Library
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This handout discusses the use of cryosurgery in pets. This technique involves the use of extreme cold to destroy abnormal or diseased tissues. A short discussion in included as to how the technique is used, and in what circumstances it may be appropriate to use.
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Collecting tissue samples for cytology or histopathology allow a pathologist to often give a diagnosis of the type of mass or tumor your pet has. Samples can be obtained by fine needle aspirate or biopsy, where a piece of the mass is cut out. Based on what the mass appears like under the microscope, the pathologist can often give a prognosis of how the tumor will behave.
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Your veterinarian wants to keep your pet healthy and the fact is that people who are better informed take better care of their pets. Do not be overwhelmed by “medicalese”. Try your best to understand this foreign language and if you cannot quite decipher it, ask your veterinarian to speak more plainly.
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Dexmedetomidine is a sedative/tranquilizer used primarily in cats and dogs as a pre-medication injection for anesthesia or for chemical restraint. It is also used orally in dogs for short-term anxiety management. The most common side effect is a low heart rate. Dexmedetomidine should not be used in patients with severe heart liver or kidney disease. It should be used cautiously in young, old, or weak animals. Consult your veterinary office immediately if you suspect a negative reaction or overdose.
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Turtles are omnivorous, eating both animal protein and vegetable matter. As juveniles, they are mainly carnivorous, become more omnivorous as they age. When feeding turtles, offering a variety of food is important to help stimulate the turtle to eat and provide nutritional balance. The carnivorous portion of their diet should consist of commercial turtle or fish pellets, as well as a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. The plant portion of the diet should be made up of vegetables, preferably ones that float and can be left in the water for the turtle to nibble on throughout the day. Some veterinarians suggest adding a balanced, commercially available multivitamin once per week with an additional source of calcium, such as a calcium block or cuttlebone, twice per week. Having a well-functioning filtration system that is cleaned regularly is key to ensuring good water quality. Turtles and other reptiles commonly carry Salmonella bacteria on their skin or in the gastrointestinal tracts, so always wash your hands thoroughly after feeding, cleaning, or handling turtles.
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Iguanas are herbivorous, meaning they eat plants. Most of their diet should be dark green leafy vegetables, with less than 20% of the diet as fruits. In general, foods comprised of large amounts of animal-based protein, such as crickets, mealworms, pinky mice, tofu, and hard boiled eggs, are too high in protein for iguanas to eat frequently and should be offered as less than 5% of the adult iguana’s total diet. The amount and type of supplements required by iguanas is controversial and somewhat age-dependent. Most veterinarians recommend lightly sprinkling a growing iguana’s food every other day (4-5 times per week) with calcium powder (calcium carbonate or gluconate), without vitamin D or phosphorus that has been specifically formulated for reptiles. Most veterinarians recommend that young iguanas receive a multivitamin supplement containing vitamin D twice a week. Opinions vary regarding the nutritional needs of captive iguanas, and our knowledge in the subject is continually expanding based on new dietary studies in reptiles. Check with your veterinarian for specific nutritional needs for your pet iguana.
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All snakes are carnivores. Some eat warm-blooded prey (rodents, rabbits, birds), while others eat insects, amphibians, eggs, other reptiles, fish, earthworms, or slugs. Live prey should not be fed to snakes. Snakes can be offered thawed, previously frozen prey, or freshly killed prey. Smaller or younger snakes usually eat twice each week, while larger, more mature snakes typically eat once every week or two.
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There are multiple methods of inheritance including autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive and sex-linked inheritance that determine which characteristics (or phenotypes) are displayed by the offspring. There are also many polygenic traits (i.e., associated with multiple genes) as well as environmental factors that make prediction of disease or likelihood of passing disease onto offspring much more complicated.
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An improper environment is one of the most common causes of health problems encountered in reptiles next to improper nutrition. Aquatic turtles should be kept in as large an aquarium as possible and the environment should have enough water for the turtle to swim, a dry area on which the turtle can escape the water to bask, a heat source, and a source of ultraviolet (UV) light. Since pet turtles eat and eliminate in the same water, the tank water must be changed at least once weekly or more frequently if it becomes dirty. A heat source is necessary for all reptiles to maintain their environmental temperature within a constant range. In addition to regulating the water temperature, the temperature of the basking area must be regulated. Plants can be used for decoration, as long as they are safe for the turtle to eat. Failure to provide unfiltered UV light can predispose your pet to nutritional metabolic bone disease. Thoroughly wash your hands after feeding, cleaning, or handling turtles, as they can carry and transmit Salmonella bacteria.
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As an iguana grows, it must be moved to a larger enclosure, with accommodation for both horizontal and vertical movement. Glass or Plexiglas® enclosures with good ventilation are ideal. The cage bottom should be easy to disinfect and keep clean, with a screened top to prevent your pet from escaping, while still allowing some ventilation. A source of heat and UV light must be provided for iguanas. All reptiles require a heat source, such as a ceramic heat-emitting bulb, in their tanks to provide warmth. Ideally, the cage should be set up so that a heat gradient is established, with the tank warm on one and cooler on the other. The cage temperature should be monitored closely. For UV light to be effective, it must reach the pet directly, without being filtered out by glass or plastic between the pet and the bulb. The bulb should be approximately a foot away from the animal and be on for 10-12 hours per day, mimicking a normal daylight cycle.