Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana

03/19/2025

Happy first day of Spring!
💐🪺🌹🦋🐣
The sun does arise,
And make happy the skies.
The merry bells ring
To welcome the spring.
The skylark and thrush,
The birds of the bush,
Sing louder around,
To the bells' cheerful sound...
- William Blake

03/17/2025

Happy St. Patricks Day from some of our finest green friends!💚🍀 Share your green or otherwise festive pets with us, and you may see them on our story today!

03/04/2025

Happy Mardi Gras! We are closed Tuesday, 3/4 for the holiday. If you have an emergency, call MedVet at 504-835-8508 and our doctors will be paged. We will be open again Wednesday at 8:30am.

02/25/2025

🌎Today is World Spay Day 🌏, and we want to let you know all the wonderful reasons for spaying (and neutering) your rabbits!

* The obvious one - no unwanted pregnancies. Did you know rabbits can get pregnant again immediately after giving birth!? 😲 Males are fertile as young as 3-4 months old, and females can get pregnant as early as 4-5 months old. 🤯

* Reduces the risk of reproductive cancers. We see many intact female bunnies developing uterine, cervical, and/or mammary cancers as young as 3-4 years old. Males aren't immune either, as we also see a handful of testicular cancers and/or infections yearly as well.

* Can minimize aggression and territorial behaviors such as marking. Early spaying and neutering can also help with litterbox training.

On an average week, we typically spay or neuter 3-5 rabbits (as well as guinea pigs, sugar gliders, rats, and prairie dogs). If you have any questions or concerns, or want to discuss future spaying and neutering for your pets, call us at 504-455-6386 to set up an appointment with one of our doctors!

Thank you to the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians for these wonderful graphics.

02/21/2025

📿If you have appointments with us Friday or Saturday, please plan ahead, as the road closures for Family Gras and the Metairie parades do affect getting to us! The service road should be unaffected, but you will need to check your routes to make sure you can avoid Veterans Blvd. 💜 💚 💛

ROAD CLOSURE NOTICE: FAMILY GRAS WEEKEND 🚧

Be aware of road closures along Veterans Blvd to help keep parade routes clear and ensure safety during the Family Gras event February 21-23, 2025.

Veterans Blvd will closed in both directions between N. Causeway Blvd & Severn Ave.

📅 Friday, Feb. 21 roads will be closed starting at 2 PM until parades conclude.

📅 Saturday, Feb. 22 & Sunday, Feb. 23 will closed starting at 9 AM until all parades are complete.

⚠️ Closures are subject to change based on crowd size and traffic conditions.

Plan ahead so you can enjoy these festivities as we work to keep Jefferson Parish safe! 🎭

02/20/2025

You love your pets every day, but today, show us this family photos of you and your pets!

02/15/2025

Happy Valentines Day! Give your pets a big smooch for us! 💕 Enjoy some of our staff pets and a few boarders taking their turn in the kissing booth!

01/31/2025

In honor of January being Eye Care Month, here is a common cause of corneal ulcers we see in rabbits and guinea pigs. 👁 This bunny came in for a red, puffy eye, and upon further examination, we found a piece of hay stuck under the lid! 🌾 After careful removal, there was instant relief, but the hay had scratched the cornea, leaving a painful ulcer behind. Pain medications and antibiotic eye drops were started, and mom has reported after a few days the bunny is back to her normal self!

If you have an overly excited hay eater, or they love to burrow in the hay, a good habit to start is to shake out any small pieces of hay before putting it in your pet's cage. You can also use a hay bin to keep the hay off the ground (and their eyes out of it!).

01/29/2025

Happy Lunar New Year! Today is Chinese New Year, and 2025 is the Year of the Snake! 🐍 There is no need to be creeped out by this! There are quite a few good attributes to draw from the snake...

In the Chinese zodiac, the snake is the sixth sign, symbolizing wisdom, intuition, and change. 2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake, which bestows wisdom and resilience. The snake symbolizes wealth and good fortune. 💰 🐍

We love our snake patients, and here’s to a new year of helping them live their best lives. #2025

01/26/2025

Happy "bird"-day to Dr. Pence's African Grey, Chipper! 🎉 He turns 24 today, and is hoping there's a better birthday treat in store for him instead of broccoli! (Although he does love broccoli...🥦)

How do you celebrate your pet's birthdays or gotcha days?

01/22/2025

UPDATE FOR THURSDAY, 1/23:

We are attempting to open Thursday at 2pm, pending the road conditions. If you have an appointment Thursday, please call before leaving the house to make sure we are open. All morning appointments will be rescheduled.

01/21/2025

How about that historic snow day!? ❄️ Did any pets brave the cold and wet? Or did you bring a bit of winter inside for them? Share your winter fun below!

01/21/2025

It snows on my 70th birthday. Oh my gosh. It is a blizzard in New Orleans. At least Radar has a fur coat. - Dr. Rich

01/20/2025

🌬❄️We are CLOSED Tuesday & Wednesday this week due to the weather. Pending road conditions, our doctors may not be able to come in for emergency visits, but if you need to talk to them, please call MedVet at 504-835-8508. If we don’t contact you back within 30 minutes, please call the LSU Vet School at 225-578-9600. ❄️🌬

*If you have an appointment these two days, we have tried reaching out to you to cancel. Please call us Thursday at 504-455-6386 to reschedule.*

❄️All current patients and boarders are being taken care of.❄️

To help your pets stay warm during the upcoming freeze, make sure all outside pets are either brought in, or their outdoor pens are fully winter proof. Move indoor pets away from windows and exterior walls, and cover cages with extra blankets if needed. Be careful with heating pads and exposed cords around certain pets, and if using space heaters, make sure they are TEFLON FREE and not plugged into an extension cord.

Stay warm, safe, and enjoy the snow! ❄️🌨❄️

01/20/2025

01/19/2025

Did you know that the happy jump guinea pigs do is called "popcorning"? What better way to celebrate National Popcorn Day than to share with us your beloved little piggies in the comments! Bonus if you have a video of them actually popcorning! 🍿🐹

01/19/2025

Chewing on wood, like this apple stick, can help the front teeth, but the most important part of a rabbit, guinea pig, or chinchilla's diet is grass hay. 🪵This is the main way to help keep their molars in check, with the extensive chewing needed to break down the hay strands. Hay also has the added benefit of providing much needed fiber to their diet. 🌾 Hay should encompass 70% or more of your pet's diet!! 🌱

Did you know that alfalfa is not considered a grass hay? Avoid this legume unless you are a growing baby, nursing mama, or older senior needing to keep weight on. Otherwise concentrate on hays such as Timothy, botanical, orchard, oat, and meadow hay.

During your pet's wellness exams, we can go over your diet and make adjustments as needed to keep them happy, healthy, and with good chompers! 🦷