Equipment List for Small Mammal Practice

Introduction

Basic equipment for high-quality exotic companion mammal practice focuses on supportive care, such as fluid therapy, appropriate housing and nutritional support, as well as equipment needed for physical examination and basic techniques. This detailed equipment list also includes supplies recommended for surgical and anesthetic procedures as well as advanced diagnostic techniques.

Elizabethan collars for rats

CLINICAL TIP:  Half-inch (1.3 cm) anesthetic tubing is useful for creating Elizabethan collars for rats when covered in self-adhesive bandage material. The rat will need a little assistance at first and it must learn to eat without its hands. Photo credit: Dr. Evelyn Ivey

Equipment list

Category
Equipment
Suppliers
Comments
THE BASICS
Pediatric scale, digital
Ohaus
Needed for rabbits
Gram scale, digital
Ohaus
A small 1-2 kg scale is needed for smaller species.
Glucometer
Incubator, baby warmer, or intensive care unit cage various sized animals
Lyons Electric Company
Insulin syringe (0.3-0.5ml), 28-30 gauge needles
Becton, Dickinson, and
Company
Syringes with a detachable needle are useful for oral drug administration.
Needles, 27-gauge needles or smaller
Otoscope with cones of variable sizes
QUIET space
No cats or dogs, adjustable lights
Speculum, illuminated bivalve nasal
Welch Allyn
Stethescope (pediatric and/or infant)
Surgical towels, small
Superior to washcloths for restraint of small rodents (toes get caught)
Towels
Restraint; white towels may be bleached and present a professional image
Weight box
Clear plexiglass containers with ventilated lids may serve as weight boxes
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT
Emeraid Intensive Care Carnivore

Emeraid LCC, a division of Lafeber Company
Suited for critical care of the carnivore
Emeraid Intensive Care Herbivore

Emeraid LLC
Suited for critical care of the herbivore
Emeraid Sustain HerbivoreEmeraid LLCSuited for maintenance of the herbivore
Emeraid Intensive Care Omnivore
Emeraid LLCSuited for critical care of the omnivore
Catheter tip syringes
Critical Care
Oxbow Hay Company
Suitable for maintenance of the herbivore
Curve-tipped syringes
Dishes, size-appropriate and/or shallow
Ferretone
8-in-1 Pet Products
Helpful for ferret restraint
Hay
Water bottles
SURGERY/ ANESTHESIA
Ambu bag, neonatal
Anesthesia masks, small
Clear surgical drapes
Veterinary Specialty
Products (VSP)
Doppler flow meter
Parks Electronic
Small inflatable cuffs
Parks Electronic
Endotracheal (ET) tube 2.0 mm uncuffed
ET tube 2.5 mm
VSP
ET tubes: 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 mm
VSP
Non-rebreathing or Bain circuit
SurgiVet
The C-pram breathing circuit is designed to maintain humidity and may reduce patient heat loss.
Pediatric laryngoscope blade
Isoflurane, sevoflurane
Aerrane, Ohmeda PPD
Isoflo, Abbott
Laboratories
Ultane, Baxter
Small induction box
Supplemental heat source
Circulating warm water blanket or similar item
Surgical instruments
Debakey forceps, iris scissors, fine tip mosquito hemostats
MEDICAL PROCEDURES
Butterfly catheters (22-25 gauge)
Catheters, 24-gauge
Cutting burs, high-speed dental turbine handpieces, round diamond
Equipment standard for small animal dentistry
Bur guard
Jorgensen Laboratories
Dental kit (starter pack)
Universal Surgical
Rotary tool
Dremel
Magnification loupe
Very useful for surgical and dental procedures
Microhematocrit tubes
Microtainers - green and lavendar tops
Becton, Dickinson, and
Company
Used to collect small amounts of blood (200-700 ul). A given volume will yield more plasma than serum.
Mini-tip culturettes
Marion Laboratories
Nebulizer, ultrasonic or disposable
Acorn II Nebulizer, Marquest
Ultra-Neb 99, DeVilbiss
Health Care, Inc.
Radiographic film, high-detail or mammography
Lanex fine screens/TML
film, Kodak
Mammography film requires a special screen and different technique settings.
Syringe and/or fluid pump
Thermoplastic bandage material
Veterinary Thermoplastic, IMEX Veterinary, Inc.
Orthoplast, Johnson & Johnson
MEDICATION
Buprenorphine
Buprenex, Reckitt & Colman
Butorphanol, injectable
Torbugesic, Fort Dodge
Very useful for ferret sedation
Chloramphenicol
Useful emergency drug for meningitis in guinea pigs.
Ciprofloxacin or enrofloxacin
Baytril, Bayer
The 100 mg/ml bovine injectable formulation is easily mixed with a suspending vehicle to make a 50 mg/ml suspension.
Dexmedatomidine
Dexdomitor, Pfizer
A useful anesthetic adjunct for rabbits
Doxycycline
Vibramycin, Pfizer
Ivermectin, injectable
Meloxicam
Metacam, Boehringer
Ingelheim
A highly palatable oral formulation; pharmacokinetic data is available in several species.
Midazolam
Versed
A benzodiazepene with excellent intramuscular absorption
Mortar & pestle
Selamectin
Revolution, Pfizer
Suspending vehicles
Ora Sweet, Paddock
Or simple syrup
V.A.L. Syrup, Allivet
Trusted Pet Pharmacy
Tiletamine-zolazepam
Very useful for pre-euthanasia sedation
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
Bactrim, Roche
Vitamin C injectable
Relationship with a compounding pharmacist
Some items such as liquid metronidazole are very difficult to compound in practice.
OPTIONAL OR ADVANCED
Anesthetic tubing, half-inch
Very useful for making e-collars for rats when covered with bandage material (figure above)
Crossley incisor luxator
Jorgensen Laboratories
Crossley molar luxator
Jorgensen Laboratories
Laparoscope, rigid
Karl Storz Veterinary
Endoscopy
Useful for oral and otic exams
Light leather gloves
May be useful for hedgehog restraint
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
bone cement
Surgical Simplex P, Stryker orthopaedics
Antibiotic bead production
Septopal, Biomet Merck
Commercially manufactured gentamicin- PMMA beads available in Europe
Skull, chinchilla
Skulls Unlimited
Useful for dentistry and evaluation of skull radiographs
Skull, domestic rabbit
Skulls Unlimited
Skull, guinea pig
Skulls Unlimited
Small mammal dentistry table top stand
Jorgensen Laboratories
TEXTS
See Recommended References

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References

References

Brown SA, Nye RR. Essentials of the exotic pet practice. J Exotic Pet Med 15(3):225-233, 2006.

Capello V. The dental suite: equipment needed for handling small exotic mammals. J Exotic Pet Med 15(2):106-115, 2006

Lennox AM. Equipment for exotic mammal and reptile diagnostics and surgery. J Exotic Pet Med 15(2):98-105, 2006.