Long Beach Animal Hospital

Happy Halloween from Jessica and all of us at Long Beach Animal Hospital! Don't forget to keep all candy away from your pets during the holidays. If your pet does eat something that is potentially toxic we are available to help with our emergency service. Follow this link to learn much more - https://www.lbah.com/pet-emergency-services/

Extern Final Diary 9/25 Today is my last day at LBAH! Before talking about this cute critter, I wanted to thank all the veterinarians and staff at LBAH that welcomed me to the practice. I've learned so much about exotics during my 2 weeks here! This little prickly pear is an African Pygmy Hedgehog. Hedgehogs originate from African dry grasslands. They are nocturnal (asleep during the day, awake during the night) and territorial, so they should be housed alone. Hedgehogs typic...ally live between 4-6 years. Unlike porcupines, who have quills that they can eject at predators, hedgehogs are covered in spines, which are attached and rooted to their skin. That means you won't need to shield your eyes from flying quills because they can't eject their spines at you (but definitely shield your hands, because those spines are sharp!). It's important for you to know that hedgehogs are natural carriers of Salmonella (in 2019 the CDC linked a Salmonella outbreak to hedgehogs). Therefore, always make sure you wash your hands after handling them, and keep away from young children. If you own a hedgehog that has diarrhea, it's possible it has an overgrowth of Salmonella.

This beautiful creature is a Jackson's Horned Chameleon, native to East Africa. They are found in woodlands and forests where there is seasonal rainfall. Temperatures in these areas range from 61-81 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime and 36-64 degrees Fahrenheit at night. Knowing this is important because the most common causes of disease in captive reptile populations is inappropriate husbandry (environment) and diet! Our goal with any owned pet, especially exotics, is to... mimic its native environment as much as possible. For the Jackson's Chameleon, that means ensuring it has a meshed, vertical enclosure full of sturdy, non-toxic plants for it to climb on. Additionally, while humidity makes my hair look like a frizzy mess, it's essential for chameleons because chameleons don't drink water from a bowl. Instead, they stay hydrated by licking water off of leaves. Therefore, it's very important for the plants and branches in a chameleon's enclosure to be sprayed/misted twice every day. Our web site has a detailed section on Reptile Diseases- https://www.lbah.com/reptile/tortoise-bladder-stones/

Extern Daily Diary It’s not an eggit’s not a tennis ballit’sa bladder stone! You would never know from the outside that this tortoise was hiding this bladder stone on the inside! How and why do these stones form?... While we don’t know the exact cause, we do know that it is related to inadequate hydration and nutrition. Though tortoises are from arid (dry) environments, it is extremely important for them to always have free access to water and to be soaked occasionally in a shallow dish. Bladder stones can also form if a tortoise is given a diet too high in protein; a well-balanced diet of 80% grass and 20% dark green, leafy vegetables should help prevent stones like these from forming. This is a small bladder stone. If you visit our web site on how we remove it surgically you will see huge ones! https://www.lbah.com/reptile/tortoise-bladder-stones/

Extern Daily Diary Hi everyone! My name is Ava Abuchaei and I'm working as an extern at LBAH until this Friday. I go to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and am excited to eventually move back to my hometown of Los Angeles after graduating to work in a small animal/exotics practice. I've been asked in the past what my favorite exotics species to work with is and that's really hard for me to answer because I genuinely like them all! Whether they're small little furbal...l rodents or talkative parrots or stoic tortoises, there's something about every species that I find fascinating. I also love teaching and being involved in education, so I hope that through my daily extern diary we can learn some new things together!

Learning Cardiology Dr. P has been teaching Ireland about using a stethoscope to listen to heart sounds of animals. First, Ireland listened to her own heart because it is slower and much easier to hear than an animal that has a fur coat, breathes irregularly, and most importantly, does not sit still as you can see from these pictures taken at Marty's Place when DR. P was there to monitor this fawn's health. If you want to learn more about animal cardiology we have a detailed page for you (if you dare)-https://www.lbah.com/canine/heart-disease/

The link to Dr. P's Borneo Orangutan Zoom Presentation Last Night https://us02web.zoom.us//7p0tf-_8rjs3TNCcsgSDUaQrW9S1KKush

Borneo Orangutan Zoom Presentation 88 people signed up for Dr. P's presentation last night. For those of you that missed it here are a few photos. His presenta...tion was recorded by the Petoskey library. That link will be posted here in a few days once the library sends it to him. Until then, if you want to learn more here are links to his Borneo trips on the LBAH web site: The 2012 Trip https://www.lbah.com/wildlife-photography-b/back-to-borneo/ The 1991 Trip https://www.lbah.com/wildlife-photog/the-orangutan-project/

Update on Larry Dr. P did an exam on Larry today to make sure he has recovered from his surgery. He ate well overnight, and by the speed at which he evaded Brianna and Ireland when they tried to catch him for the exam, he is doing great. His incision is healing and he has no fever, so it looks like he is well on his way to a complete recovery. After Larry's exam Dr. P did a post-operative review of Larry's anesthesia and surgery with Ireland and Adrianna. These two budding v...eterinarians learned about anesthetic doses and administration, along with more details on the surgery and post operative care. If you would like to learn more about how we do anesthesia and surgery at the Long Beach Animal Hospital follow this link- https://www.lbah.com/feline/anesthesia/

Larry's Big Day Larry the 5 year old ram at Marty's place was getting a little too aggressive, so Megan asked Dr. P and Dr. Nurse to neuter him. With the assistance of pre-vet students Ariana and Ireland, everything went as planned and Larry is on his way to healing.

Join Dr. Carl Palazzolo for a virtual Zoom presentation and in-depth look at the orangutan of Borneo. He will share his photography and stories of his experience with these fascinating and beautiful creatures. This 75 minute, fast-paced presentation is informative, educational, and entertaining. Dr. P will answer all questions after the presentation, including those from veterinarians-to-be that want to learn more about the profession. Registration and an email address is required: http://petoskeylibrary.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails The Zoom meeting link, password, and instructions will be emailed to registrants on the day of the program. Hope to see you there!

Student Training These two pre-vet students have been present at rounds with Dr. P as he is training MSU extern Jennie Nyugen. They are getting good experience working with the fawn at Marty's Place for Animals under the guidance of Megan. She is experienced at just how much milk the fawn should drink at each 4 hour feeding. (https://m.facebook.com/martysplaceforanimals/)

Dr. P is helping out at a wildlife sanctuary with deer, bison, and elk, along with farm animals. This fawn has been fed every 4 hours for 2 weeks, and it will continue for 10 weeks. This is a testament to the dedication Megan shows for all of the animals she cares for at Marty's Place For Animals (https://m.facebook.com/martysplaceforanimals/)