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Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Lab Animal volume 34, pages 22–23 (2005)Cite this article

Medicine and Surgery of Tortoises and Turtles

  • Stuart McArthur,
  • Roger Wilkinson,
  • Jean Meyer,
  • Charles Innis &
  • Steve Hernandez-Divers
Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA, 2004 579 pages Hardcover, $249.99 ISBN: 1405108894 | ISBN: 1-405-10889-4

A 1999 study of the veterinary market1 found that pet preferences in the United States have changed considerably over the past 10 years, with a reduction in the share of households that own dogs and cats and an increase in the share that own 'less traditional' pets. In the United Kingdom, the range of animals kept as pets has increased dramatically; in 2004, the variety of exotic species kept as pets outnumbered the range of traditional domesticated species such as cats and dogs2. According to a study conducted by The Queen's University of Belfast, tortoises and turtles account for 8% of the animals kept by exotic pet survey respondents2. Yet, despite the demand for veterinary exotic pet services, a 2004 RSPCA survey2 of veterinarians in Britain found that not all veterinarians were qualified to treat exotic animals. Less than half of the veterinarians treated exotic animals, one-third referred cases to other veterinarians, and 20% did not treat exotics at all and did not refer them elsewhere.

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References

  1. Brown, J.P. & Silverman, J.D. The current and future market for veterinarians and veterinary medical services in the United States. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 215(2), 161–183 (1999).

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  2. RSPCA. Handle with Care. A Look at the Exotic Animal Pet Trade. (RSPCA Report No: Z3058, 2004).

  3. Mader, D.R. Reptile Medicine and Surgery (W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, 1996).

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  4. McArthur, S., Wilkinson, R. & Meyer, J. Medicine and Surgery of Tortoises and Turtles (Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA, 2004).

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  5. McArthur, S. Veterinary Management for Tortoises and Turtles (Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK, 1996).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brown is a veterinarian in the Department of Avian and Exotic Pets, The Animal Medical Center, New York, NY. Donnelly is a laboratory animal veterinarian and Founding Member of The Kenneth S. Warren Institute, Ossining, NY.,

    Cyndi Brown DVM & Thomas M. Donnelly DVM

Authors
  1. Cyndi Brown DVM
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  2. Thomas M. Donnelly DVM
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Brown, C., Donnelly, T. Slow and Steady Wins the Race. Lab Anim 34, 22–23 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0105-22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0105-22

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