exotics

Ginger, an 8-year-old female eclectus parrot, was not feeling like herself a few months ago. Over the course of several days, her decreased appetite caused her to skip a meal of kiwi—her favorite fruit—and she no longer danced around her cage like normal. Her owners thought she was having trouble with egg binding, a condition she suffered from previously. As regular clients of the Companion Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery Service at the UC Davis veterinary hospital, they brought Ginger in for an examination.

Hedgehog owners should refrain from kissing their small, spiky friends, health officials warn. Since October, 11 people across eight states have been infected with a particular strain of salmonella, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, and all but one of those infected said they had contact with a hedgehog.