How Can You Prepare Your Exotic Pet for Shorter Days? 5 Light and Temperature Tips

How Can You Prepare Your Exotic Pet for Shorter Days? 5 Light and Temperature Tips

As we creep closer to the cozy, festive, darker days of autumn, things start a-changin’ in our homes. Our pets—even the exotic ones that live in their own enclosures—feel these changes, too. Below, the team at South Texas Avian & Exotic Hospital shares light and temperature tips to keep in mind as we transition from […]

How Can You Help Your Exotic Pet Stay Cool in Late Summer? 6 Heat-Smart Tips

How Can You Help Your Exotic Pet Stay Cool in Late Summer? 6 Heat-Smart Tips

Late summer can be brutally hot for everyone, including the smallest and most unusual creatures in the home. While most pet parents know how to help their dogs or cats stay cool during the summer months, exotic pets often get overlooked. Species like reptiles, birds, and small mammals have very different temperature needs—and without the […]

How Do You Create the Ideal Summer Habitat for Exotic Pets?

How Do You Create the Ideal Summer Habitat for Exotic Pets?

During the hottest months, it’s important to prioritize temperature regulation, proper lighting, and humidity control for our slithery, scaly, furry, and feathery friends. In this blog, our team at Texas Avian & Exotic Hospital shares a few ideas for exotic pet habitat setup plus other ways to ensure the health and comfort of your exotic […]

How Can You Protect Your Small Mammal from Heat Stress? 7 Summer Safety Tips

How Can You Protect Your Small Mammal from Heat Stress? 7 Summer Safety Tips

Small mammals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, hamsters, gerbils, sugar gliders, and hedgehogs can pack a lot of personality in a small package and make for fun, entertaining pets. But these cute little creatures can still feel the effects of the intense summer heat, making small pet cooling techniques essential for pet parents […]

What Are the Best Warm-Weather Care Tips for Reptiles? 6 Ways to Keep Them Healthy

What Are the Best Warm-Weather Care Tips for Reptiles? 6 Ways to Keep Them Healthy

There’s nothing quite as boiling-hot as a Texas summer. And while it seems like reptiles would thrive in hot weather, it’s a little more nuanced than that. Unlike mammals, reptiles rely on their environment to help regulate their body temperature. Excessive heat can be dangerous for our scaly friends. While every species is different, every […]

Preventing Seasonal Health Issues in Exotic Pets This Spring

Preventing Seasonal Health Issues in Exotic Pets This Spring

Quirky and unique, exotic pets are fascinating creatures to care for, but some of their needs can be complex. Exotic pets such as amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and birds have specific environmental and nutritional requirements that can change with the seasons. In this blog, our team at Texas Avian & Exotic Hospital explores exotic pet […]

Enrichment Ideas for Exotic Pets: Keeping Your Reptiles, Birds, and Small Mammals Happy Indoors

Enrichment Ideas for Exotic Pets: Keeping Your Reptiles, Birds, and Small Mammals Happy Indoors

We are so lucky to see and treat the needs of various exotic pets, including guinea pigs, rats, sugar gliders, hamsters, and ferrets. An important aspect of animal husbandry is a special focus on the environment. Since your exotic pets live in captivity, it is critical to provide elements of physical and mental stimulation.

Common Health Issues in Ferrets and How to Prevent Them

Common Health Issues in Ferrets and How to Prevent Them

Ferrets might behave in ways that convey a certain invincibility, but the fact is they are prone to numerous health conditions that slow them down and hinder overall wellness. Being able to recognize common health issues in ferrets can lead owners to seek help early on, potentially influencing a positive and lasting outcome. We can […]

Wisdom in Scales: Elderly Reptile Care 101

Wisdom in Scales: Elderly Reptile Care 101

Reptiles have slithered their way into the hearts of American pet owners, particularly among Gen-Zers and Millennials, and this increased appeal of reptiles as pets means that more attention needs to be paid to elderly reptile care.  At Texas Avian & Exotic Hospital, we know how much your scaly little friends mean to you. In […]

Husbandry Care for Small Pet Reptiles

Husbandry Care for Small Pet Reptiles

While the care of pet reptiles is often perceived as “easy” or not as “high maintenance” as, say, dog ownership, it is undoubtedly tricky until you get the hang of things. Regardless of the species, reptile husbandry, or the special care and handling required for these unique pets, is essential to the experience. Pet snakes, […]