Finding a vet who truly understands exotic pets isn't easy. Most veterinary hospitals focus exclusively on dogs and cats, leaving exotic pet owners searching for someone with real experience. South Pasadena Animal Hospital is one of the few animal hospitals near Pasadena with dedicated exotic pet experience. Dr. Gina Navia brings focused training in reptile, avian, and small mammal medicine—caring for bearded dragons, parrots, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and other non-traditional pets with the same thoroughness you'd expect for any family member. We're located just 10 minutes from Old Town Pasadena.
Exotic animals have unique physiology, dietary needs, and environmental requirements. We treat every species with the dedicated care they deserve.
Bearded dragons, leopard geckos, ball pythons, corn snakes, turtles, tortoises, and iguanas. We address husbandry-related illness, metabolic bone disease, respiratory infections, and more.
Parrots, cockatiels, conures, finches, and budgies. Wellness exams, wing and nail trims, beak trims available. Feather-plucking evaluation and nutritional counseling.
All breeds welcome. Comprehensive wellness exams, dental assessments (malocclusion is common), spay and neuter, GI stasis treatment, and ongoing preventive care.
Comprehensive small mammal care including respiratory issues, dental problems, skin conditions, and vitamin C deficiency management for guinea pigs.
Backyard flock health checks, egg-binding treatment, respiratory infections, parasite management, and injury care for your hens and roosters.
Ferrets, chinchillas, hedgehogs, rats, mice, and more. If you have an unusual pet, give us a call—chances are we can help.
Dr. Gina Navia has extensive hands-on experience with non-traditional species. This isn't a dog-and-cat practice that "also sees exotics" as an afterthought—exotic medicine is a core part of what we do, with species-appropriate diagnostics and treatment protocols.
Exotic vet visits can be expensive elsewhere. We keep our pricing transparent—you'll know what an exotic exam, bloodwork, or treatment costs before we begin. No surprise bills, no hidden fees.
From routine wellness exams and diagnostics to surgery and imaging—all under one roof. No need to drive across Los Angeles for dedicated exotic care. See our full services list.
Every exotic pet visit starts with a thorough review of your pet's husbandry—enclosure setup, temperature gradients, lighting, substrate, and diet. Many exotic pet health issues stem from subtle environmental problems, so getting the basics right is the foundation of good care.
Wellness & Sick Exams
Annual checkups and illness evaluations
Bloodwork & Diagnostics
Species-appropriate lab work and testing
Beak & Nail Trims
Safe, experienced handling for birds and reptiles
Husbandry Counseling
Enclosure, lighting, and habitat guidance
Nutritional Guidance
Species-specific diet planning
Surgery
Spay/neuter, mass removal, and more
X-Rays & Imaging
In-house digital radiography
Parasite Screening
Fecal tests and treatment plans
“Exotic vet” gets used loosely, and the distinction that matters isn't a credential — it's caseload. A clinic that sees a rabbit every couple of months is a different proposition from one where rabbits, birds, and reptiles walk through the door every week. Ours do. Here's what that looks like in practice for the animals we see coming down the 210.
African Greys, Amazons, cockatoos, conures, macaws, cockatiels, budgies, canaries, finches, lovebirds, doves. Most Pasadena bird owners come to us for the annual — weight, feather condition, vent and nares, and a hard look at husbandry, which is where most of the answers live. The other reason is feather destruction, and we'll say up front that it's rarely one thing. Diet, light cycle, cage position, boredom, skin disease, and stress all tangle together, and anyone promising a quick fix hasn't worked through many of these. Birds also hide illness better than almost anything we treat. A bird that looks “a little quiet” has often been unwell for a while.
Rabbits are among the most-owned and least-well-served exotic pets in the country, and Pasadena owners tell us constantly how hard it was to find someone who sees them regularly. GI stasis is the one that moves fastest — when a rabbit's gut slows, they go downhill in hours, not days, and a rabbit that hasn't eaten or produced droppings in 6–8 hours needs to be seen that day. Dental disease is the quiet one: those teeth never stop growing, and molar spurs cut into the cheek where no owner can see them. If your rabbit is dropping food, eating slower, or picking only the soft bits, look at the mouth. We also give the RHDV2 vaccine.
Bearded dragons, leopard and crested geckos, ball pythons, tortoises. Reptiles are ectotherms, which is the whole ballgame — temperature drives immune function, digestion, and metabolism, so a husbandry problem is a medical problem. We review the setup at every single visit, and it's not a formality. Metabolic bone disease still comes through the door regularly, and it traces back to UVB and calcium nearly every time. The frustrating part is that it's preventable, and by the time bones are soft we're managing damage rather than avoiding it.
Guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, rats. Guinea pigs can't make their own vitamin C, so that's on the owner daily — and their teeth grow continuously like a rabbit's. Their respiratory infections are the ones that scare us, because a sneezing guinea pig can be in real trouble within a couple of days. Chinchillas need it dry and cool; the San Gabriel Valley in August is neither, and we see the consequences every summer. Rats get mammary masses and respiratory disease often enough that we go looking for both.
This is the practical gap at a clinic that only occasionally sees exotics: the diagnostics often don't extend to them. Bloodwork on a bird or a rabbit is not the same job as bloodwork on a Labrador — the sample is smaller, the handling is different, and the results mean nothing unless they're read against species-specific reference ranges rather than a dog's.
We run complete blood counts and chemistry panels on exotic patients in-house, take our own radiographs, and do our own fecal and cytology work. The reason that matters isn't speed for its own sake. It's that a stressed rabbit or a fragile bird shouldn't be handled twice, shipped out, and handled again — and when results land while your pet is still on the table, the conversation about what to do next happens now instead of next week. See our published pricing for what exotic exams and diagnostics cost.
We're at 3116 W Main St in Alhambra — roughly 10 minutes from central Pasadena via the 210 East to Fremont, or on surface streets south through San Marino and South Pasadena. Parking is directly out front. Call (626) 441-1314 if you want directions from your specific corner of Pasadena.
Birds (parrots, cockatiels, conures, finches, lovebirds, doves), rabbits, reptiles (bearded dragons, geckos, ball pythons, tortoises), guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, rats, and backyard poultry. If your animal isn't on that list, call and ask — we'd rather tell you honestly over the phone whether we're the right fit than have you make the drive for nothing.
Once a year for most healthy adults, and it matters more than it does for dogs and cats. Prey species are built to conceal illness, so the annual is often the only chance to catch something while it's still small. For rabbits and guinea pigs we're checking teeth and weight; for birds, weight trends and feather condition; for reptiles, husbandry and bone health.
Keep them warm and keep them dark — a towel over the carrier does more for a stressed bird or rabbit than anything else you can do. Reptiles need to travel warm; a cold reptile in a car in January is a real problem. Bring a photo of the enclosure and a note on what they've actually been eating. Honestly, that photo answers more of our questions than most owners expect. Don't withhold food from a rabbit or guinea pig to prepare for a visit.
South Pasadena Animal Hospital is located at 3116 W Main St in Alhambra—just a 10 to 15 minute drive from most parts of Pasadena. Take the 110 South to Fair Oaks or hop on surface streets through South Pasadena. We're conveniently close to the 210/110 interchange, making us an easy stop whether you're coming from Old Town, East Pasadena, or the Caltech area.
Closed for lunch 1–2 PM everyday.
Address: 3116 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801
Phone: (626) 441-1314
Email: info@spah.la
New exotic patients are always welcome. Whether your bearded dragon needs a wellness check or your parrot hasn't been eating, we're here to help. Schedule online or call us directly.