Do you have a pet hamster who sneezes?  He or she may be sensitive to the dust from the bedding. 

If you use a dusty bedding like wood shavings, try a soft recycled paper bedding.  Not only will it stop cutting your hamsters feet up, but it will cut down immensely on the dust.

Also be sure to freeze any and all bedding before putting it into your pet's habitat.  This will kill any mites or bugs living in the bedding that your pet may contract.

If the sneezing continues after changing to a less dusty bedding, there is nasal discharge, or your hamster isn't eating, drinking, or acting normally, make an appointment with your exotic pet veterinarian.

Photo © Flickr user Zixii

Bumblefoot also known as "ulcerative pododermatitis," is a complex problem seen in pet rats and a few other species. Prevention is the best bet, but is not always easy as some rats will develop bumblefoot even under ideal conditions.

Find out the signs and risk factors for bumblefoot in rats and ways to help prevent it in the Bumblefoot in Rats FAQ.

More on Rats:

• Care of Pet Rats
• Pet Rat Photo Gallery

Photo: Ventura, a funny pet rat - by Lianne McLeod DVM

Sugar gliders are tiny marsupials native to Australia. They are about the size of a chipmunk and resemble a flying squirrel with their long tails and patagium.

Although sugar gliders are cute and can be very cuddle when hand raised from a joey, they can also be very time consuming. They require a couple of hours of attention a day, as well as a complex diet that takes time to prepare.

Sugar gliders are legal in 47 states but individual cities can prohibit keeping sugar gliders as pets. They have become a popular housepet in the U.S. and the USDA does not consider them an exotic pet anymore.

Be sure to read more about keeping sugar gliders as pets to see if one would be a good fit for you and your family.

Photo © About.com user Nicole J. Putnam

Many exotic pet owners may never realize their pets need dental care. Of course not all pets need dental cleanings or tooth trims, but ferrets, skunks, raccoons, opossums, hedgehogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and several other exotics may need some attention paid to their teeth.

Rabbits, guinea pigs, and chinchillas have teeth that grow continuously like toenails throughout their lives. They normally grind them down to an appropriate length with regular chewing but often need some human assistance to get them back to a healthy length. Your exotic veterinarian will help with getting them back to normal.

Other exotics who don't have teeth that continuously grow still need to have their teeth checked for dental disease. Abcesses, tartar accumulation, and breaks are just a few examples of problems your pet's teeth may experience. In order to treat the problems, or sometimes just to be able to diagnose them, your pet will need to be put under anesthesia. This will allow the veterinarian and technicians to assess, clean, polish, and do other necessary treatments to all of the teeth.

Be sure to have your exotic pet's teeth checked at their next regular physical exam, even if they are as tiny as a hedgehog tooth.

Hedgehog molar photo © Adrienne Kruzer