, rabbits, hedgehogs, chinchillas and guinea pigs. Rats and mice get a chapter, as do hamsters and gerbils. A final chapter offers guidance on the treatment of injured wildlife.

“We felt that there was a strong need for a general exotic pet textbook that could be used by veterinarians to manage any exotic animal that came their way,” the editors wrote in the preface.