HOW to successfully add exotic patients to your veterinary practice

Last time, we talked about the WHY of adding exotics to your practice. If I've got you convinced of the benefits, let's move on to the HOW.

Decide which exotic species to treat at your practice

First of all, you need to decide which species you are willing to see. Some DVMs may find it easier to start with one or two species, typically mammals, to gradually introduce their team to exotics. Many people incorrectly assume that if you see one exotic species, you have to see them all, and that just isn't true.

Once you determine which species you are comfortable taking on, you need to make sure you have the basic equipment, drugs, and knowledge needed to be able to safely examine, diagnose, and treat them.

This often means you need to make an investment in you and your staff's knowledge, as well as some basic equipment, before you see any financial gain from adding exotic patients.

Invest in training, continuing education, and mentorship

It isn't enough to want to start seeing exotics at your practice. You need to solidify at least the basics of husbandry, preventative care, triage, and common conditions of each species under your belt. This is one of the reasons I say you don't have to start with them all! It's a lot to learn.

There are numerous organizations focused specifically on providing training, support and networking to exotic animal veterinarians: The Association of Avian Veterinarians, The Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians, and The Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians. Each of these organizations has a variety of resources available to their members that go a long way in helping you get started with exotics including members-only Facebook pages that are a treasure-trove of cases. You can post questions and get fairly quick responses, or search the groups for previous queries. I learn a lot just from reading and responding to posts by other members.

There are numerous exotic veterinary textbooks I would recommend - see my previous post for more info about each text I suggest. There are also a variety of online resources like the veterinary information network (VIN) message boards, Oxbow VetConnect and Lafeber.com/vet.

There are many continuing education resources that are completely focused on exotics or have focused exotics tracks:

• Exotics365 (the combined ARAV and AEMV conference)

• AAV Annual Conference and Expo (also available virtually on demand)

• The ABVP (American Board of Veterinary Practitioners) Symposium

• VMX (in person and virtual)

• Western Veterinary Conference

• AVMA Convention

• iCARE (Europe)

• UPAV Annual Conference (Australia)

• Numerous online webinars from VetCetera, VetGirl, Vetfolio, VIN, and more

• Exotic Vet Med Essentials and other courses

Train your veterinary staff for providing exotic pet care

Your staff is the front line in dealing with current and potential clients, so it is vital they have some baseline knowledge of species identification, basic husbandry, concerning clinical signs, and more. It's important to include all staff members in training to ensure a seamless transition from check in to check out for each client. Many of the resources listed for DVMs also have resources and courses aimed at support staff.

Understand the legal and ethical considerations for seeing exotic veterinary patients

This is going to depend on your area. For example, ferrets are illegal in California - but that doesn't mean that they don't exist there. So if you have a prospective client call, you need to decide ahead of time if you are willing/able to see a ferret. Another common ethical question is whether or not to see permitted wildlife (in which the owner may or may not actually have the correct permits) and pets such as primates, which pose not only ethical/legal questions, but safety concerns for the overseeing DVM and staff.

Equip your veterinary practice for exotic animal care

These needs will vary based on what species you decide to see, but there are a few overarching equipment needs you will likely encounter regardless of species.

• Safe enclosures for each species-type

  • Escape-proof kennels or critter keepers for mammals

  • Terrariums for reptiles/amphibians

  • Cages for both small and large birds

  • Incubators for critical patients (or a way to provide heat/oxygen support to a 'regular' kennel when needed

• Heat support for enclosures and for critical patients

  • Heat lamps

  • Bair huggers

  • Fluid warmers

  • 'Hot dog' warming blankets

• A variety of sizes of towels for restraint

• Gram scale and containers/perches for obtaining accurate weights

• Pediatric or infant stethoscope

• Ultrasonic Doppler

• Small gauge needles and tuberculin syringes

• Microtainers for blood sample collection

• Pediatric infusion or syringe pump

• Liquid versions (often compounded) of the most commonly utilized medications - trimethoprim sulfa, enrofloxacin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, meloxicam, tramadol, gabapentin, furosemide, etc.

• Injectable medications that you may or may not already have on hand - midazolam, alfaxalone, ceftazidime, etc.

• And much more...

This list is just a start and will help you tackle the basics while you get used to seeing these patients and adapt your setup for more complicated cases.

Adjust your practice setup and scheduling

Ideally, you have room to establish a separate waiting area for exotic patients from cats and dogs, however, this isn't always practical. A good alternative is to ensure you have an exotics-specific exam room and have the client wait with the pet in their vehicle until they can be taken directly into the exam room.

Exotic pet visits (especially for the first consultation) almost always take longer than traditional small animal species. I typically allocate 1 hour for all initial exams and for any sick/urgent exams when possible. This allows you plenty of time to not only take a considerate approach to handling the patient safely and in a low-stress manner, but also to properly educate the client on recommended husbandry and diet adjustments.

For this reason, among others, you should be pricing your exotic pet visits equivalent to, or at a higher price point than cats and dogs. Remember all of the extra research, time learning/teaching staff, equipment, drugs, etc. that you are investing in to be able to see exotics - those are your other reasons!

Define the exotic pet services you will offer

Before you start accepting exotic patients, you need to establish what type of services you will offer. This will likely be an evolving list, but I would suggest working up from more simple cases like wellness/preventative care and dermatologic disease, to more complex medical cases and emergencies.

If you are not able to provide emergency care, make sure you have a list of the nearest clinics that are able to see emergency cases, both during regular hours and after hours/on weekends.

Marketing your exotic veterinary services

Finally, once you feel you are ready to start taking on exotic patients, you need to get the word out!

Start with your existing client base - you would be surprised how many of them have exotic pets and have to go elsewhere for care (or don't bring them in at all!). You can also get the word out by joining the previously mentioned exotic support organizations - they each have a find-a-vet function on their website.

If you are near a large metropolitan area, there are likely numerous exotic pet rescues that are in need of veterinary care. You can provide services (full-price or with a rescue discount if you desire) to rescue pets, and in turn, the rescues will recommend your clinic to future adopters. This is a great way to not only grow your clientele, but get more comfortable by seeing a higher volume of patients to help get you and your staff comfortable.

If you are adding reptiles/amphibians, setting up a booth at a herp show can be a great way to not only educate potential clients on proper care, but to attract them to your practice.

You can also reach out to other day practices and urgent care/emergency clinics to let them know you are now seeing additional species. They are often very grateful to have a clinic to whom to refer species they don't treat.

Final thoughts: Get started with exotic veterinary care in your practice today.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, in fact, it really just scratches the surface, but it's a good way to see if you and your practice are ready to consider taking on the exciting world of exotic veterinary medicine.

If you are just getting started, check out my course Exotic Vet Med Essentials, for the basics you need to get comfortable seeing exotics in your practice in just 6 weeks.

If you are already seeing exotics, but want to level up your game, check out The Inner Circle, a small-group program crafted to provide you with personalized support and expert guidance for your exotic cases every single week.