Health Care for Small Pets

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Just like dogs and cats, your small pet needs ongoing veterinary care, balanced nutrition, human interaction and management of their environment. You may also need behavioral guidance and understanding of your small pet.

If you own a small mammal such as a rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, mice, or hamsters, we recommend an annual wellness exam to ensure your small pet is healthy. An annual wellness exam also gives us a baseline for future reference in the event your pet is ever sick. Annual exams give you time with our veterinarians so we can answer all of your health, behavior and nutrition questions.

Bringing Your Small Pet to Creature Comforts Animal Clinic

We recognize that coming to the vet can be a stressful experience for any pet, particularly our small ones. Our staff and doctors are very sensitive to this fact and do whatever we can to limit this stress.

Your pet may be more relaxed if brought in its regular enclosure if possible. It is also best not to clean the enclosure prior to bringing your pet in. This will allow your pet to be surrounded by familiar, comfortable smells, and will also retain samples for diagnostic testing if needed to better evaluate your pet.

Our annual wellness exams include

• Complete wellness physical examination, including oral exam
• Weight checks
• Fecal exam
• Vaccinations if needed
• Parasite prevention if needed

We also offer:

• Diagnostic testing, such as blood tests, skin scrapings, and biopsy of growths
• Sex determination
• Surgeries for spay/neuter, growth removal, dental disease, fractures, and internal problems
• In-house pharmacy with medications and supplements
• Nutritional counseling tailored to the needs of your pet
• Behavioral counseling
• Environmental enrichment counseling
• Microchipping
• Senior Pet Care

How to Tell When Your Small Mammal is Sick

The best treatment for any illness is catching it early, before your pet is showing signs of illness.

Small mammals are skilled at hiding problems. This ability helps them to survive in the wild, where displaying signs of illness or injury can be the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, this means that when they finally do let us know that there is a problem, it is often advanced and more difficult to resolve. Signs to watch for include (but are not limited to):

• Decreased activity
• Decreased appetite
• Weight loss
• Changes in stool or urine production or appearance
• Ocular or nasal discharge
• Any sign of blood on the animal or in its enclosure
• Muscle twitching, weakness
• Witnessed or suspected injuries

Call us as soon as possible if your pet is displaying any concerning signs!