The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine

09/04/2024

Heads up for anyone traveling to CBEAM or elsewhere this weekend!

BOTHELL– Travelers should plan for a full closure of southbound Interstate 405 in Bothell from 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, to 4 a.m. Monday, Sept. 9 as contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation pave the roadway.

09/04/2024

09/04/2024

A recent mandate by the Department of Energy threatens to negatively impact care for captive reptiles and amphibians within the United States. The mandate, which went into law on July 3rd, 2024, bans the manufacture, distribution, and sale of lighting that does not meet a defined lumens to watt ratio and are classified as “General Service Lamps”. While this mandate does allow exemptions for husbandry, it does not include a husbandry exemption for compact UV bulbs and basking bulbs (

09/03/2024

A personal touch: Not having dragons for a while, I forgot about the 'decorating' they seem to do whenever the tank is just the way you like it. My new morning routine includes cleaning urates off the basking log to stop it from drying like concrete.

Thank you to Dubia.com for once again being our sponsor and helping us get Bug Eyed Ben settled! They're a wonderful company with awesome staff who make high quality tanks and we're so grateful to be able to work with them.

I'll post some photos of him in his new tank being his weird little self in the comments!

09/02/2024

09/01/2024

🩺 September is Animal Pain Awareness Month 🩺

Just like humans, animals experience pain in various forms—surgical pain, arthritis, cancer-related pain, and more. For exotic companion mammals, this can be particularly challenging as they are prey species, meaning they often hide signs of pain and may only show subtle behavioral changes.

Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. It’s important to remember that old age is not a disease, but pain is — and it’s treatable.

The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management has proclaimed September as Animal Pain Awareness Month, aligning with human medicine’s Pain Awareness Month, to emphasize the importance of pain management in all animal species. There are many ways to treat pain in exotic mammals, including medications, physical rehabilitation, acupuncture, laser therapy, and therapeutic massage.

Let’s work together to ensure our exotic patients live comfortable, pain-free lives. 🐰🦔

08/29/2024

Check out CBEAMexoticvets’s video.

08/28/2024

The CBEAM Team strives to stay up to date on cutting edge medical techniques and research in order to improve the lives of our patients. Part of the way we do this is by supporting our team members to receive continuing education. Not only do our team members regularly attend continuing education, many of them are leaders in the field of exotic medicine and are actually teaching their colleagues!

At the international Joint Conference for Reptile, Amphibian, and Exotic Mammal Medicine this week, we had 3 of our technicians and 7 of our doctors attending. The following team members presented original research and continuing education to the hundreds of professionals attending:
1. Dr. Hyde gave 2 presentations, one on emergency ophthalmology and one on best practices for humane euthanasia (co-authored by Dr. Ruoff from Colorado Exotic Animal Hospital)
2. Dr. Dean gave 1 presentation reviewing the literature on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in exotic pets and dogs/cats, and presenting retrospective data from our hospital on success rates of CPR, which was coauthored by Dr. Strunk
3. Dr. Porter-Blackwell gave 1 presentation describing diagnosis and surgical treatment of an unusual bone tumor in a ferret
4. Kat Yeatman, LVT gave 1 presentation on anesthesia management of exotic patients that are less than 100 grams in weight, which was coauthored by our VTS - Exotic Mammal specialist, Crystal Wilcox, LVT
5. Dr. Strunk led a sold out hands-on workshop on advanced reptile techniques that was co-created by Dr. Music and assisted by Dr. Hyde, Dr. Dean, and technicians Crystal Wilcox and Kat Yeatman.

All presentations were well received, and several were standing room only!

08/21/2024

Chicken boots!

08/17/2024

Yay! Dr. Strunk was featured as an unsung hero by the Association of Exotic Mammal Vets! We are so lucky to have her at our hospital. :)

✨ Unsung Hero Spotlight: Dr. Anneliese Strunk ✨

We are excited to highlight Dr. Anneliese Strunk, a dedicated and passionate veterinarian making a remarkable impact in the field of exotic animal medicine. Born in Houston, Texas, Dr. Strunk graduated from Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and completed her residency with the exotic department at the University of California, Davis. She is now a diplomate of the ABVP (Avian) and practices in Washington at The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine.

Dr. Strunk’s unwavering passion for teaching staff, referring veterinarians, and students is truly inspiring. She is always ready to contribute her expertise on challenging or unusual cases, providing invaluable input that helps her colleagues and the animals they care for. Her enthusiasm and commitment are a refreshing and grounding force for everyone around her.

Thank you, Dr. Strunk, for your exceptional dedication and for setting such a high standard in veterinary care. Your work makes a significant difference in the lives of countless exotic pets and their families.

Do you know an exotic animal hero? We need YOU to nominate veterinarians, vet techs/nurses, and students so that we can honor the incredible individuals making waves in exotic pet medicine. You can even nominate yourself! Follow the link in our bio to nominate.

08/02/2024

07/30/2024

07/29/2024

07/14/2024

Come meet some of our team members at the PNW Reptile & Exotic Animal Show in Puyallup today! We would love to meet you and any new pets you are bringing home, and talk about our services. :)

07/05/2024

At CBEAM, our team understands that our patients require patience. If that means we come to them where it’s quiet and peaceful and get on the floor, that’s exactly what we’ll do! Scooch over, we’ve got you 🩷

07/04/2024

We had a bone to pick (out) of Kengi the caracal! A chicken bone got wedged in the hard palate between his teeth. Dr. Thomas and the rest of the CBEAM team removed the bone under anesthesia, and Kengi recovered smoothly.
In dogs, this same issue can occur due to getting sticks broken off/stuck in the roof of the mouth. We have also seen a hedgehog get a piece of raw carrot wedged in the hard palate, causing extreme distress.
Thankfully, removal of palatial foreign bodies is curative! 😊

07/03/2024

Introducing our NEW online booking tool!

Schedule your pet’s next appointment online at your convenience at any time in just minutes:

https://www.theexoticvet.com/online-appointment

06/27/2024

Talk to our doctors about bioactive enclosures for your exotic pet! There are many benefits as well as some risks that need to be managed.

06/16/2024

- wonderful resource for rabbit owners! Download a copy at https://empoweredanimalsbehaviorandtraining.com.

06/10/2024

The History of Parrots as Pets

Parrots are some of the most beautiful and unique animals that we keep as pets. So, when did aviculture of psittacine (parrot) species begin?

The first record of pet parrots dates from about 5,000 years ago in Brazil – unsurprisingly, as South America is home to a wide diversity of psittacine species! Over the past several thousand years, the ownership of pet parrots spread from South America and the Pacific islands to India, Egypt, and China. Parrots were first introduced to Europe in 327 BCE, when Alexander the Great brought ringneck and Alexandrine parrots from India back to Greece. The fall of the Roman Empire led to a decline in the popularity of pet parrots, and they were rare until Christopher Columbus brought two Cuban Amazon parrots back to Spain. Pet parrots had a meteoric rise in popularity throughout the world during the 18th century; even Martha Washington, the first First Lady of the United States, was a known parrot lover!

Unfortunately, parrots were taken from the wild to fulfill the demands of the pet trade, and some species are now threatened with extinction. Thankfully, many countries have since placed restrictions or bans on the importation of parrots. Many of the protections for wild populations of parrots (and other endangered animals) are upheld by CITES, the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora, which was founded in 1975. Over the past 5,000 years of parrot keeping, our knowledge of these amazing animals has greatly expanded. Aviculturists are now successfully breeding many psittacine species in captivity. These aviculturists are sustainably and safely helping to meet the demand for these special pets.

aav.org/blogpost/1787676/501762/The-History-of-Parrots-as-Pets

06/01/2024

Inspired by Iago the Macaw!

05/26/2024

Pet insurance can be very helpful for managing costs of veterinary care. The only insurance carrier option for exotic pets currently is Nationwide. We recommend that all pet owners investigate the possibility of insurance for their pet, and if you choose not to get them insurance, consider saving an equivalent amount monthly to help cover both expected and unexpected expenses.

Rabbit lovers! Let's talk about pet insurance.

As many of you know, Nationwide is the only provider that will cover rabbits. We wanted to tell you about our experience with Nationwide so far in case it helps you.

On May 1st, we noticed Leia in what we thought was an episode of GI stasis and took her to our vet. They took xrays and noticed what appeared to be an enlarged liver. Fearing liver lobe torsion, they recommended we rush to UC Davis.

We did. They did an ultrasound and noticed a large cyst near her liver and bile ducts and recommended emergency exploratory surgery, which we agreed. A 10cm in diameter cyst was removed, Leia recovered well, and it is non-cancerous (it is a rare issue called biliary cystadenoma)!!

As you might imagine, this was not inexpensive. Here were our bills:
Our vet: $839.25
UC Davis: $4525.55
Total: $5364.80

We have Nationwide Whole Pet with Wellness insurance and Leia's premium is $63/month. It was a little cheaper when we had more bunnies enrolled ($25/month per rabbit). The policy will reimburse 90% after you meet a deductible ($100).

We submitted the claims on May 18th. On May 21st, we recieved notice that we would receive the following reimbursements:
$4073.00 for UC Davis
$750.15 for our vet
Total: $4823.15

The money was transferred to my bank account on May 22 (you can opt for direct deposit).

So, in the end, Nationwide reimbursed us 90% of Leia's bills quite quickly.

If you were wondering if insurance is worth it, we can say - from our experience - that it is, especially for rabbits who can rack up high nills very quickly. Even if we had put the $63/month into savings instead of insurance, it would have taken 85 months (7 years!) to save $5300.

Let us know if you have any questions about our experience.

(And we are happy to report that General Leia Organa is doing quite well after her ordeal and that Ben Solo is happy to have her home)

05/24/2024

Cookie is a 3 year old female guinea pig who came in for a recheck of her infected eye ulcer with Dr. Hyde. Thankfully, she is “looking” great! Corneal ulcers are a very common emergency health problem for our guinea pig patients, and they often become infected. Cookie still has some changes that are being treated, but we are very happy with her healing.
******CONTENT WARNING: The last image is graphic and shows the progression of her corneal ulcer healing on day 1, day 3, and day 15 of treatment.******

05/23/2024

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7ULNQfPUCd/?igsh=MW55YTBjcXJmMHc5YQ==

05/23/2024

We recently saw Dobby the long-eared hedgehog for a physical exam, and confirmed that this hedgehog species does indeed biofluoresce just like African Pygmy Hedgehogs and tenrecs!
Dr. McLaughlin will be adding Dobby’s data to an ongoing collaborative research project on biofluorescence in spiny small mammal species. Biofluorescent organisms do not give off light from their own power source, nor is it a chemical reaction. They absorb low wavelength or dim light, then emit high wavelength light that makes the creatures glow against a dark background. The light emitted is a completely different color from what’s absorbed — usually green, red or orange. (https://www.hunterlab.com/blog/biofluorescence-vs-bioluminescence/). In hedgehogs and tenrecs, the biofluorescence is bright pink.
If you would like to see what this pretty pink hedgie with exceptional ears looks like in natural lighting, check out this amazing video of him playing with a toy below.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C61YRJsL2T8/?igsh=MXBtZmtkYjY4czVw

05/16/2024

The University of Georgia Clinical Nutrition Service wants to know about your feeding practices if you own a bearded dragon.

Please fill this form out and share widely to help inform further research on bearded dragon nutrition.

https://forms.office.com/r/h78PRmCgyh

05/14/2024

The Big Questions...

Cartoon description:
Panel one - Clover, (a brown guinea pig) and Willow (a grey and gold guinea pig) are sat next to each other.
Clover asks "Why do the humans call us potatoes? We're animals, not root vegetables!"
Panel two - Clover and Willow are in the same position, but drawn in a simple style to appear more rotund and almost potato-like. Willow responds "One of life's mysteries, I guess."