Veterinary surgeons who are unfamiliar with the actions of a particular drug in a given exotic species are advised to consult the drug monograph and more complete references.

The size of some species of exotic pets makes dosing difficult and care must be taken when calculating small doses. Some points to bear in mind when dosing are:

• Where powders are to be dissolved in water, sterile water for injection should be used
• Most solutions may be diluted with water for injection or 0.9% saline
• Dilution may be necessary when volumes <0.1 ml are to be administered
• Suspensions cannot be diluted
• Use 1 ml syringes or smaller for greatest accuracy
• Specialist laboratories with a Veterinary Specials Authorization should be contacted to reformulate drugs.

Doses provided in this Formulary are intended for exotic pet species. They should not be used for commercial production species of fish or poultry, or large mammals. Established poultry texts should be consulted for treating individual chickens.