|
|
|
|
|
  (through Wednesday October 10, 2001) By Dr. Kelly Brodnik 1) Cockatiel Male or Female? Question: I purchased my cockatiel from a local pet store and the bird is very healthy. I am just curious as to how to tell if my bird is a male or female? If she is female, how can I tell if she is pregnant (maybe from other birds in with her at the pet store?) Thanks. A.C., Joliet, Illinois. Answer: The best way to sex a bird
is to have your vet send in a blood sample and have its DNA evaluated.
This is the only way to be sure besides going in surgically and
looking for testes or ovaries. As for the female being pregnant,
your vet might be able to tell by palpation, xray or by her laying
her eggs. For more information on cockatiels, check out: The
Complete Book of Cockatiels Question: My 1 yr old Pug was diagnosed wtih hip dysplasia and juenvile arthritis at 6 months. She is currently taking Metacam but I would like to know if there is anything else, besides obvious diet, limited exercise, that I can do for her? M.A., Etobicoke, Ontario Canada. Answer: You may want to have her evaluated by a veterinary orthopedic surgeon and see what type of surgical correction may be available for her and it would greatly depend on the severity of the dysplasia (and subsequent arthritis). He or she will also be able to recommend pain control medication and possibly starting the dog on Cosequin (a form of glucosamine HCl and chondroitin sulphate for dogs). I am not familiar with the brand name of Metacam so I am not able to help you with what that is being used to treat. Good luck.
Question: My 7 yr old cat has had a marked and consistent increase in appetite but has maintained weight (neither gained or lost). There has been no behavioral changes otherwise. Should I be concerned? Carrie, Santa Clarita, California. Answer: Yes. Anytime there is a change
in a normal behavior of an animal it can signify health problems.
Some things that may be affecting your cat may be the formation
of diabetes, hyperthyroidism and parasite infestation. You need
to take the cat in for some routine bloodwork (should be done
yearly after the age of 6) as well as a fresh stool sample and
request a T4 test (for thyroid evaluation) if it is not part
of the routine bloodwork. Good luck and good observation. Many
people don't even know if there animal is eating let alone any
changes in quantity. Question: Two vets, different answers: One says pancreatic insulinomas can be removed through surgery and the other says only in certain areas of the pancreas. Which one? Both say that if it is advanced and secreting cancerous cells, it is not curative. True?J.P., no address given Answer: Both are correct about the
advanced nature of pancreatic cancer and the secretion of cancerous
cells. As for the surgery, I would agree with the second vet
stating that it would depend upon the area of the pancreas that
the tumor is present, but it would also depend upon how big the
tumor was, whether or not it was diffuse or focal, what type
of cancer it was, etc. You may want to consult with a veterinary
oncologist that specializes in cancer in animals. You can try
Colorado State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital for
more information at 1-970-221-4535. Good luck to you and your
Doberman Pinscher. Question: I am lossing clumps of hair off the top of my head behind the ears. I also have had a problem with pustules all summer. I have had two cortisone shots in the last 5 months, I changed my diet to more chicken and fish flavored dry foods. I apply cortisone cream to the pustules which seems to relieve the itching and dries them up, but new ones appear anyway. I am 2 yrs old and lost 2 pounds last year and can't gain weight no matter how hard I try to eat more! I seem normal and sleep well, play alot and have a good demeanor. Also, can I take 4 mg or less of methylprednisolone tablets (a prescription my Mistress has left over?). Elvis, Palm Desert, California. Answer: As for the problem with hair loss, your vet should check for several things mites, fungal infection, bacterial infection and allergies. You may need to submit to a fungal culture, bacterial culture of the skin, skin scraping, and possibly a skin biopsy. You need to find out exactly what your problem is so it can be treated effectively. Your Mistress may also want to try some hypoallergenic prescription diets (available only from your vet) because it may be a food allergy with complicating skin infection which may need to be treated with antibiotics (pustules usually indicate some type of skin bacterial infection but not always...). Your vet may also consider checking you for some diseases that can wreak havoc with your immune system and cause problems such as feline leukemia virus, immunodeficiency virus, and feline infectious peritonitis virus. As for taking medication prescribed for your Mistress? That would actually be against the law because it is a prescription written for her and her only. Ask your vet about pills if that is what he/she prescribes to keep you healthy and comfortable. What a nice cat you are and good luck.
Question: Our 2 yr old Yellow female Lab tore a nail that we are having trouble getting it to heal. We have taken her to our vet twice and rebandaged it, and on the second visit our vet noticed two of her other nails were separating as well. She is concerned that an auto-immune condition is the cause, but in some of your past responses you point out that there are many potential causes. Rather than going straight for the worst possible scenario, what approach would you suggest to pinpoint the cause? We own 5 labs now and have never had this problem before. J.P., Crystal Lake, Illinois. Answer: I must say that most dermatology problems are very frustrating because they are not always very straight forward in diagnosing. Your best bet would be to have your vet refer you to a veterinary dermatologist that specializes in skin conditions (including nails). As for my approach? I would do fungal/bacterial testing, diet review, add supplements to the diet for nails (such as gelatin capsules), antibiotic trials, bloodwork to check for overall values that could lead to autoimmune diseases, biopsy of the nail bed itself, and other testing. The only way to get a diagnosis is to test for possible disease. Good luck!
Question: My cat is pulling the hair out of her tail. Thank you. Heather, Morrisdale, Pennsylvania. Answer: Your cat may be experiencing
a number of problems such as bacterial infection, fungal infection,
parasitic infection, numbness or nerve damage to the tail, pain
in the tail region, anal gland problems, or even behavioral problems
such as anxiety, etc. Food allergies must also be ruled out.
It is time to get her in and have some testing done to determine
the problem and get on track with a solution. Question: My carpet chameleon has been nose rubbing and has also stopped eating. I force fed it trice. Is there any problem? Kyle, Singapore. Answer: Yes, not eating is a very
big problem in reptiles and is usually related to improper husbandry
(temperature, humidity, etc). But, with the combination of the
nose rubbing (a symptom of infection or other problem), it may
not be eating because of an infection. Snout rubbing can also
be a sign that the reptile needs a place to hide. Provide a hiding
place as well as soft substrate in the environment to diminish
damage by rubbing. Get the reptile checked by a reptilian veterinarian
for bacterial infections, mite infections, parasites, etc. that
may be the underlying problem for the rubbing. Also, if there
is skin damage, it may be necessary to clean out the wounds,
and apply antibiotics either systemically or topically. For more
information on medical care for chameleons, check out: Chameleons
: Their Care and Breeding Question: I have an 8-9 yr old mixed breed dog and would like to get her teeth cleaned. I had done this a few years ago and was wondering about anesthesia-free cleanings, is it safe? Does it cause pain to the animal? One in Los Angeles tells me she uses an ultrasonic scaler to get rid of the tartar, but I am wondering about safety, and feel a little uneasy about going the traditional method again because of the risk she won't come out of it. What is your advice? Ken, no address. Answer: I would most definately recommend a complete dental cleaning under anesthesia assuming an otherwise healthy animal. The reason being, you cannot get the bacteria and plaque that lie up under the gumline with an animal awake. It is painful to get under the gums, the animal needs to be still enough to allow you to do the procedure and to get into every possible place that should be cleaned out. Your vet can help insure safety by checking pre-anesthetic blood testing, checking your dog's heart, and overall physical health as well as past medical health. In addtion, your vet can help to insure safety by providing monitoring devices while your dog is under anesthesia in order to check blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart function (EKG, etc), etc.
Question: I found 2 1-week old kittens and started to bottle feed them. They were doing fine for 2 weeks and one with in 5 hours just became so ill she couldn't eat , drink, walk, or pick her head up and died within 24 hours. Then, her sister the next day did the same thing. I was hoping you could give me a possible answer on what would make a young kitten so fatally sick? T.B., La Pine, Oregon. Answer: It is possible (and probable)
that the kittens may have had some type of infection prior to
your even adopting them such as feline leukemia virus, feline
immunodeficiency virus, or feline infectious peritonitis. Overwhelming
bacterial infections are also common in kitttens that do not
receive colostrum from their mothers during lactation. Mothers
in nature often will abandon their children if they know they
are ill. That may be what happened with your kittens, or it may
have been possible that mom had the same disease. Poisons and
toxins will also cause rapid fatal death. The only thing you
could have done was to take them both into the vet at the first
sign of a problem, but there is no guarantee they could have
been saved. I am so sorry to hear about your little kittens.
:( Good luck to all and thanks for the
questions! You can always join me on Wednesday from 2:00 PM -
4:00 PM (Eastern) 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Pacific) on our
website at www.petservice.com for our Ask the Vet Live. We would
love to have you join our LIVE CHAT! |
A Book Worth Owning...  ...Click to Purchase! Sponsored by:  Retractable Leashes Ideas for New Pet Owners & Pet Lovers Dr. Kelly Brodnik D.V.M.  Chat Live with PetService's ASK THE VET Dr. Kelly Brodnik D.V.M EVERY WEDNESDAY! ASK THE TRAINER Terri Desnica Certified Trainer EVERY SATURDAY! Please tell your fellow pet loving Internet friends about PetService.com! Click below and email a few...  Receive weekly pet health tips for dog, cat, bird, reptile and small animal lovers from PetService.com    Gifts Galore!  Arrive  Electronic Gear  Learn It Time  MaxiSport 
Only$6.00Mind's Eye  NASCAR It's Hot!  Computers Etc… *PetService.com presents pet lovers with an opportunity to help Pet Adoption Agencies. Any purchase conducted through PetService.com affiliate programs will earn adoption agencies located on PetService.com site 20% of PetService.com portion of each sale. So you can buy the things you need and help the pets you love!  |
|
|