Pet Health Library

Guides to pet symptoms and conditions, cited to the veterinary literature — what's normal, what's not, and when to see a vet.

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All topics 🚨Emergency(89)🤮Digestive(109)💨Respiratory(75)🚽Urinary(27)🐛Parasites(64)🌿Skin & Coat(117)🦴Mobility(58)🍽️Eating & Drinking(49)👁️Eyes & Ears(76)🦷Dental(36)🩺Chronic & Systemic(156)🐾Behavior & Training(57)🛡️Wellness & Prevention(35)🐣New Pet & Care(12)

Showing 49–72 of 996 articles

🐭Chinchilla HealthAug 11, 2026

🌿Skin & Coat

Chinchilla Ringworm: Bald Patches, Treatment, and the Zoonosis Risk

A circular bald patch on a chinchilla's nose, ears or feet is often ringworm — a fungal infection, usually Trichophyton mentagrophytes, that spreads to people. Chinchillas can also carry it while looking completely healthy, so hand-washing and a vet-run culture matter more than how the patch looks.

🐟Fish HealthAug 11, 2026

🐛Parasites

Betta Ich (White Spot): Why the Spots Vanishing Doesn't Mean It's Over

Salt-grain white spots on a betta usually mean ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis). Only the free-swimming stage can be killed by medication, so treatment runs on a schedule — daily at 75°F–79°F, a minimum of 3 to 5 treatments — not until the spots vanish. Here is how to tell ich from velvet and columnaris, and what to do tonight.

🐕Dog HealthAug 8, 2026

🐣New Pet & Care

Puppy Feeding Schedule by Age and Breed Size

Puppies are generally fed three meals a day from weaning to 6 months, then twice daily from 6 to 12 months, with small breeds often needing more. How much goes in the bowl depends on the food, so start from the bag's feeding guide and steer by body condition.

🐁Mouse HealthAug 8, 2026

🤮Digestive

Mouse Diarrhea: Why Soft Droppings Are an Emergency

A pet mouse weighs only about 20 to 40 grams, so fluid lost to diarrhea becomes dangerous within hours, not days. Here is how to tell true diarrhea from a wet rear caused by urine, what usually causes it, and what to do before you reach an exotics vet.

🐭Gerbil HealthAug 8, 2026

🌿Skin & Coat

Gerbil Mites: Why Itchy, Scabby Skin Usually Isn't Mites

Scratching, scabs and thinning fur in a gerbil are far more often nasal dermatitis, barbering or a fight wound than mites — and mites can only be confirmed with a microscope. Here is how the diagnosis is actually made and what to fix at home while you wait.

🐕Dog HealthAug 8, 2026

🤮Digestive

Dog Car Sickness: Motion Sickness or Travel Anxiety?

Drooling, whining, and vomiting in the car can come from inner-ear motion sickness, from a learned fear of the vehicle, or from both at once, and the two need different fixes. Here is how to tell them apart, what to change on the next drive, and what a vet can prescribe.

🐟Fish HealthAug 8, 2026

🚨Emergency

Betta Dropsy: What Pineconing Scales Really Mean

Dropsy is not a disease you can cure with a bottle from the fish shop. It is the outward sign of fluid collecting inside a betta, often from a failing organ or a systemic infection. Here is what is really happening, what to test today, and what your options are.

🐈Cat HealthAug 7, 2026

🐣New Pet & Care

What to Buy for a New Kitten: The Real Essentials

A new kitten needs about eight things on day one, and the pet store will try to sell you fifty. Here is the guideline-backed split between what actually matters — two litter boxes, a growth-formula food, a multi-level rope scratching post, a carrier, a microchip — and what can wait, plus how the list shifts with your kitten's age and whether you already have a cat.

🐿️Sugar Glider HealthAug 7, 2026

👁️Eyes & Ears

Sugar Glider Cataracts: What a Cloudy Eye Really Means

A cloudy eye in a sugar glider may be a cataract — a painless lens opacity — but cataracts don't hurt, so a painful or weepy cloudy eye points to the surface of the eye instead, and that is urgent. Here's how to tell them apart, and what the literature really says about the mother's diet.

🐀Rat HealthAug 7, 2026

👁️Eyes & Ears

Rat Head Tilt: What It Means and What to Do

A head tilt in a pet rat points first to middle- or inner-ear infection — the branch that responds to treatment, though a case series in companion rats found intracranial spread was not rare. A pituitary tumour is the other differential, and it can cause balance signs too. The two are separated at the vet with an ear exam and imaging, not by watching your rat at home.

🐸Amphibian HealthAug 7, 2026

🌿Skin & Coat

Frog Fungus: White Fuzz, Chytrid, and What They Mean

White fuzz on a frog may be a water mould, while chytrid — the serious one — often shows no fuzz at all, just changed shedding, dull skin and a frog that stops eating. Here is how the look-alikes differ, and why only a swab or a sample can tell them apart.

🐭Chinchilla HealthAug 7, 2026

🤮Digestive

Chinchilla Diarrhea: Why Soft Droppings Need Same-Day Action

Diarrhea in a chinchilla is emergency-adjacent, not a wait-and-see problem. Here is how to tell normal droppings from soft or watery ones, what causes them, why warmth and certain antibiotics are dangerous in this species, and the red flags that mean call an exotics vet today.

🐀Rat HealthAug 6, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Pituitary Tumor in Rats: Signs, Causes, and What Treatment Can Do

An older pet rat that suddenly tilts her head, wobbles, or cannot hold food in her front paws often has a pituitary tumor, but an ear infection can look identical and is treatable, so it has to be ruled out first. What treatment can and cannot do, and how to judge quality of life.

🐈Cat HealthAug 6, 2026

🛡️Wellness & Prevention

Kitten Vaccination and Deworming Schedule: What's Due and When

A week-by-week kitten vaccine and deworming timeline, from the first deworming at 2 weeks to the final core vaccine dose at 16 weeks or older, plus how to adjust it for indoor, outdoor, shelter and unknown-history kittens.

🦔Hedgehog HealthAug 6, 2026

🌿Skin & Coat

Why Is My Hedgehog Losing Quills? Normal Quilling vs. a Skin Problem

A hedgehog dropping quills can be normal developmental quilling or the first sign of mites, ringworm or illness. The difference is in the skin underneath — here is how to tell, what a vet tests for, and why guessing at treatment backfires.

🐟Fish HealthAug 6, 2026

🐛Parasites

Goldfish Flukes: Signs, Causes, and How They Are Diagnosed

Gill and skin flukes are microscopic worms that often appear after a new goldfish arrives. Learn what monogenean flukes are, why Dactylogyrus and Gyrodactylus behave differently, the signs owners notice, and why a scrape under a microscope is the only way to be sure.

🐸Amphibian HealthAug 6, 2026

🍽️Eating & Drinking

Why Is My Frog Not Eating? Common Causes and What to Do

A pet frog that stops eating usually has an enclosure problem before it has a disease. How to check temperature, humidity, water and prey systematically, the medical causes to rule out, and how long is too long to wait.

🐀Rat HealthAug 4, 2026

🐛Parasites

Rat Mites: Signs, Treatment, and Whether You Can Catch Them

Intense scratching and scabs over your rat's shoulders usually mean mites. How the three rat mites differ, how a vet confirms it, what treatment involves, and an honest answer on whether you can catch them.

🐈Cat HealthAug 4, 2026

🐣New Pet & Care

New Kitten Checklist: What to Do in the First 7 Days

Just brought a kitten home? Here is a vet-guideline-based plan for the first seven days: the safe starter room, how often to feed, litter box setup, what the first vet visit covers, and how to tell normal hiding from a problem.

🐁Mouse HealthAug 4, 2026

🌿Skin & Coat

Mouse Fighting and Bite Wounds: Why It Happens and What to Do

Male pet mice fight over territory and hierarchy, and the bites land on the rump, lower back and tail. How to tell a fresh bite from a forming abscess, separate fighters safely, and stop it happening again.

🐭Gerbil HealthAug 4, 2026

🤮Digestive

Why Does My Gerbil Have Diarrhea? Causes and What to Do

A healthy gerbil leaves small, dry pellets. Smearing, a stained rear end or watery stool means something is wrong, and at this body size it can escalate within a day. Here are the real causes, from diet slips to Tyzzer's disease, and the signs that make it urgent.

🐭Degu HealthAug 4, 2026

🐾Behavior & Training

Degu Fur Chewing: Why It Happens and How to Fix It

A degu chewing its own fur, or a cage-mate's, is usually a stress or enrichment problem. But mites, ringworm and pain look almost identical. How to tell them apart, and what to change at home.

🐸Amphibian HealthAug 2, 2026

Metabolic Bone Disease in Tree Frogs: Causes, Signs, and Prevention

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) is one of the most common and most preventable illnesses in captive tree frogs — caused by too little calcium, vitamin D3, and UVB. Learn to spot it early, prevent it with better husbandry, and know when to see a vet.

🐕Dog HealthAug 2, 2026

🍽️Eating & Drinking

The Overweight Dog: How to Tell and Help Them Slim Down Safely

Extra weight is one of the most common — and most fixable — health issues dogs face. Here's how to honestly assess your dog's body condition, understand why those extra pounds matter, and follow a safe, vet-guided plan to help them reach a healthy weight without the guilt.