In-House Diagnostics for Exotic Pets in Charleston
Exotic Vet Care uses the cutting-edge VetScan HM5, Abaxis VetScan 2, and i-STAT analyzers to process a wide range of blood labs and chemistries in-house. This equipment gives us the advantage of almost immediate results and more efficient treatments for our patients.
From just a small sample of blood, we can evaluate your pet’s internal organ function and better determine their overall health. These tools can reveal health changes that cannot be discovered during a physical examination.
Complete Blood Count or CBC
With just a few drops of blood, we can examine red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which can indicate many forms of disease.
- Infection
- Inflammation
- Anemia
- Blood parasites
Blood Chemistry Panel or Internal Body Function Tests
Blood chemistries can reveal issues related to tissue and internal organ dysfunction and help detect diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, and other disorders.
Birds and reptiles can be more challenging, so we routinely measure bile acid levels, which serve as a liver function test.
Fecal Analysis
In most species, our laboratory technicians perform a direct smear and fecal flotation to screen for harmful internal parasites or worms.
In most pet birds, a fecal Gram stain will be done instead to identify bacteria, yeast, and spore-forming bacteria that can cause serious illness.
Comprehensive Pet Laboratory Services for Exotics
We have an array of other in-house diagnostics and also send samples out daily for microbiology, toxicology, infectious disease screening, and more.
Having access to multiple diagnostic tools gives our veterinarians a more complete picture of what may be happening with your pet. When additional imaging is needed, our Advanced Imaging & CT services provide digital X-rays, ultrasound, and detailed CT imaging to complement laboratory testing and help guide the next steps in care.