26 taming tips to restrain and X-ray exotics

By Adrienne Kruzer, BBA, RVT, LVT

For some people, the basic restraint of exotic pets can be intimidating. To complicate things further, though, positioning and obtaining radiographs on some pets can be difficult in and of itself. This means the combination of these skills may be very difficult if you are not adequately trained.

Knowing how to handle and restrain common exotic pets can keep you and the animal safe, and when it comes time to obtain radiographs, a few simple tips and tricks can make things easier and quicker for everyone involved.

Basic restraint

Birds

Birds are arguably one of the exotic pets commonly seen in veterinary medicine that intimidate or frighten people. This may be due to a team member's lack of familiarity with normal bird behaviors and body language, their lack of training in safely restraining birds, or perhaps they simply saw Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" one too many times.

Wings, beaks, air sacs, and crops—none of these body parts are found on other animals commonly seen in the veterinary hospital, so it is not surprising there are team members who are not excited to handle such a different kind of creature. Finding someone willing to teach you how to properly restrain a bird, in addition to keeping the following tips in mind, will help you become more comfortable:

1. Birds are very sensitive. Do not attempt to restrain a bird if it is too stressed.
2. Whenever possible, only restrain an awake bird in a closed room, where there are no other animals.
3. Have all your necessary supplies ready before restraining a bird.
4. Obtain a history from the owner before handling the bird.
5. Calmly approach the bird and keep it away from loud noises.
6. Never use aerosol sprays, scented candles, etc., in spaces where birds are or will be treated.

Once you are ready to restrain the bird, find a towel appropriately sized for the bird. Avoid towels that are too big or thick and bulky. Hold it in your dominant hand behind your back.

Perch the bird onto your non-dominant hand and approach it from behind with your dominant hand, slowly moving the towel toward the bird's back. Once you gently but firmly grasp the bird inside the towel, keep them upright (i.e. feet to the floor, head to the sky) to avoid accidental aspiration in case their crop is full.

For a larger bird, you will want to use one hand to restrain the head and the other to support the body. Place your thumb under the bird's mandible and your other fingers around the neck. Use the towel to keep their wings and feet contained (if necessary), but do not squeeze too tightly. Sedation or anesthesia, despite the increased risk in birds, is necessary for obtaining most radiographs but may also be needed if the bird cannot be handled without becoming too stressed.^1,2

Pocket pets

Small mammals and other pocket pets are not quite as intimidating to most veterinary professionals as birds tend to be, but some of them still come with their challenges. Some tips to help you before you begin restraining pocket
pets include:

1. If necessary, ferrets can be scruffed, but all other species should never be scruffed.
2. When possible, keep pocket pets in a natural position (i.e. all four feet pointing to the ground instead of upside down or standing on their hind legs).
3. Rabbits are especially sensitive, so be careful not to stress them or allow them to kick.
4. Towels help restrain wiggling legs and protect you from bites, scratches, and quills.

When you are ready to restrain a pocket pet, find an appropriately sized towel for the animal that is not too thick or bulky in case you need to "burrito" the animal. Keep the pet's feet grounded; otherwise, hold them against your body so they feel supported.

Different species will need to be restrained differently, but ferrets are usually the only exotic small mammals that can be scruffed, and sugar gliders and flying squirrels are restrained similarly to birds. Regardless of what kind of pocket pet you are restraining, hold it firmly but gently. If they struggle too much, gently set them down and let them relax. Sedation or anesthesia may be necessary to obtain radiographs or to handle fearful or anxious pocket pets.³

Reptiles

Reptiles can come in all shapes and sizes, so handling them will also vary between species. Some tips to help you prepare to handle them:

1. If your patient is a lizard that can drop its tail, be very careful if they are stressed.
2. Towels are helpful to hold legs in and protect you from bites as well as scale and nail scratches.
3. Large reptiles may require two or more handlers.
4. If anesthesia or sedation is needed, it can take a long time for the drugs to be absorbed in a reptile's body.
5. Keep reptiles warm between being handled.

As with birds and small mammals, you will likely want to use a towel appropriately sized for the animal, but small lizards, such as geckos and anoles, may not need a towel.

Gently but firmly hold behind the head of lizards and snakes while supporting the rest of the body. Smaller turtles/tortoises can be picked up by their shells, but the legs and head may need to be gently but firmly restrained, especially when collecting blood.

Larger tortoises, lizards, and snakes will require multiple people to focus on restraining different parts of the body.⁴

Radiography of exotic pets

Now that you are able to handle and restrain exotic pets safely, you can obtain the necessary radiographs. Basic tips for capturing radiographs of exotic pets include:

1. Whole-body radiographs are often obtained for very small exotic pets.
2. Collimate as much as possible.
3. Restraint devices, anesthesia, or sedatives are often necessary due to the small size of the patients.
4. Always follow radiography safety rules—never put your body parts in the beam.
5. Never do anything that will stress an exotic pet more than necessary.

Following these tips will not only help prevent further trauma to your patient, but it will also help shield you from unnecessary radiation exposure that commonly occurs during an attempt to restrain small exotic pets.⁵

Restraint devices

Radiographic restraint devices commonly used for exotic pets are not as fancy as one may think, but they can be very creative and practical. Some options to help you restrain exotic pets for radiographs include:

1. Tape. This is the most used type of restraint for anesthetized or sedated pets. If you are using tape on a bird or animal with very thin skin or fine fur, ensure the tape you use is not too sticky. Aside from bandage tape, an inexpensive roll of masking tape can be purchased for this purpose, just like what taxidermists use. In a bind, autoclave tape can also be used, but this is not the most long-term, cost-effective option.
2. Containers. Clear, plastic pet enclosures with vented lids are helpful for placing small and exotic pets when anesthesia is not used. This option will keep the animal contained but will not allow you to position them. This option works well if you are looking for a foreign body or if capturing a specific positioning is not crucial.
3. Troughs, wedges, and sandbags. The usual foam troughs and wedges you would use for other species can be helpful with positioning exotic pets, too. You may find them useful if you need something lightweight to hold a small leg or wing down or for propping up a patient to ensure the correct angles are captured. Sandbags can also be used for larger exotic pets, but care should be taken if you are using them to hold a body part in place as they will be too heavy for smaller exotic pets.
4. Plastic tubing. Typically used to keep a snake straight, plastic tubes of varying sizes can be used to restrain a snake. After the snake has slithered into the tube, block off the other end until you are ready for it to exit.
5. Pillowcases. Most commonly used with reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, pillowcases are breathable restraint devices that are also radiolucent. If positioning is not critical, you can gently place a reptile in a pillowcase, temporarily knot it, and capture your images.
6. Chip clips and hair claws. The quills on hedgehogs and excess skin or fat on rats and hamsters can obscure the images and interpretation of radiographs. To help solve this problem, plastic chip bag clips and hair claws can be gently placed on sedated or anesthetized animals to grab, hold, and pull back quills, skin, and fat that might otherwise get in the way of the image.
7. Radiography personal protective equipment (PPE). Lead gloves and thyroid shields can be laid on larger exotic pets sedated or anesthetized and used as restraint devices instead of tape, ropes, leashes, or your hands.

Medication considerations

It is often necessary to use sedation or anesthesia to obtain appropriate radiographic views of your patients. Gas anesthesia is often used for obtaining exotic pet radiographs, but if injectable agents are needed, it is important to ensure the proper dosage and administration routes are utilized since various species metabolize different drugs differently.

Use your resources for proper dosages, always keep a sedated or anesthetized exotic pet on an oxygen mask, and closely monitor their vital signs until they fully recover from any sedation or anesthesia.^2,3

Radiography positioning

When it comes to radiographic positioning, the common views are similar to those used with dogs and cats. Dorsoventral (DV), ventrodorsal (VD), lateral, dorsoplantar, caudocranial, and craniocaudal views are routinely taken on exotic pets. Birds, in particular, need to be anesthetized and positioned perfectly unless you are simply looking for an obvious foreign body, and feet and wings need to be spread away from the body when capturing an image (tape comes in handy here). If a patient is unable to be sedated or anesthetized, be prepared that only one view may be able to be captured.^6,7

Adrienne Kruzer, BBA, RVT, LVT, is a credentialed veterinary technician in Ohio, N.C., and South Carolina. Kruzer writes for various publications and lectures at veterinary conferences and colleges across the U.S. and currently works for the Veterinary Emergency Group as the veterinary nursing program manager. She also volunteers as a district representative and board member for the South Carolina Association of Veterinary Technicians and actively represents her profession on social media.

References

1. Speer, B. 2014. Psittacine behavior, handling, and restraint. LafeberVet. https://lafeber.com/vet/psittacine-behavior-handling-restraint/
2. Seamon, A. B., Hofmeister, E. H., & Divers, S. J. 2017. Outcome following inhalation anesthesia in birds at a veterinary referral hospital: 352 cases (2004–2014). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 251(7), 814–817. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.251.7.814
3. Pollock, C. 2017, September 13. Analgesia and sedation in exotic companion mammals. LafeberVet. https://lafeber.com/vet/analgesia-and-sedation-in-exotic-companion-mammals/
4. Pollock, C. 2017. Lizard handling and restraint. LafeberVet. https://lafeber.com/vet/lizard-handling-restraint/
5. Baker, M. A. (2014). An introduction to radiation protection in veterinary radiography. The Veterinary Nurse, 5(9), 496–501. https://doi.org/10.12968/vetn.2014.5.9.496
6. Avian radiography. 2014, September 1. Today's Veterinary Practice. https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/radiology-imaging/avian-radiography/
7. Antinoff, N. 2021. Small mammal imaging and radiographic cases. LafeberVet. https://lafeber.com/vet/small-mammal-imaging-and-radiographic-cases/