Introduction—Unusual Exotic Species

Abstract

Welcome to this edition of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, devoted to species less commonly presented in exotic animal practice. The articles that follow are intended to familiarize the reader with a variety of animals that many veterinarians have little experience with and far less training to treat and for which information can be difficult to find. This category of exotic animals falls into a “no man's land,” somewhere between zoological specimens and pets. Zoo veterinarians usually do not treat the animals described in this issue of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine because they are privately owned, and most companion animal/ exotics veterinarians lack the willingness or knowledge. Veterinary information for many of these animals is sparse or nonexistent. For others, the paucity of information available is published in many journals and text books, some of them obscure or out of print. This issue represents just one small effort to bring such information into one resource. Some would say “Why bother? People should not have these animals as pets anyway.” Well, that may be true, but as long as these animals are available, people will purchase them. If proper diet and husbandry conditions are not provided (as is often the case), the animal will suffer. Others may say, “These animals would be better off in zoos.” But any zoo veterinarian will tell you that zoological collections are not immune to husbandry problems; however, because of good training and proper veterinary care, they occur less often than in the private setting. Our job, as exotic animal practitioners, is to educate and assist our clients, correct diet and husbandry mistakes, and provide medical care that is current.