Trimming your guinea pig’s nails is a necessary grooming task. Your guinea pig spends a lot of time on soft bedding or carpeting. Thus the nails won’t wear down during his normal activities. Long nails can impede normal walking. Your guinea pig may catch a nail and tear it and result in bleeding and pain. Check and trim your pig’s nails as needed. Use a clipper made for small pets. Trim the nails perpendicular to the nail. Be careful to only clip a little at a time and avoid the quick. The quick is the blood and nerve supply to the claw and may bleed and cause pain if you nick it. Hold onto your pig firmly while you trim his nails so you don’t drop him. Your guinea pig may only allow you to trim one or two nails at a time. Just try at another time. Learn more from your veterinary ... Read more »

You are going to be adding a hamster to your family soon and you can’t wait to introduce her to her new home. How can you create a wonderful place for her to call her own?

There are a lot of wonderful enclosure on the market, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding one to meet your pet’s needs. This means that you may be able to find a great spot to keep your pet safely enclosed, or you can choose to add onto it with tubing and other features. Make sure you place plenty of items within her enclosure to help her meet her needs, but don’t forget to help her have some fun as well. Your little fur ball needs plenty of options for entertainment, so try to give her some variety in her choices. For additional information, please contact your local Cedar Rapids, IA veterinarian.

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Persistent Pupillary Membranes is a condition that arises as a result of the presence of tissues in the eye, which are actually remnants of blood vessels that provide nutrients to the lens of the eye during embryonic growth. In normal development, these tissues disappear when the newborn puppy is 4 to 5 weeks old. The degree of vision interference is dependent on where the tissues are located within the eyes. Some pupillary membranes may be stretched between iris to the pupil, from the iris to the lens, from the iris to the cornea, or the strands may form a layer in the anterior part of the eye. The occurrence of Persistent Pupillary Membrane is considered to be an inherited trait. PPM can affect any breed of dog however it is most commonly observed in the Pembroke, Chowchow, Basenji, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and Mastiff.

Bring your pet to your Frisco, TX animal hospital sooner rather than later if you have happen to not ... Read more »

Bloat, known in medical terms as Gastric Dilatation Volvulus (GDV), is due to the buildup of gas in the stomach. When this happens the proximal part of the stomach near the esophagus and its end part near the intestines become twisted thereby blocking the escape of gas. As the stomach becomes twisted on its axis, the blood supply to the stomach is hindered and/or totally stopped. A loss of blood supply will eventually lead to the death of the important tissues and cells of the stomach and shock. Aside from interfering in the blood supply to the stomach, the rapid enlargement of the stomach can exert pressure on surrounding vital organs including the spleen and liver. Dog bloat is always a serious medical emergency. Without prompt treatment, dogs suffering from bloat eventually die if the situation is not quickly reversed thus you should bring your pet to your Frisco, TX animal hospital ASAP if you spot signs of bloat. Click this website ... Read more »