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New Pet Owner Guide
The First Few Weeks Matter Most
Bringing home a new pet is exciting and slightly overwhelming, and the advice you get in the first week rarely agrees with itself. This guide covers what actually matters early on, in the order it matters, for dogs and cats as well as rabbits, birds and reptiles. You do not need to get everything right at once.
Your First Month, In Order
The first few weeks set the pattern for everything after. You do not need to get it all right immediately, but a few things are worth doing in the right order.
Let them settle before anything else
Give your new pet a quiet corner and leave them mostly alone. Resist introducing them to visitors, other pets or the whole house on the first day.
Keep feeding what they were already eating
Ask the breeder or shop what food they used and stick with it at first. Changing diet and home at the same time is a common cause of an upset stomach.
Watch eating, drinking and toileting
These three tell you more than anything else about how your pet is coping. Note what looks normal for them, so you will recognise a change later.
Book the first health check
Even a pet that looks perfectly well should be seen early. It confirms what you have, catches anything that came with them, and gives you a baseline to compare against.
Have the setup checked, for exotic pets
Bring photos of the enclosure, the lighting and the temperatures. For reptiles and birds especially, the setup matters more in the first year than almost anything else.
Start vaccinations and parasite prevention
For dogs and cats, we will map out the schedule at the first visit. Keep young puppies and kittens away from shared outdoor spaces until the course is finished.
Change food gradually, if you are changing it
Mix the new food in over a week or so rather than switching overnight. Slow changes avoid most of the digestive upsets that follow a new diet.
Get them used to being handled
Touch paws, ears and mouth gently and often while they are young. It makes every future check-up easier for everyone, including your pet.
Worried in the first week? Call, do not wait.New pets are more fragile than they look, and young or small animals can go downhill quickly. Asking early is never wasting our time.
Advice You Will Hear That Is Not True
None of these are careless mistakes. They are all things new owners are commonly told, by well-meaning people or by the place they got their pet, that turn out not to be true.
"Wait until they are sick before seeing a vet."
The first visit is most useful when your pet is well. It gives us a healthy baseline to compare against later, and catches problems that came with them before they take hold.
"The setup that came with the pet is fine."
Starter kits are built to a price, not to a species. Cage size, lighting and heating are the three most common things that need changing, particularly for reptiles and rabbits.
"Birds live on seed."
Seed alone leaves birds short of several things they need, and the effects build slowly over months. A varied diet suited to the species makes a real difference to how long they live.
"Rabbits are easy first pets for children."
Rabbits need space, a hay-based diet, company and regular dental attention. They are rewarding, but they are not low-maintenance, and they hide illness well.
"A heat rock will keep the reptile warm."
Heat rocks are still widely sold and they cause burns, because reptiles do not reliably move away from heat applied to the belly. Overhead heat with a thermostat is the safer approach.
"Cats can drink milk."
Most adult cats cannot digest it properly, whatever the storybooks suggest. Water is what they need, and a cat that is not drinking enough is worth mentioning to us.
"Human food is fine in small amounts."
Onion and garlic are in most of what we cook, and both are toxic to pets. A licked plate of curry or rendang is worth a call, not a shrug.
"They will grow into the enclosure."
A young reptile or bird still needs correct conditions now, not eventually. Undersized housing in the first year causes problems that are much harder to reverse later.
Already done one of these? It is almost certainly fixable.Nearly everything on this list gets corrected easily when it is caught in the first few months. Bring your questions, and photos of the setup, to the first visit.
Dr. Asma Fariha
Veterinary Surgeon · MVC Reg. No. 3362
Dr. Asma leads clinical care at ExoCare, treating cats and dogs alongside rabbits, birds, reptiles and other exotic species that most general practices are not equipped for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keep feeding whatever they were already eating for the first week or two. If you want to change it, mix the new food in slowly over about a week rather than switching overnight.
Bring any paperwork from the breeder or shop, the food they are eating, and a list of your questions. For exotic pets, photos of the enclosure and its temperatures are the most useful thing you can bring.
A dog or cat that skips a meal or two while settling is usually fine, but call us if it goes beyond a day. For rabbits, rodents and small pets, not eating is an emergency on its own, so call the same day.
Most pets start to relax within a few days, and feel properly at home after two to three weeks. Give them a quiet space and let them come to you rather than the other way round.
For dogs and cats: food, bowls, a bed, a carrier, and something to chew or scratch. For rabbits, birds and reptiles the housing and heating matter most, and those are worth getting right before your pet arrives.
Often not. Starter kits are built to a price rather than to a species, and cage size, lighting and heating are the three things that most commonly need changing. Bring photos and we will go through it with you.
Book the first check within the first week, even if your pet looks completely well. It confirms they are healthy, picks up anything that came with them, and gives us a starting point to compare against later.