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 1–24 of 160 articles found

🐾Ferret HealthOct 7, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Spayed Ferret With a Swollen Vulva: Why It Needs an Exam

Vulvar swelling after spaying is not routine heat. Adrenal hormone disease, ovarian tissue, and local inflammation need different investigations.

🐸Amphibian HealthOct 1, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Is My Axolotl Metamorphosing or Sick? Signs and Next Steps

True axolotl metamorphosis is unusual. Progressive loss of external gills and tail fin with eyelid and body-shape changes needs expert assessment, while isolated gill shrinkage often signals illness or husbandry trouble.

🐈Cat HealthSep 23, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Cat Yellow Gums or Skin: Recognizing Jaundice

Yellow gums, eye whites, ear skin, or urine can signal bilirubin buildup from red blood cell breakdown, liver disease, or blocked bile flow.

🦎Reptile HealthSep 16, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Tortoise Soft Shell: Causes, Urgent Signs, and Vet Care

A tortoise shell that feels newly soft, flexible, or misshapen can reflect abnormal mineralization, nutritional disease, infection, or serious systemic illness. Young tortoises still need prompt assessment.

🦜Bird HealthSep 11, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Budgie Swollen Abdomen: Egg Binding, Hernia, Fluid, or a Mass?

A swollen lower abdomen in a budgie can reflect reproductive disease, an abdominal-wall hernia, organ enlargement, fluid, fat, or a mass and needs avian-vet assessment.

🐈Cat HealthSep 9, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Senior Cat Kidney Disease Diet: How to Choose and Transition Food

A renal diet can help many cats with confirmed chronic kidney disease, but the right plan must also protect appetite, body weight, muscle, hydration, and quality of life.

🐕Dog HealthSep 6, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Managing Dog Diabetes at Home: A Daily Routine

A repeatable routine helps a diabetic dog stay safer between rechecks. Learn what to track, how meals and insulin fit together, and which changes need a prompt call.

🦔Hedgehog HealthAug 25, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Hedgehog Heart Disease: Breathing Trouble, Weakness, and Vet Tests

Heart disease can cause breathing difficulty, low activity, weight loss, abdominal swelling, or sudden decline in a hedgehog. These signs overlap with respiratory, neurologic, and other serious illnesses, so diagnosis requires an exotic-animal veterinarian rather than observation at home.

🐭Gerbil HealthAug 23, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Gerbil Ovarian Cysts: Swollen Belly, Hair Loss, and Vet Care

Ovarian cysts can be associated with a swollen belly, symmetrical hair loss, low energy, and reduced appetite in female gerbils. These signs overlap with other abdominal and reproductive problems, so diagnosis requires a veterinary examination rather than appearance alone.

🐀Rat HealthAug 16, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Rat Neck Lump: Abscess, Tumor, or Something Else?

A lump under a rat's jaw or on the side of the neck cannot be identified safely by feel alone. Location, growth rate, skin changes, breathing, eating, imaging, and tissue sampling help distinguish an abscess from salivary, mammary, lymph-node, or other disease.

🐀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.

🐁Mouse HealthJul 31, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Mammary Tumors in Pet Mice: Signs, Causes, and Kind Choices

Finding a lump on your pet mouse is scary — and in mice, mammary tumors are usually malignant and can appear almost anywhere under the skin. Here's how to spot one, what your treatment options are, and how to make kind, loving decisions about your mouse's comfort and quality of life.

🐭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.

🦔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.

🐀Rat HealthJul 17, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Rat Mammary Tumors: The Lump Many Owners Find, and What to Do About It

The lump many rat owners find is often a mammary tumor: very common, usually a benign fibroadenoma, and found anywhere from chin to tail in both females and males. Here's why benign doesn't mean wait, how surgery and spaying help, and when to see an exotics vet.

🐹Guinea Pig HealthJul 5, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Guinea Pig Ovarian Cysts: Hair Loss on the Flanks and Other Signs

Symmetrical hair loss on both flanks in a female guinea pig is often ovarian cysts. Learn the signs, the differentials, and when a vet visit is urgent.

🐈Cat HealthJul 2, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Aortic Thromboembolism in Cats (Saddle Thrombus): Signs and Emergency Care

Aortic thromboembolism is one of the most dramatic and devastating emergencies in feline medicine. A blood clot — called a thrombus — forms inside the hear

🐾Ferret HealthJun 29, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Ferret Hyperestrogenism: Aplastic Anemia and Estrogen Toxicity Signs

Ferret hyperestrogenism from prolonged heat causes aplastic anemia, pale gums, hair loss, and petechiae in intact jills. Learn the signs, treatment, and wh

🐈Cat HealthJun 28, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Cat Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD): Signs and Management

PKD is a hereditary kidney disease common in Persians. Cysts grow silently for years before signs appear. Learn screening, signs, and CKD management.

🐕Dog HealthJun 28, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Dog Cushing's Disease: Signs, Diagnosis & Treatment

Cushing's disease causes excessive drinking, pot belly, and hair loss in dogs. Learn the signs, how it's diagnosed, and long-term treatment options.

🐈Cat HealthJun 28, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Cat FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis): Signs & Treatment

FIP causes a fluid-filled belly or neurological signs in cats. With new antivirals, cure rates exceed 85%. Learn the signs and what to do.

🐰Rabbit HealthJun 28, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Rabbit Pyometra: Uterine Infection Signs & Emergency Care

Pyometra in rabbits causes vaginal discharge, abdominal swelling, and rapid collapse. Emergency spay surgery is the only cure. Learn signs and prevention.

🐈Cat HealthJun 26, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Cat Hyperthyroidism: Weight Loss Signs and Treatment Options

Hyperthyroidism is the top endocrine disease in older cats. Weight loss despite a big appetite is the key sign. See treatment options.

🐕Dog HealthJun 26, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Dog IMHA: Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia Signs to Know

IMHA is a life-threatening autoimmune anemia in dogs. Pale gums, jaundice, and dark urine are red-flag signs that need ER care immediately.