09/08/2026
Hello 👋 it’s been a while since we’ve done a proper introduction, so here I am!
I’m Pia, founder and CEO (chief everything officer 😄) of Exotic Animal Diagnostics, formerly known as Fishhead Diagnostics. I’m a certified veterinary technician with over 18 years of experience, 16 of them dedicated to zoo and exotic animals.
You can say my journey began in 2010 at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, working in the Zoological Medicine Service alongside some truly incredible veterinarians. I’m talking about the viral research godfather himself, Dr. Elliott Jacobson, and Drs. Jim Wellehan and Robert “Oz” Ossiboff, among so many others. That’s where my nidovirus journey was started 🐍 (that full story is getting its own post).
In 2016, my husband and I experienced a devastating nidovirus outbreak in our beautiful Morelia collection. That heartbreak changed everything. Then I partnered with my former veterinary student, dear friend, and incredible pathologist Dr. Susan Fogelson to launch Fishhead Diagnostics, with a mission to provide affordable, reliable nidovirus testing for reptile keepers and veterinarians everywhere.
And while building this business, for the last decade my day job was as a certified veterinary technician at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 🦁and Epcot’s The Seas 🐠. You may have spotted me on the NatGeo show, “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom” evaluating blood and f***ls in the lab🔬, anesthetizing a gorilla, or cleaning a lion’s teeth 🦁. Now, it’s going to be more time in the lab.
This is me (with some magical touch ups☺️), and this is WHY we do what we do. So glad you’re here.
Drop a 👋 below and tell me how you found us!
