When Hogmanay the hedgehog encounters an unfamiliar situation, he usually curls himself into the comfort of a spiny little ball. But during his visit to UW Veterinary Care (UWVC), he’s all curiosity, exploring the little world of the exam room with a flickering nose and dark, darting eyes.
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Fourth-year student Carrie Schwartz examines Chinicula, a chinchilla, while Swampmonster, a degu, waits his turn. (Photo: Bryce Richter)
Hogmanay is at the clinic to have a few skin lesions evaluated. For moral support, his owner, Melanie Conklin, has a few of his rodent pals in tow, including Chinicula, a puffy white chinchilla who lifts his forelimbs when he wants to be held, and Swampmonster, a fidgety brown degu with a penchant for turning straw bedding and drinking water into cage sludge.
Conklin, who houses even more chinchillas and degus at home (all of them adopted from shelters), is part of a growing group of exotic pet owners, and her small rodent menagerie represents only part of the species mix. According to the 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, 20 percent of American households own pets other than cats or dogs, including birds (3.1 percent), fish (6.5 percent) and exotic or specialty pets (10.6 percent), a category that encompasses reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, marsupials, primates, invertebrates, and more.
Being the only veterinary medical hospital in the Midwest with board-certified zoological medicine specialists on duty year round, the UWVC Special Species Service has seen more than its fair share of everything from armadillos to zebra finches. In recent years, they have cared for a baby lizard weighing less than a gram, a lumbering 100-pound African spurred tortoise, and even rarer creatures, such as ring-tailed lemurs, a red panda, and an elusive harpy eagle. But not all of their patients are so exotic.
“The majority of our caseload consists of birds, reptiles, and small mammals, such as rabbits, rodents, and ferrets,” says Christoph Mans, clinical assistant professor of zoological medicine at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM).
Just like their dog and cat counterparts, Mans says, exotic animals need annual wellness exams and sometimes specialized care, which UWVC delivers. The clinic supports specialists in 22 other areas, such as dentistry, neurology, radiology, and physical rehabilitation, who collaborate with the Special Species Service to provide comprehensive care for exotic animals.
The benefits of this expertise extend from the clinic to the curriculum. Veterinary medical students complete a two-week rotation with the Special Species Service in their fourth year, but their education about exotic animals begins in the classroom. Mans and Kurt Sladky, clinical associate professor of zoological medicine, teach an exotic animal course, which includes live lab sessions on how to handle and examine a variety of reptiles, small mammals, and birds, which students will likely encounter in one form or another if they go into practice. Sladky and Mans also train several zoological medicine residents, in collaboration with the Milwaukee County Zoo and International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, Wis.
“We have one of only 25 accredited zoo medicine residency programs in the world, and also one of the largest,” says Sladky, who serves as director of the residency program. “Our partnerships with zoological organizations like the Milwaukee Zoo and ICF give our residents unparalleled training in zoo and wildlife medicine, and graduates of our program work in large zoos and academia internationally.”
When they’re not treating patients or teaching, Sladky and Mans can be found in the lab devising ways to improve clinical care for exotic animals, with a particular focus on managing pain in zoo, wildlife, and exotic pet species. If this isn’t enough, the SVM’s zoological medicine team provides volunteer clinical care at the Four Lakes Wildlife Center, a division of the Dane County Humane Society dedicated to helping injured, ill, and orphaned wildlife.
To Conklin, these are just some of the signs that her rodent friends are in good hands at UW Veterinary Care. She’s been returning ever since her first experience with the clinic five years ago when one of her hedgehogs went into hibernation, a condition that can be fatal for domesticated versions of the spiny little mammals.
“I called UW late that night and was connected with someone from the Special Species Service,” she says. “They told me the steps for waking up a hedgehog properly. They even called the next day to make sure everything was okay.”
Just like that sleepy hedgehog, the outcome for Hogmanay is pretty positive. After inspecting the lesions, Mans determines they are not cause for serious concern and prescribes a medication to help clear up the hedgehog’s skin. And Conklin leaves feeling better, knowing that the Special Species Service is working to help Hogmanay feel better.
Nik Hawkins