My pet had a fall or an injury — does it still need a vet if it looks fine?

My pet had a fall or an injury — does it still need a vet if it looks fine?

Identify the species first. The same symptom is handled differently in different species, and copying another species' handling can do harm. Covered here: rabbits and guinea pigs, poultry, reptiles and amphibians, dogs, cats, farm animals and horses, fish and invertebrates, birds.

Applies to all species

Signs: A fall from a height, even when the animal looks completely normal on the outside

• Never treat it as nothing just because "it can still walk and still eat"

Signs: Injury to the eyeball, sudden severe eye pain with redness and swelling, unequal pupil sizes, loss of vision

• Keep the eye moist with clean damp gauze, avoid pressure, and get to a veterinarian as soon as possible (an ophthalmology service is better still)
• Never push a prolapsed eyeball back in yourself, and do not use any eye drops you happen to have at home

Signs: Days after a bite or other injury, swelling around the wound that keeps enlarging, heat, pus, or fever with loss of appetite

• Do not squeeze the abscess or apply unidentified ointment yourself; have a veterinarian assess whether drainage is needed

Signs: Obvious injury together with respiratory distress, or an abdomen that hurts on the lightest touch

• Move and press the affected area as little as possible, and get to a veterinarian immediately

Signs: Dogs and cats (arthritis, injury, breed-specific orthopedic disease), horses (laminitis must be ruled out first — it is an emergency measured in minutes)

• ❗ [Applies across species] No direct source for handling this species was found at this level. Do not copy what is done for other species — contact a veterinarian familiar with this species right away.

Signs: Cats (high-rise syndrome), birds

• ❗ [Applies across species] No direct source for handling this species was found at this level. Do not copy what is done for other species — contact a veterinarian familiar with this species right away.

Signs: Applies to all species

• ❗ [Applies across species] No direct source for handling this species was found at this level. Do not copy what is done for other species — contact a veterinarian familiar with this species right away.

Rabbits and guinea pigs

Signs: Rabbit bones are relatively fragile, so struggling or being held incorrectly easily causes spinal fracture and paralysis

• [Rabbits and guinea pigs] Support the whole body steadily, avoid any twisting movement, and seek veterinary care immediately

Poultry

Signs: Bantams kept together with large chicken breeds are at a size disadvantage and face a higher risk of pecking injuries

Signs: Ducks roost on the ground, with inadequate protection at night

Signs: Strongly territorial, with more within-species conflict in the breeding season

Reptiles and amphibians

Signs: Bite wounds from fighting, falls from the basking platform

• [Reptiles and amphibians] Avoid housing aggressive animals together, and design the basking platform to prevent falls

Signs: Falls while escaping the enclosure, sunburn

Signs: Poor enclosure hygiene, trauma

• [Reptiles and amphibians] Keep the enclosure clean and avoid trauma

Signs: Unstable structures in the enclosure, loose branches

Signs: Accidents after an escape — crush injuries, cold injury, starving to death in a wall cavity

Signs: Jumping into and striking the glass tank

Signs: Animals housed together biting each other, problems with the enclosure structure

• [Reptiles and amphibians] Avoid housing aggressive animals together at high density

Dogs

Signs: IVDD, fibrocartilaginous embolism, aortic thrombosis, spinal fracture or tumor

Cats

Signs: Diaphragmatic hernia, pulmonary contusion, mandibular symphyseal fracture and hard palate split often only become apparent hours later

Farm animals and horses

Signs: Repeatedly lying down and rolling, looking back at the flank again and again, no droppings for a long time, absent gut sounds, abnormally warm hooves with a markedly bounding pulse, sudden severe lameness with refusal to bear weight, heavy bleeding that will not stop, choke (drooling after eating, food material coming out of the nostrils, abnormal neck extension), high fever with lethargy, neurological signs (unsteady gait, convulsions — rabies and encephalitis viruses must be ruled out) —

• ❗ [Farm animals and horses] No direct source for handling this species was found at this level. Do not copy what is done for other species — contact a veterinarian familiar with this species right away.

Signs: Fighting between uncastrated male camelids, with bite wounds from the "fighting teeth" (canines)

This content is for education only and cannot replace diagnosis or prescription by a licensed veterinarian. In an emergency, seek veterinary care immediately.

Fish and invertebrates

Signs: Fin rot

• [Fish and invertebrates] Maintain good water quality and avoid overcrowding that leads to fish biting each other

Signs: Fungal infection (*Saprolegnia* and others)

• [Fish and invertebrates] Avoid trauma and maintain good water quality to reduce the chance of opportunistic infection

Signs: An individual problem (infection, injury, a congenital problem in that animal) is more common, but a localized water problem cannot be ruled out (for example a dead spot with insufficient flow)

• [Fish and invertebrates] Run one basic water test first (ammonia, nitrite, temperature) to rule out coincidence

Birds

Signs: Long-term insufficient intake of calcium and vitamin D3

Signs: Cockatoos and macaws bite hard, and broken cage fittings or toys cause injuries

Signs: Excessive density in the cage, conflict over rank within the group

Signs: Collisions with predators or obstacles in an urban environment

Limits of this content

This article reorganizes veterinary encyclopedia material by species into a triage guide, with the source marked on every entry (29 anchors in total; see the evidence chain). The sources listed at the end are the authoritative references cited by the chapters covered here; the correspondence is at chapter level, which does not mean every sentence traces back to that particular source. This content is for education only and cannot replace diagnosis or prescription by a licensed veterinarian. In an emergency, seek veterinary care immediately. Sources are marked entry by entry from the encyclopedia material (see the evidence chain at the end); the text has not been clinically reviewed by a named veterinarian.