Critical Care Nutrition for Exotic Animals

Exotic animals presented to the veterinary hospital are often malnourished, particularly when ill. Sufficient levels of energy and protein need to be provided for debilitated patients along with important amino acids and vitamin supplementation. For raptor species, a clinical condition described as refeeding syndrome also complicates medical and surgical success. It is important to understand malnutrition and nutritional support to improve treatment outcome of weakened exotic animal patients that are presented to veterinary hospitals. Many of the critical care principles described in this article are derived from mammalian studies.