Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from your crazy exotic crew!

10/25/2024

Fall is in the air, and what better way to treat your birds than with cinnamon apple flavored bird bread! We love the mixes by because it is a healthy alternative to table food.

Bird Bread is an organic blend of whole grains and legumes with added vitamins and minerals. It is a great way to help wean your parrots onto a healthier pelleted diet, as well as a way to hide more vegetables they may not want to eat normally. It also works as a tasty treat to put medication on if needed.

We carry several flavor options for sale in our office. Do your birds love bird bread? Share a photo below of them chowing down!

10/22/2024

Meet Jupiter - she is a 1-2 year old female rabbit being cared for by Jefferson SPCA at Jefferson Feed. They need your help with funding, as they are caring for numerous abandoned park rabbits, many with heavy medical expenses like Jupiter.

She was found abandoned in Kenner City Park with 2 of her babies. Sadly both babies were very sick and didn’t survive. Jupiter was brought to us at Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana for her health exam and spay, where she was discovered to already be pregnant again. She was also very thin and had a severe case of mastitis. Her next litter did not survive either, so she was spayed and the infected mammary gland was removed. Fast forward 2 weeks, she developed another infection around her surgery sites, that also involved a second mammary gland. She went back to surgery this week for a more invasive abscess removal. She has been on antibiotics, pain medications, and receiving cold laser therapy to speed up healing. She is thankfully still doing well, and loves to ride around in our vet assistant’s hoodies!

If you would like to help Jupiter and other bunnies like her, consider adoption through Jefferson Feed, or donations can be made to Jefferson SPCA directly or through our hospital to go on their account. Call us at 504-455-6386 if you would like to donate. 🐇

10/21/2024

Hay is the most important part of a healthy rabbit, guinea pig, or chinchilla's diet. How much should they be eating a day? At least a pile as big as their body!

Check the article below for all the reasons why hay is so important.

Is your pet not eating this much hay? Call us at 504-455-6386 to schedule a physical exam soon! During your pet's wellness exam, we will discuss diet and nutrition to help keep you pet healthy and happy. 🐇🌿🐹🐰

Wondering how much hay your rabbit or guinea pig should eat? Find the answer with the small pet experts at Oxbow Animal Health.

10/16/2024

In honor of Veterinary Technician Appreciation Week, what better way to celebrate our amazing fellow coworkers than with a water balloon fight! Half the team was “blinded”, which made it all the more challenging! 💦

Our team is such an incredibly hard working group of people, from our receptionists who answer the phone and are the first person to greet you when you come in, to our veterinary assistants and technicians who are in the exam rooms with you and your pet as well as taking care of your pet through taking x-rays, trimming nails, filling prescriptions, hospitalization, surgery, and beyond, to our kennel technicians who clean and take care of and love on all our boarding friends. Dr. Rich, Dr. Pence, and Dr. Zieve appreciates you all! ❤️

Yesterday we had brownies and ice cream, today with the “cooler” weather we are making potato soup! Give a shout out below to our amazing support team. Without them this hospital doesn’t run! 🐇 🐍 🦜 🐢 🐀 🦎 🐭

09/24/2024

A new free resource on creative toys and enrichment for your birds!

Free Parrot Enrichment Activity Book Available
Have you checked out the newest printable on the AAV Bird Owner Resources page? Download and share the Parrot Enrichment Activity Book, a free PDF booklet by Kris Porter. It is full of wonderful ideas for creating toys and enrichment activities for birds!

Find this and more great resources at:
aav.org/birdowners

09/16/2024

Our most up to date spay/neuter numbers through the end of August! We just wanted to shout out that we broke 1,000 on rabbit spay/neuters!

Thank you Dr. Rich, Dr. Pence and Dr. Zieve at Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital of Louisiana and Dr. Riedel at Furry Friends Animal Hospital for fixing the bunnies of Jefferson Parish!

So many bunny owners do not know they can get their rabbits fixed and it's likely how we end up with so many dumped in our local parks.

You can find the information to get your bunny fixed on our website: https://www.jeffersonspca.org/low-cost-rabbit-spayneuter. You can also neuter male guinea pigs through our program too!

09/15/2024

We love this list for the bare minimum of needs for your hamster (and gerbils!). Even the small pocket pets deserve amazing care and comfy homes. We know we have seen some awesome hamster set ups with our patients - share your designs below and brag on your tiny rodent friends!

With Small Pet Rodent Awareness Week - SPRAW starting tomorrow, we thought this infographic from Bristol Rabbit Rescue And Friends is a perfect way to help raise awareness of the five welfare needs.

™️ ❤️

09/12/2024

Most wildlife after a storm do not need rescuing! Our closest wildlife hospital is at the vet school in Baton Rouge. Many rehabbers are already at full capacity, and our hospital can not take in orphans. If you do see wildlife down, and they are obviously injured (you see blood, a wing hanging, or limping) you can give us a call at 504-455-6386. Otherwise check for local rehabilitators at ahnow.org

09/11/2024

UPDATE 9/11 pm - We are remaining CLOSED Thursday, 9/12 until at least noon. Stay tuned for further updates. If you have a morning appointment or drop off appointment, you should have received a text message to cancel. If we have power, we may be able to open for the afternoon. We hope everyone is staying safe and dry.

We are closed WEDNESDAY 9/11 for Hurricane Francine. If you have an emergency, the LSU vet school in Baton Rouge should be available - 225-578-9600. We are hoping to reopen Thursday for normal operations, pending any power and/or water outages. Stay tuned and stay safe everyone!

09/10/2024

With Hurricane Francine in the gulf and headed our way, make sure you are prepared for both yourself AND your pets to either evacuate or hunker down for a few days. As of now we are remaining open, but are not taking in boarders in case we lose power and/or water. If you need medication refills, don’t wait and CALL TODAY to have them filled before end of day.

09/02/2024

We are closed today for Labor Day to give our hardworking staff the day off. If you have an emergency, please call the LSU Vet School at 225-578-9600 or MedVet at 504-835-8508. We will be open again Tuesday at 8:30am.

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. 🐰🦔

08/31/2024

The reptile and small exotic mammal conference was in town this week, and Dr. Rich, Dr. Pence, and Dr. Zieve were able to attend several of the days. Our goal was to learn as much as we could to take back to our hospital to further help our wonderful patients. Of course, Dr. Rich had to close out the party in style!

The Joint Conference of the AEMV/ARAV ended with a fun finale party! Here, with Nadine Lafeber, is the legendary Dr. Mardi Gras - Dr. Gregory Rich and his wife, Renee. Dr. Rich is a hero in exotics medicine. In spite of the destruction of his clinic by Hurricane Katrina, he jumped into action helping animals in need during the aftermath. Dr. Rich has also worked with our own Ask the Vet, Dr. Tom Tully! Read more about this amazing Veterinarian by clicking the links below.
https://gregrichdvm.com/veterinarians/
https://lafeber.com/2016-dr-gregory-rich/

08/26/2024

Dr. Rich and Dr. Carolyn Cray from univmiami presented a lecture on Rabbit E. cuniculi to the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians in New Orleans this morning. We want to thank all of our bunny clients who helped us over the last year with providing blood samples for this important study. .cuniculi

08/15/2024

Seeking new reading material for our patients! 📰 📚 We are running very low on newspaper, and with the upcoming holiday, we will be going through extra with our boarders. 🗞️ We can accept any and all newspaper donations during our regular hours, and if it’s after hours (and not raining!) it can also be left by the door. Thank you in advance!! 🦜 🐇 🐢 🐁 🐍 🕊️ 🦎

08/07/2024

UPDATE: Phelonie has made parole! She was officially adopted this week and is loving her new home with a wonderful scenic window view and new canine friends!

We have a beardie looking for a new home! We have been affectionately calling her Phelonie, because she was brought to us by NOPD after they responded to a call and she was left behind. She is now looking for a permanent home not behind bars!

Phelonie is approximately 2 year old female bearded dragon. She is negative for intestinal parasites and has had a normal physical exam. If you are interested in her, please call us at 504-455-6386 to set up a time to meet her. Adoption fees will apply.

08/01/2024

07/24/2024

UPDATE - Our power is back on! Our phones were acting up for a bit, so if you are having trouble getting a hold of us, please TEXT.

Unfortunately we are without power right now. Our phones may go out soon. The best way to contact us is to TEXT 504-455-6386. If it is an emergency please call the LSU Vet School at 225-578-9600 to be seen.

07/20/2024

Reptile and Exotic Pet Show THIS WEEKEND in Slidell at the Harbor Center!

The LARGEST Reptile and Exotic Pet show in Louisiana is coming back to The Harbor Center in Slidell July 20th and 21st! Buy or browse thousands of reptiles, amphibians, inverts, feeders, supplies, and more in this two-day event. Check out our educational section for a hands on experience with some of the most exotic reptiles and animals on the planet. This is a HOT show as well, and a select number of vendors will have venomous for sale. Concessions will be available both days so make a weekend out of it! DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

Time:
Sat 10am-5pm
Sun 10am-4pm

Ticket Prices:
$10 for adult 1 day. $15 adult 2 day
$5 kids ages 5-12 1 day. $8 kids ages 5-12 2 day
4 and under are always free!

Location:
The Harbor Center‍
‍100 Harbor Center Blvd, Slidell, LA, 70461

07/06/2024

We often recommend foraging and scatter feeding for our bunny and rodent friends. This helps with enrichment and preventing boredom, but it’s also a great tactic for overweight pets and making them work for their food. Show off your pet’s feeding strategy with us, and help others come up with more ideas too.

Scatter feeding is an easy and beneficial way to encourage the instinctual foraging behaviors of rabbits, guinea pigs, and other pets.

06/19/2024

We all fell in love with this sweet bunny we saw today, rescued by the Ramsey family. Sadly it was found hopping across Canal St, but certainly found a lovely home willing to take in and love on them! They were excited to find out if we are a boy or girl today, and we were pleased to comply!

The little bunny was certainly eager to know too! 😂 Any guesses!?

05/20/2024

With today being World Bee Day, what better way to celebrate then a break in by our local honeybees! We are patiently waiting for Bee Guyz, LLC to come safely evacuate them from our ICU. Hope y’all have a bee-utiful day! 🐝

05/20/2024

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