Animal Scales for Veterinary Practices: The Inscale Guide

Every veterinarian wants to do their part to help animals stay happy and healthy. Weighing pets is one way to do that, which is why animal scales should be a staple in your veterinary practice. This blog will discuss what an animal scale is, why they’re necessary, and how to choose the best scales for veterinary practices.

What is an Animal Scale?

Animal scales are used to weigh all different kinds of animals from large to small in agricultural, zoo and veterinary environments. The best animal scales will have a dynamic weighing or ‘hold’ function. Animals never stay still when you want them to, so the dynamic weighing/hold function takes their movement into account by ‘freezing’ the average weight over the whole session on the display. That’s why dynamic weighing is also known as animal weighing. In a veterinary practice, the most common clientele will be cats and dogs, along with smaller critters like bunnies, guinea pigs, various reptiles and more.

Why Do You Need Scales for Veterinary Practices?

Animal scales are essential for veterinary practices because weight is an important indicator of health. Being under or overweight can have serious ramifications on a pet’s everyday life and may even be dangerous. Among other benefits, encouraging regular trips to the vet helps educate your clients on whether their pets are within the acceptable weight parameters for their developmental stage – juvenile, mature and senior. If their animals are over or under those parameters, you would be able to determine why and give your client advice on how to get them healthy again.

How to Buy Scales for Veterinary Practices

Veterinary practices need multiple veterinary scales of different sizes to accommodate all types of animals, since it’s probably not a good idea to weigh a Komodo dragon on the same size scale that you would weigh a St. Bernard. Here we’ll discuss what scales are best for each location and purpose in a veterinary practice.

Waiting Area

The waiting area is one location that should have an animal scale, such as the CPWplus L which has a large pan and can handle from 35 - 300kg. With a separate base and indicator, the display can be mounted on the wall for the most convenient viewing. This gives pet owners the opportunity to weigh their larger animals before they enter the consultation room. Some pets may be nervous to stand on top of the scale, in which case having a stock of treats handy would be helpful. Another way to make them more comfortable is placing a blanket or bed on top of the scale for them to lie on (just remember to Tare off the bed!)

Consultation Rooms

Smaller dogs and cats can be weighed in the consultation room itself. For this purpose, a scale like Adam’s MTB would be ideal. The MTB has a capacity of 20kg and features a curved removable tray to cradle the animal and prevent them from rolling or squirming off. With a convenient hold feature, the weight reading will stay on the display even when the pet has been removed, taking away the pressure of a quick reading.  

Small Animals

For juvenile animals such as puppies and kittens or small animals like bunnies and guinea pigs, the Adam CPWplus S Small Animal Scale with capacities from 6 - 15kg would be perfect. The CPWplus S is washdown safe and features a splashproof indicator, so when those consultations get messy cleanup is quick and easy.  

Smallest Animals

Even the smallest pets like hamsters, birds and reptiles like geckos need to be weighed when they visit the vet. In that case, an animal scale with low readability would be best so that the results are accurate. Adam’s LBX ‘Latitude’ Compact Bench Scale has capacities of 3 – 30kg with readabilities from 0.5 - 5g. Featuring a rechargeable battery, the LBX can be moved anywhere you need it with ease.

A well-stocked veterinary practice helps keep our beloved pets safe and healthy so they can stick around for as long as possible. For questions on which scale would be right for you, contact the Inscale team.