Birds can injure themselves quite easily in the typical household.  It is important to "bird proof" your home so that you lessen the chance of serious accidents.

Birds have a very complicated sinus system (a part of the respiratory tract) with lots of interconnecting air pockets that can readily get infected.  Infections can start in one site and move through the sinus system to attack most areas of the skull. A severe infection means that many affected birds will die without treatment.

When a bird is very ill, it is often recommended that a “hospital cage” be created at home to provide an optimal environment for recovery. It is best to have a designated cage for this before an illness occurs in order to be well prepared. Your veterinarian will make specific recommendations for you based on your individual birds problem but the following information is often adequate for most basic at home hospital cages.

Endoscopes are small "telescopes" that are used to have a look at the internal organs of an animal. Just as a veterinarian does a thorough physical examination of the outside of the body, the endoscope allows a veterinarian to do the same sort of examination of the bird's internal organs to assess their health.  This is extremely helpful to determine an underlying cause for many illnesses that elude detection through bloodwork and other routine diagnostic labwork.

If your bird is not acting right or appears injured and you are unsure of the severity of the condition, it is always best to contact us immediately. We are able to accommodate emergencies during regular business hours as well as after hours.

Since other emergency hospitals are not exclusive exotic pet practices and possibly do not treat these types of pets, the doctors and staff may or may not be capable of providing emergency care for your pet so please call ahead.

Pets may be sent home with liquid medications.  An oral liquid medication must be given by mouth to be effective.  An injectable liquid medication must be given by injection beneath the skin to be useful.  Some injectable medications require that the medication is inserted into the muscle to be most effective.  It is important that you understand how to read the syringes that are sent home so your pet gets the proper amount of medication at each dose.

All exotic pets, even ones that appear to be outwardly healthy, have the potential to carry and spread contagious diseases that can impact the health of people.  This sort of disease is called a "zoonosis", "zoonotic disease", or "zoonotic infection".