Exotic Pet Care in Yorktown Heights, NY

Reptiles, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets & hamsters • Exotic-savvy care is hard to find • We welcome them

Exotic pets need veterinary care just like dogs and cats, and qualified exotic vets are genuinely hard to find. We're here for your reptile, rabbit, guinea pig, ferret, or hamster.

Exotic pet owners know the frustration. Your bearded dragon stops eating, your rabbit's teeth are overgrowing, your ferret has a lump, and the nearest clinic only treats dogs and cats. Because exotic species instinctively mask illness until problems are advanced, delayed care is especially risky. Dr. Aparna Modi and the team see exotic patients every week, so you don't have to drive hours to get them the attention they need.

Dr. Modi brings a special interest in exotic and zoo medicine. Before returning home to New York, she spent three years at a busy animal hospital in Las Vegas caring for a wide range of species, including snakes, rabbits, tortoises, and guinea pigs (and the occasional lion), which is hands-on experience with exotic patients that most general practices in the area simply do not have.

What Exotic Pet Services Cover

Exotic pet services at Heights Hospital for Animals include wellness exams, sick visits, husbandry and diet consults, diagnostics (bloodwork, radiographs, fecal testing), treatment of illness and injury, and guidance before you bring a new exotic pet home. We treat non-venomous reptiles (lizards, geckos, bearded dragons, tortoises, snakes), rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and hamsters. If you're weighing whether to add an exotic pet to your household, our exotic pet guide walks through the legality, space, supplies, diet, and time considerations most first-time owners don't think through.

A note on what we treat. We care for reptiles, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and hamsters. We do not see birds or venomous animals, and we are not an emergency or after-hours hospital. For a life-threatening emergency, please contact the nearest 24-hour animal emergency hospital right away.

Why Exotic Veterinary Care Matters

Exotic species hide illness. Reptiles, small mammals, and prey species instinctively mask weakness. By the time most exotic pets show obvious symptoms, the underlying issue has usually been developing for weeks. Regular wellness exams catch problems earlier.

Husbandry drives most exotic illness. Improper temperature, UVB lighting, humidity, diet, or enclosure size cause the majority of problems we see in exotic patients. A single husbandry review can prevent recurring visits for the same underlying cause.

Dental disease in exotics looks different. Rabbits and guinea pigs have continuously growing teeth that wear on a specific diet, and malocclusion is one of the most common (and most preventable) problems we treat. Ferrets develop dental disease more similar to dogs and cats.

Access to exotic-trained vets is limited in our region. Not every veterinarian is equipped to see all species, and emergency-only care for exotic pets is especially scarce. Having an established relationship with a practice that sees your species regularly means faster, better care when something goes wrong.

Rabbit Veterinary Care

Rabbits are the exotic patient we see most, and most of what we treat traces back to two things: teeth and diet. Rabbit teeth grow continuously and wear down only on a diet that is mostly grass hay, so a rabbit eating pellets and treats develops molar spurs that cut the tongue and cheek long before an owner notices anything beyond slower eating. A rabbit that stops eating is an urgent visit, not a wait-and-see, because gut stasis follows within a day.

We provide rabbit wellness exams with a dental check, the RHDV2 vaccine, spay and neuter surgery, gut stasis and dental treatment, and diet corrections. Our article on rabbit and guinea pig dental disease covers the warning signs and what hay actually does, and our article on Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease explains why we recommend the vaccine even for indoor-only rabbits.

Guinea Pig Veterinary Care

Guinea pigs share the rabbit dental problem and add one of their own: they cannot make their own vitamin C, so a diet without a reliable source produces scurvy, which shows up as a stiff, reluctant, painful guinea pig that owners often read as old age. We see guinea pigs for wellness exams and dental checks, respiratory infections, bladder stones, ovarian cysts in females, skin mites, and diet reviews. Annual exams for adults, twice yearly for seniors.

Ferret Veterinary Care

Ferrets age on a fast clock. They do well on annual wellness exams through age three, then need visits every six months, because adrenal disease, insulinoma, and lymphoma cluster in mid-life. Hair loss along the tail and flanks, hind-end weakness, or staring and drooling episodes all deserve an exam rather than a wait. We handle ferret wellness, distemper and rabies vaccination, bloodwork including blood glucose, and workups for the endocrine disease this species is prone to.

Bearded Dragon, Gecko, Tortoise, and Snake Care

For reptiles, husbandry is medicine. The majority of reptile cases we see trace back to temperature gradients, UVB lighting that has aged out, humidity, or a diet without proper calcium, and metabolic bone disease is the classic result. A bearded dragon that has stopped eating, a gecko that is losing weight, or a snake with a retained shed usually has an enclosure problem underneath the symptom.

We see non-venomous reptiles: bearded dragons, leopard geckos and other lizards, tortoises and turtles, and snakes. Visits cover a species-appropriate exam, a full husbandry and lighting review, fecal testing, bloodwork, and radiographs when needed. We do not treat venomous species.

Hamster and Small Rodent Care

Hamsters are short-lived and hide illness well, so changes matter quickly at their scale. We see hamsters for wellness checks, wet tail and other GI illness, skin and fur loss, overgrown teeth, and the lumps that are common in older animals. Any change in appetite, activity, or coat is worth a visit rather than a week of watching.

Where Our Exotic Clients Come From

Practices that see exotic species regularly are scarce in this part of the state, so exotic pet owners drive farther than dog and cat owners do. Our exotic clients come from across Westchester and Putnam, including Mohegan Lake, Shrub Oak, Jefferson Valley, Cortlandt Manor, Peekskill, Somers, Ossining, and Croton-on-Hudson.

What Exotic-Pet Owners Say

"All the workers always make sure Peppa is well taken care of, especially because she's a timid guinea pig. They know how much Peppa can handle, and the doctor genuinely cares about her patients. I'm so glad I was able to find a vet with an awesome team."

Jocelyn Priego, guinea-pig owner

"Dr. Modi is a phenomenal vet and a pleasure to work with. She never hesitates to answer any questions I have, especially pertaining to pocket pets like rabbits. She displays compassion and competence, and she takes amazing care of the animals."

Eva Evans, rabbit owner

What to Expect

Before Your Visit

Transport your exotic pet in a secure, appropriately sized carrier (a plastic bin with a ventilated lid works well for reptiles, a sturdy small-pet carrier for mammals). Bring a recent stool sample when possible, a list of diet and supplements, and photos or a brief description of your enclosure setup, including lighting and heating. If your pet eats live prey, no need to bring any; we'll cover feeding specifics in the exam.

During the Appointment

We start with a conversation about husbandry, diet, and what's changed recently, then perform a species-appropriate physical exam. Depending on findings, we may recommend bloodwork or a fecal through our in-house laboratory, or imaging through digital x-rays. We take the time to explain results in plain terms and go over treatment options with you before anything moves forward.

Follow-Up and Aftercare

Any prescriptions are filled through our on-site pharmacy, sized and dosed for your specific species. We schedule rechecks when needed and send you home with written husbandry notes, so there's no guessing once you get back to the enclosure.

How Often Should My Exotic Pet Be Seen?

• Reptiles: annual wellness exam, more often for juveniles or animals with ongoing husbandry issues.
• Rabbits and guinea pigs: annual exam with dental check, twice yearly for seniors.
• Ferrets: annual wellness through age 3, then every 6 months as they age (ferrets are prone to endocrine disease in mid-life).
• Hamsters: annual check or whenever husbandry or behavior changes.
• New pet: within the first few weeks of ownership, regardless of species.

Schedule an Exotic Pet Visit in Yorktown Heights, NY

Qualified exotic vets are hard to find, and access to care shouldn't be a scramble when something goes wrong. Whether your exotic needs an annual exam, a husbandry review, or urgent attention, we're taking new patients and we'd be glad to meet you both.