If your pet's nails are curled like elbow macaroni, they are well overdue for a trim. Guinea pig, rabbit, reptile, sugar glider, and other pet's nails need trimming if they are not worn down from climbing or walking naturally.

With the right tools and help, you can learn to trim your pet's nails. You can ask your local veterinarian to teach you, or you can teach yourself.

If you are ever uncomfortable or unable to trim the nails, don't just let them continue to grow. Take them to a groomer, your veterinarian, or a petstore to have them trimmed to prevent them from getting stuck on something and injuring your pet.

Happy trimming!

Reptiles may shed their skin several times a year. Depending on the reptile, they may not eat, be very active, or appear much different than they normally do. It is important to recognize normal shedding behaviors in your pet to be able to spot any abnormalities.

Provide plenty of humidity in the form of water misting or shallow baths during shedding. The added moisture will help the old skin come off and prevent any shedding problems, like the loss of toes or eye caps remaining from dry environments.

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If your rabbit isn't urinating, or is only leaking or dripping urine, you should seek medical attention for your long-eared friend as soon as possible.

Your rabbit could have bladder stones obstructing his or her urethra, or the path the urine takes to exit the body. This causes serious harm to the rabbit and will prove to be fatal if not addressed within a day.

Like dogs and cats, rabbits and other exotic pets can become blocked. The longer the animal sits blocked, the worse the prognosis is. So when in doubt, get it checked out!

Does your chinchilla have a lump? Did you just recently notice it? It may just be a fat deposit called a lipoma (means "fat tumor"), but there is a possibility it could be something more serious.

Anytime you feel something different on your chinchilla you should have it checked out by your exotics veterinarian as soon as possible. If it is indeed something more serious than a benign fatty tumor, or is a large fatty tumor impeding your chinchilla's movements, it may need to be removed.

The chances of it being cancerous may be small, but you'll never know if you just ignore it. By finding out what it is before it is too late to do anything about it, you are giving your chinchilla the best chance for having a long and healthy life. And who doesn't want that for their chinchilla?