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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Showing 97–120 of 996 articles

🐸Amphibian HealthJul 27, 2026

🤮Digestive

Frog Bloat and Edema (Dropsy): Causes, Dangers, and When to See a Vet

Bloat, edema, or "dropsy" in a frog means abnormal fluid is building up under the skin or in the body cavity — and it's almost always a sign of a serious underlying problem like kidney disease, infection, or poor husbandry rather than a condition on its own. Here's how to tell bloat from a firm impaction, what an exotic vet can do, why you should never drain the fluid at home, and when to seek care.

🐕Dog HealthJul 27, 2026

Dog Sundowning: Why Senior Dogs Get Confused and Restless at Night

Is your senior dog restless and confused after dark? 'Sundowning' is often an early sign of canine cognitive dysfunction. Here is what it means, why it happens, and how to help your aging dog rest easier.

🐕Dog HealthJul 27, 2026

How to Stop a Dog From Counter-Surfing

Counter-surfing is normal scavenging that keeps happening because it works. Here is how to stop your dog from stealing food off counters with humane management and reward-based training.

🐈Cat HealthJul 27, 2026

🐾Behavior & Training

Why Is My Cat So Clingy and Following Me Everywhere?

Does your cat follow you from room to room and wait outside the bathroom door? Here's why cats become “velcro cats,” when clinginess is normal versus a sign of stress or illness, and how to help your shadow feel secure.

🐿️Sugar Glider HealthJul 26, 2026

🍽️Eating & Drinking

Sugar Glider Obesity: How to Spot It, the Risks, and Safe Weight Loss

Obesity is one of the most common and preventable problems in pet sugar gliders, driven by calorie-dense diets and too-small cages. Here is how to tell if your glider is overweight, the health risks to watch for, and how to help them slim down safely under a vet's guidance.

🐸Amphibian HealthJul 26, 2026

Frog Impaction: Signs, Safe Soaks, and When to See a Vet

Frog GI impaction is a gut blockage from swallowed substrate or oversized prey. Here's how to spot it, safely soak and correct husbandry at home, and know when your frog needs an exotic vet.

🐭Degu HealthJul 26, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Degu Diabetes: Signs, the Right Diet, and Prevention

Degus are one of the most diabetes-prone pets there is - but the disease is largely preventable. Here's why degus are so vulnerable, the sugar-free diet that protects them, and the signs (starting with cloudy eyes) that mean it's time to see a vet.

🐭Chinchilla HealthJul 26, 2026

Chinchilla Cataracts: Cloudy Eyes, Causes, and Care

Noticed a cloudy, white, or bluish spot in your chinchilla's eye? It may be a cataract. Here is how to tell it from normal aging, what causes it (including diabetes), and how to keep a low-vision chinchilla safe and happy.

🐟Fish HealthJul 26, 2026

👁️Eyes & Ears

Betta Popeye (Exophthalmia): Causes, Treatment, and Recovery

One or both of your betta's eyes suddenly bulging is popeye — a sign, not a disease on its own. Here's what causes it, why clean water is the real cure, and when to call an aquatic vet.

🐿️Sugar Glider HealthJul 25, 2026

🦷Dental

Sugar Glider Dental Disease: Bad Breath, Jaw Swelling, and Tooth Abscesses

Bad breath, drooling, a puffy jaw, or a glider that drops food can all signal dental disease. Here is why soft, sugary diets cause it, what an exotics vet does, and how to protect your glider's mouth.

🐀Rat HealthJul 25, 2026

Rat Abscesses: When That Lump Is a Pocket of Pus, Not a Tumor

Abscesses are one of the most common lumps pet rats get, usually from a cagemate bite or scratch. Here's how to tell an abscess from a tumor, why you should never pop it at home, and when your rat needs a vet.

🦔Hedgehog HealthJul 25, 2026

🍽️Eating & Drinking

Obesity in African Pygmy Hedgehogs: Signs, Risks, and Safe Weight Loss

A hedgehog that can no longer curl into a tight ball, or that bulges with fat around its 'armpits' when it tries, is very likely overweight. Obesity is one of the most common husbandry problems in pet African pygmy hedgehogs, and it drives real disease — including fatty liver. Here's how to tell if your hedgehog is overweight, why captive hedgehogs get fat, the health risks that make it more than cosmetic, and how to help your hedgehog slim down slowly and safely.

🐸Amphibian HealthJul 25, 2026

Red Leg in Frogs and Amphibians: Signs, Causes, and What to Do

That red flush on your frog's belly and thighs is a warning sign of serious, sometimes contagious illness, and it is not always a simple bacterial infection. Here is what red leg really means and what to do first.

🐟Fish HealthJul 25, 2026

Betta Fish Fungus: White Fuzz, Cotton Mouth, and How to Treat It

White, cotton-like fuzz on a betta is usually one of two very different problems — true water-mold fungus (Saprolegnia) or columnaris, a bacterium that only looks fungal. Here's how to tell them apart, why the difference flips the treatment, and how to fix the water and temperature that let it start.

🐿️Sugar Glider HealthJul 22, 2026

Sugar Glider Over-Grooming and Fur-Pulling: Why It Happens and What to Do

A sugar glider pulling out its fur or with bald patches is almost always a symptom of stress or a hidden medical problem — here is how to tell the difference, what to check at home, and when it needs a vet.

🦔Hedgehog HealthJul 22, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Cancer and Tumors in Hedgehogs: What Owners Need to Know

Cancer is one of the most common serious health problems in pet African pygmy hedgehogs, and it becomes much more likely once they pass about three years of age. Most hedgehog tumors turn out to be malignant, so a new lump is never something to "watch and wait" on. This guide explains, honestly and without panic, how common cancer really is, which tumor types owners actually see, what to look for at home, how a vet works a lump up, and what treatment realistically looks like.

🐟Fish HealthJul 22, 2026

Goldfish Fungus: Cotton Wool Disease vs. Columnaris

The white cotton-wool fluff on a goldfish is usually one of two look-alike problems: Saprolegnia water mold (true fungus) or columnaris, a bacterium that only looks fungal. Here's how to tell them apart, fix the water first, and know when to call an aquatic vet.

🐭Gerbil HealthJul 22, 2026

🦷Dental

Gerbil Overgrown Teeth: Signs, Causes, and Vet Treatment

Long, curling, or crossed front teeth in a gerbil usually mean overgrown incisors — a fixable problem, but only with the right veterinary care. Here's how to spot it, what causes it, and why clippers and chew toys aren't the answer.

🐸Amphibian HealthJul 22, 2026

Axolotl Impaction: Swallowed Gravel, a Blocked Gut, and What to Do

Gravel impaction is one of the most common and most preventable axolotl emergencies. Here is what a blocked gut looks like, what is safe to try at home, and when it is a vet job.

🐀Rat HealthJul 21, 2026

🦷Dental

Rat Overgrown Teeth: Understanding Incisor Malocclusion

Overgrown teeth in pet rats are almost always a front-tooth (incisor) problem, not a molar problem. Here is what causes it, why chew toys will not fix it, and what treatment actually looks like.

🦔Hedgehog HealthJul 21, 2026

🌿Skin & Coat

Hedgehog Dry, Flaky Skin: Dandruff, Mites, or Normal Quilling?

Dry, flaky skin on an African pygmy hedgehog is easy to miss under the quills and easy to misread. If the flaking comes with quill loss, it is mites until a veterinarian's skin scrape says otherwise — not something an oatmeal bath will fix.

🐭Gerbil HealthJul 21, 2026

Gerbil Tail Slip: When the Skin Comes Off the Tail

Tail slip is when the skin sleeve of a gerbil's tail pulls off, leaving raw tissue or bare bone. Here is why it happens, what first aid to give, and why vets recommend early amputation instead of waiting for the tail to fall off.

🐭Chinchilla HealthJul 21, 2026

🤮Digestive

Chinchilla Constipation: Few, Tiny, or No Droppings

If your chinchilla's droppings have gone small, hard, sparse, or missing altogether, the problem is usually not simple constipation — it is a gut that has slowed down. Here is what normal chinchilla output looks like, why reduced pellets are time-critical, what causes it, what you can safely do at home while you get to a vet, what you must never give, and how a veterinarian tells gut slowdown apart from bloat and true obstruction.

🐟Fish HealthJul 21, 2026

Betta Swim Bladder Problems: Floating, Sinking, and Listing to One Side

Your betta is floating, sinking, or tipping sideways. "Swim bladder disease" is a sign, not a diagnosis — and bettas differ from goldfish in ways that change the fix. What to check first, what actually has veterinary backing, and when to call an aquatic vet.