Cav?

[BirdGeeks]

Hello! For most of my life I have had the goal to become a Vet tech or assistant. Since entering the bird/exotic animal world I realized how many dog/cat vets there were compared to a much smaller number of exotic animal vets! While I am just starting to look into this, I am somewhat interested in how to become a small/exotic animal vet.
Thanks!

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

It is similar to how you would become, say an oncologist, as opposed to a general practitioner. You would go through an undergrad/pre-med program, then through vet school, then through whatever further education needed to specialize in your field of choice. Hope this helps!

 

[EllenD]

There's a huge difference between an "Exotics" Vet, which in most states means absolutely nothing except the vet is willing to see animals other than dogs and cats, and a "Board Certified" Avian, Reptile, etc. Vet...and there are thousands and thousands of Exotics Vets in the United States, as an Exotics Vet is nothing more than a General Vet who is again just willing to see animals other than dogs and cats, that's what separates them from a General Vet. They usually have absolutely NO extra education, training, internship, etc. They make more money because they see more pets, and that's it. They actually usually end-up calling a Certified specialist vet a lot of the time because they have no specialized training or education. So I would not think about becoming an Exotics Vet, but rather picking a specialty and then spending the time and money for the extra education and training.

Basically, all vets must go to undergraduate college for 4 years to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in some kind of health/medical field, such as Pre-Vet, Pre-Med, Biochemistry, Health Science, Animal Health Science, etc. Make sure you take all the prerequisites that are required by the Veterinary Medical School you wish to attend. once you graduate with your Bachelor's degree then you must apply to a Veterinary Medical School, which in case you aren't aware are very few and far between in the US, and are extremely difficult to get accepted into because there are so many applicants and so few spots across the country, so make sure your undergrad grades are excellent...

Then you must go to Veterinary Medical School for 4 more years, the last year or two which will be hands-on internship experience. When you graduate you will have your Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. This is what you need to become a General Vet who sees dogs and cats, and at this point you have to take the state licensing board exams to get your veterinary medical license to practice as vet in that particular state. After you pass your boards, usually people will do one of 3 things: #1)They find a job at a practice as either a General Vet, or if it's an Exotic Vet practice they typically will be hired and will either just go to work, or will do some sort of internship or fellowship for a year or two before practicing on their own, #2) If they want to perform surgery on dogs and cats, which most all vets do, they will apply for internship or fellowship placements, and once accepted you'll be working as a veterinarian, but you'll be an intern learning surgical procedures, and this is usually 2 years, at the end of which you are qualified to be a practicing General/Exotics Vet/Surgeon, or #3) if you want to become a Certified Specialist Vet of some kind, like a Certified Avian Vet, Certified Reptile Vet, etc., which is what this country needs many, many more of, then right after you graduate from Veterinary Medical School and pass your state board exams, you then look for placement in an internship/fellowship to study under an already practicing and licensed Certified Specialized Vet, and this will last as long as that particular board says is required to be able to take the Certified Board exams, usually between 2-4 years. After you finish your Certified Specialist internship/fellowship, then you must take your Certified Board exams, there are 2 major Certified Specialist Vet organizations in the US, so 2 sets of exams if you want both certifications...once you pass these then you're ready to either join a specialist practice, or start your own.