Content
Avian, Exotic, Small Mammals & Fish Procedures
Skill: Understand the approach to providing safe and effective care for birds, reptiles, amphibians, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, and ferrets.
- Recognize, understand, and perform restraint techniques of birds*, reptiles, amphibians, and ferrets
- Understand unique husbandry issues for each species (birds, reptiles, amphibians, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, and ferrets) and provide client education*
- Nutritional needs/diet
- Watering
- Caging (temperature, humidity, light)
- Aquarium care
- Understand reproduction
- Basic grooming (beak, wing, and nail clipping)
- Appropriate transportation methods
- Demonstrate the ability to obtain objective data: birds*, reptiles, amphibians, and ferrets
- Perform nail trim (avian, exotic, small mammal
- Perform injections:
- Subcutaneous
- Intramuscular
- Intradermal
- Intraperitoneal
- Intravenous
- Perform oral dosing
- Administer drugs or medicaments using appropriate sites and routes
- Understand appropriate sites for catheter placement
- Understand tube feeding in birds
- Perform laboratory procedures
- Anesthetize avian and exotic animals
- Recognize normal and abnormal behavior patterns
- Explain inadvisability of keeping wildlife as pets
- Collect blood samples
Decision-making abilities: Given the unique requirements of these species, the veterinary technician will safely obtain subjective and objective data that will allow evaluation of the patient. The veterinary technician will be able to: 1) identify husbandry issues, 2) discern appropriate from inappropriate nutritional support, and 3) recognize normal from abnormal behavior patterns.