If Santa brought you a bearded dragon, macaw, guinea pig, rat or rabbit, your first call should be to one of the Cape hospitals that care for the baker’s dozen of exotic pet species often kept in Massachusetts.
“The most important thing is to cover the basics. You get a puppy and the first thing you do is to get a veterinary appointment. Exotics need that too,” said Dr.Kyra Berg, who spent 13 years becoming a board-certified specialist and surgeon for exotic and zoo animals.
Six months ago, Dr. Berg joined Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists, with offices in Dennis and Buzzards Bay, to set up a practice entirely devoted to exotic and zoo animals.
“We currently do not have a 24-hour center for emergencies for exotics. I am the only specialist and surgeon for exotics and I can’t be in the building 24/7 but when people call for an appointment we can do triage and work with them to get patients in as quickly as possible” Berg said. Cape Cod Veterinary Specialists does provide emergency care for dogs and cats, she said.
