Wildlife blog of Dr. Palazzolo and the Long Beach Animal Hospital

Reptile Radiographs (X-rays)

Carl Palazzolo2024-12-01T20:07:23-08:00April 1st, 2020|Reptile|

In this fun page you get an opportunity to guess the species of reptile by looking at a radiographs (x-rays) taken at the Long Beach Animal Hospital. Some of them are normal, some of the pets were ill, and some were taken during emergencies. Some of them have links to learn more about why they were taken and how they were treated. You can learn more about our standard of care of sick reptiles from the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians. Most of our reptile patients sit still and are easy to radiograph. Not quite for this 120 pound

Chameleon Bone Disease

Carl Palazzolo2024-10-10T21:31:42-07:00March 31st, 2020|Reptile|

Introduction Nutritional Secondary HyperParathyroidism (NSHP), which is one of the Metabolic Bone Diseases (MBD), occurs in many reptiles that are non-carnivorous. This page talks about Chameleon Bone Disease, although it is most common in the green Iguana. We have a detailed page on this disease in iguanas. What is Chameleon Bone Disease? In this disease the body is absorbing excess amounts of calcium from the bones in order to maintain a proper blood calcium level. This proper calcium level is vital to most of the metabolic processes that occur, so the body takes from the bones and gives to the

Macaw With a Bell Stuck On His Tongue

Carl Palazzolo2024-08-06T07:34:54-07:00March 31st, 2020|Avian|

This macaw with a bell stuck on his tongue literally bit off more than he could chew. His owner brought him in before he could do any long-term damage to his tongue thankfully. If you have ever watched a bird like this you will know that is uses its sensitive tongue for many things. A Macaw with a damaged tongue will not be able to eat. The front view of our friend and his bell If you would like to see some of the conservation work Dr. Palazzolo did with Dr. Marie Rush in Costa Rica it is on the Wildlife

Gecko Tail Amputation

Carl Palazzolo2024-08-06T07:34:54-07:00March 31st, 2020|Reptile|

This page shows a case in a Leopard Gecko tail amputation (do you recognize him? His picture is at the entrance to the reptile section). It is not uncommon for reptiles to be presented with trauma to either the tail or one of the digits of the feet. In most cases they are brought in by their owners after the disease is well established and it is impossible to salvage the traumatized area. You can learn more about our standard of care of sick reptiles from the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians. Treatment This is the tail upon presentation

Bird X-Rays

Carl Palazzolo2024-10-10T19:02:06-07:00March 30th, 2020|Avian|

It is not easy to take a radiograph on a bird that is ill and stressed. It is a team effort, and our staff excels at it. As you can see from the Eurasian Eagle Owl above our veterinarians provide routine and emergency care for a wide variety of avian, exotic, and domestic animals. In many cases our vets take an x-ray on pet that is an emergency, and it can be a life-saving diagnostic tool. We work closely with Antech Imaging Services and the guidelines of the America Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) to provide radiographic care of birds.