Veterinary services with a love of the exotic. Suffolk Exotic Vets is owned by Catherine Thomas BVM&S, MRCVS, CertAVP (Zoological Medicine)
(15)
Suffolk Exotic Vets is a veterinary service for exotic pets across East Anglia. We provide gold standard care for all exotic species. We have a custom-designed clinic in Wangford, with hospitalisation and treatment facilities designed specifically for exotic species such as birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals & fish.
Catherine and Lizzie took possibly the most weird and wonderful blood sample ever today!🩵🐸🩵
Amazing Pedro the Amazon Milk Frog has BLUE BLOOD, which also had to be obtained from his tongue! Look how cute he is, leaning on Lizzie's fingers! 🥰 Amphibians must only ever be handled with nitrile gloves, to protect their delicates tissues.💙
🚜🚘TRAFFIC - LATITUDE FESTIVAL & HARVEST SEASON🚘🚜
Latitude Festival is held at Henham from 25th to 29th July 2024.
Please ALLOW EXTRA TIME for your journey when attending appointments; as this section of the A12 can be GREATLY EFFECTED by the festival traffic, as well as INCREASED SPEED RESTRCTIONS being placed in the area for the days surrounding setup and breakdown of the festival.
There are also a lot of agricultural vehicles using the A12 frequently.
If you are delayed, please let us know as soon as possible, have patience and most importantly arrive safely! 🙂
A snippet of a very busy week at SEV! 🦎🦜🐰🐓🐭🐢
Little Pickle was another emergency out-of-hours patient, who was referred to us over the weekend with suspected liver lobe torsion; an extremely critical diagnosis!
Catherine operated immediately and found that Pickle did indeed have some internal bleeding, due to a distended liver. 💔 She removed the affected liver lobe and Pickle stabilised nicely! 🥳 He stayed in hospital with us over the weekend, so that the team could monitor him closely throughout his recovery. 💜
Pickle is an extremely handsome boy, and has captured all our hearts! 🥰
EDIT: Syril is now safely on his way to the rescue, thanks to lovely volunteer! 🥰
This fledgling gull was handed in to us by a member of the public, yesterday. 💜After some supportive care, we have found little 'Syril' a place at Runham Wildlife Rescue for further rehabilitation; if we can get him to them in Yarmouth.
Can anyone please help us relay him from us (NR34 8RL) to RWR (NR30 1SJ)?
We are really, really busy with patients this week, and can't spare the team members to take him! Call the practice on 01502 447 501 if you can help! 🥹
⚠️ Our patients need your newspapers! ⚠️
Newspaper is a perfect the substrate for inpatients, and we go through a LOT of it!
If you or your family members have old newspapers that you'd like to donate, pop in to the practice any time before 5.30pm and someone will always be here to take them off your hands, for re-use for our hospital! 💜
Little Crumpet the leopard gecko came in for an out-of-hours emergency surgical procedure last week! 💜 She had previously had an operation at her local vets; but on her most recent shed, sadly caught some sutures and re-opened the wound!
Crumpet's usual vet was unwell with covid and couldn't see her💔 so she was rushed here for immediate triage and and prepped for surgery straight away! 🧑⚕️
Catherine successfully replaced the internal organs that had come out, and re-sutured her abdomen closed. Crumpet recovered really well, and we look forward to seeing her for her post-op check soon! 🦎
Vet student Milinda had his hands full when twelve Bearded Dragons came in for routine health checks and parasite checks! 🦎🩺💩
We loved their squishy banana boat! 🍌🥰
If you're looking to bond your bunnies, here are some tips to help you out💚🐰:
1. Make sure your rabbits' living spaces are close to each other, with plenty of hiding spots for privacy.
2. Help them get used to each other's scents by swapping some hay or a towel with their scent.
3. When they're ready, let them hang out together for short periods in a neutral area.
Keep an eye on them, and don't worry if they chase or nip a little. If things get too intense, separate them and try again later.
4. Keep letting them spend time together gradually, and introduce toys as they get more comfortable. More helpful tips and information can be found over at https://rabbitawarenessactiongroup.co.uk/rabbit-welfare/companionship/ 💚 🐰
Feeding your bunnies some scrumptious healthy treats isn’t the only secret to winning their heart! Here’s what you can do to show your buns some love!
💗 Let them make the first move - Give your bunnies the freedom to hop over when they're ready
💗 Sharing snacks by hand - Offer a tasty treat and watch the magic happen
💗 Skip the pick ups - They prefer to be stroked at ground level
💗 Don't forget to take note of their body language and watch out for any signs that they need space!
Just like us, rabbits benefit from routine health care and checks! 🐇✨
Regular health checks for your bunnies are essential to keep them happy and healthy.
This includes making sure their teeth and nails are at the right length and shape, regular grooming sessions to keep their fur in top condition, and Don't forget to check them for flystrike, especially during the warmer months! 🩺
It's crucial to inspect your rabbits daily, and during hot weather, twice a day to catch any early signs of flystrike. Ensuring their welfare involves a consistent and thorough approach to their health care. 🌡
✨ For more helpful information, watch this video from our supporters at the RSPCA by clicking the link in our below!
Let's keep our furry friends safe and well! ✨
https://youtu.be/1QX8OXwRC00?si=YBPy-t0nVZDd6AIh
🐰 RABBIT AWARENESS WEEK IS HERE! 🐰
We're excited to announce that Rabbit Awareness Week 2024 has kicked off!
This year's theme is 'Healthy Diet, Happy Bunnies', focusing on all things nutrition. 🥦🥬🥕
This week is dedicated to promoting the health, welfare and happiness of our much loved bunnies.
🐰Why does Rabbit Awareness Week matter? 🐰
Rabbits are the third most popular pet in many countries, yet their specific needs are often misunderstood. This week, we aim to spread knowledge about proper care and the importance of regular vet check-ups and an appropriate diet.
Stay tuned for promotions and advice throughout the week! 💜
Welcome to PARROT AWARENESS WEEK 2024!!
Stay tuned for our articles, videos and content discussing:
🦜Foraging
🦜Flight
🦜Housing
🦜Companionship
🦜 Preventative Healthcare
As well as DAILY COMPETITIONS! 🥇
Sherbie has been a brave girl, undergoing lump removal surgery last week! 💜
Here she is being her happy, confident self at her post-op check with Catherine! 🤩
Gordon the Box Turtle says "HAPPY WORLD TURTLE DAY!" 🥳
Lucky Gordo here belongs our RVN Lizzie, who rescued him!
This photo was taken after we fitted his pharyngostomy tube; we think he looks TURTELY AWESOME in his Sea Turtle pattern Rapz Easy Tear bandage! 🐢😍
Another busy week of wildlife, alongside our patients and surgeries! Here is Cuthbert's success story! 🤩
A Herring Gull was found in a car park, unable to move or fly, due to a double fishing lure being caught in his beak AND through his foot! 😞
A member of the public carefully wrapped him up and came straight to us!
Our vet students Kirsty & Meghan carefully removed the hooks, disinfected the wounds, and cleaned the dried blood off, before assessing the whole body to check for any other injuries. 🩺 Once freed, Cuthbert soon regained his confidence and was quite happy taking some fishy snacks for lunch. 🐟 He recovered in our hospital ward and at the end of shift Jo released him beside a local river, where he flew off into the distance with no issues! 🥰
Fishing line, lures, hooks, metal leads and weights present huge dangers to birds and wildlife when they are not properly disposed of. 😞 Monofilament lines can tangle around the bills, feet, wings, legs and necks of birds which can result in amputations of feet, legs and wings and when the line is around the neck in death. 💔
It is so important to store and dispose of such things correctly and responsibly, in order to avoid injuries in both animals and humans! 🗑
💚Celebrating Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month!💚
Lizzie our RVN is an exotic super woman! 🦸♀️As well as being trained and registered to care for cats & dogs; she has also undertaken TWO advanced qualifications in nursing care of exotic species, ensuring she has the specialised knowledge to advise on all aspects of exotic and zoo health and welfare! 🐒
Here in practice you can find her monitoring surgical procedures, taking x-rays, caring for our in-patients, holding nurse consults and husbandry checks, ensuring all of our medications are recorded accurately and ensuring she gets those 10,000 steps in! 🐰🦅🐍
🐢⚠️MISSING TORTOISE IN WANGFORD ⚠️🐢
A Hermans Tortoise has been reported missing from the Millfields area today. If anyone finds one, please feel free to bring it in to us, where we can keep it safe and warm until we can contact the owner for identification. 💜
A bit of fun! 🤓 Who can guess from this photo, which TWO important things are celebrated on May the 4th? 💜
It's been a busy few weeks in clinic for wildlife! 🦇🦔🐥🦇🦭
We have been nursing abandoned fledglings, hedgehogs, ducklings, and now little Laszlo the Pipistrelle Bat.🦇 He was bought in my a member of the public who found him unable to move, on the floor during daylight hours.😔
Sadly - despite our best efforts - a lot of wildlife cases don't have happy endings; but after some rest in a warm dark space, some supportive care and repeat electrolyte feeds, Laz made a wonderful recovery was flying around the room, ready to get back out into the wild! 🙂He was later collected, ready to release after dusk, in the same area that he was found. 💜
It is important to know (should you ever come across any wildlife in need of assistance) that ANY local veterinary practice has a duty of care to native wildlife to relieve suffering - either through providing pain relief or euthanasia. 🩺
🐢 ATTENTION TORTOISE & TURTLE OWNERS!! 🐢
Could you spare a few minutes to help one of our vet students? 👩⚕
All you have to do is fill out a short survey, and you'll be entered into a prize draw for a £25 Amazon Gift Voucher! 😍
"My name is Chiara and I’m a university student from the RVC doing a research project on terrapin and tortoise owners! As a future exotics vet specialist, my goal is to understand the current state of turtle care in the UK and any problems owners feel they might be encountering!
If your turtle has/had suffered from a health related illness, I would be very grateful for your input on your experiences! It is completely anonymous AND you may win a £25 Amazon gift voucher if you wish to participate." 😃
For tortoise owners: https://form.jotform.com/240347629206355
For terrapin owners: https://form.jotform.com/240342957716057
🥳 The new practice officially has the RWAF seal of approval! 🥳
Since we moved premises in January, we had to re-apply for our Rabbit Friendly Vet directory place with The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund. 🐰 At the same time, the practice and staff were assessed and approved by Vet Specialist Adviser, Dr Richard Saunders, as a GOLD level rabbit practice. 🌟
Here is Dr Catherine and vet students Asha & Chiara in our brand new imaging suite, with Roxy the Bearded Dragon!🦎Roxy was beautifully behaved for her ultrasound, which confirmed that she had some eggs ready to lay! 🥚After a brief hospital stay and some treatment to help her contractions along, she had successfully began to lay her eggs! 💜
EDIT: We have had some great applications so far, so we will be closing for applications on Friday 3rd May. If anyone interested hasn't applied yet you have 2 days left to do so.
Part-time Client Care Position available
We are looking for the newest member of our client care team here at Suffolk Exotic Vets.
Could this be you?
We need someone who:
-has excellent inter-personal skills
-shows compassion for animals and their owners
-is interested in animals, particularly the more exotic species
-has computing skills
-is willing to be a team player and get stuck in wherever needed
We can offer:
-a friendly, supportive working environment
-training where needed
-20 hrs per week
-an hourly rate of upto £11.50
-the opportunity to progress and develop in areas of interest
Anyone interested should send their CV along with a covering letter explaining why they would be the best candidate for this role at Suffolk Exotic Vets to [email protected]
White Lion Court, 35 High Street
Beccles
NR348RL
| Monday | 9am - 5:30pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 5:30pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5:30pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5:30pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5:30pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 12am |
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💜 Name The Species 💜 (Helpful Hint: This is the largest of the species and can grow up to 34cm in length) 🤯📏
Dr Catherine recently had a rather loud visitor for triage and assessment after being spotted on a local beach. Infected wounds were identified and she was underweight, so our lovely Jo transferred her to an appropriate rehab centre. 🚗💜🌊 🚫 Remember, if you find a seal on a beach, watch it from a distance and do NOT approach it. These are wild animals and they will defend themselves aggressively. Dogs should be kept well away from them. It is also part of their normal behaviour to spend time out of water to rest and digest their food. They should NOT be approached and chased into the sea. 🚫 If you see a seal that may be abandoned, thin, ill or injured, then please call the British Divers Marine Life Rescue for advice and assistance on 01825 765546 💜
Have you heard about our Pet Wellness Plans? 💜🐾🥰 Penelope is our first small mammal plan member and came in for her annual health check with our exotics vet, and her first free nail clip. 🦔 She is a silver plan member and entitled to unlimited nail clips (which she is clearly thrilled about), two wellness checks with a nurse, one bottle of probiotics, free microchipping, and 10% off any clinical vet consultations and routine neutering procedures. 🥈 Follow the link to find out more about our mammal, reptile, and avian plans: https://www.exoticvetsuffolk.co.uk/suv.dll/page/5000/Wellness-Plans (Please note that this is not the same as an insurance policy. Our wellness plans have been specifically designed to cover costs of preventative and supportive treatments, as well as discounts on certain things if your pet does become unwell. Insurance policies instead contribute to paying for unexpected illnesses or injuries that may arise. 💜)
Nominations are now open for the British Veterinary Receptionist Association's Veterinary Receptionist of the Year Award! 🥳⭐😎 Our fabulous Jo was a Top 5 Finalist for 2022 (complete with our co-ordinated nomination video for her that we've attached to this post), and lovely Lucy was also a nominee. We know we have some of the most amazing receptionists as part of our team, and are sure you will all agree too! 💜🤩 If you would like to nominate Jo or Lucy for this year's Award, please submit a nomination form here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VROTYA 🎉💁
Ever wondered what a bearded dragon's heartbeat sounds like? 🤔🦎💜 Reptile heart rates vary depending on the species (and the room temperature!) and can be lower than 10 beats a minute in some species! Bearded dragons tend to have heart rates between 40-90 beats per minute. 😄
A certain escape artist belonging to Dr Catherine has been in with us today, and not been setting the best example for the other inpatients. 🐢💨 😎
Zodiac (and her sister Natasha for company) have been featured before on our page: here they are having a little nibble after Zodiac's spay procedure. She came in to see us with signs of gastrointestinal stasis, and was found to have large ovarian cysts that were causing her discomfort. After some initial supportive care, the offending reproductive tract was removed, and she went home to continue sassy guinea pig life. 🐹💜🏥 Sows over 1.5 years old tend to develop either single or multiple cysts relating to their ovaries: some never cause an issue but others sadly do. Most cysts are not hormone-producing and are benign in nature. ~80% of cysts will not result in any clinical signs. However, when they do, our female cavvies can present with signs of hair loss over their flanks (or chewing more at their fur here), infertility, abdominal discomfort, vaginal bleeding, or general urinary signs. A work-up to rule out other causes is needed. Our treatment of choice for problem cysts is to spay, as then there is no chance of recurrence and the cysts are completely removed. 🥰🐾💜 #guineapigawarenessweek #ovariancysts #GPAW #guineapigvet
Did you know that ~75% of your parrot's diet should be a complete pelleted diet? 🦜🍲 They are a nutritious food that provides a balanced level of ALL of their essential nutrients and vitamins, and keeps their energy levels appropriate. This has been shown to reduce the risk of some health-related issues. 💪 There are several formulated diets to choose from, and it may be helpful to try more than one to see which your bird prefers. Recommended brands include Harrisons, Kaytee, and Roudybush. 💜
Eating again soon after surgery is a crucial part of recovery for our avian and mammal patients. Especially in our small mammal patients who risk developing gut stasis if they are feeling unwell or not eating as much as usual after an anaesthetic. 🐹🐦 Syringe feeding is often used in our hospital to help maintain our patients' nutritional intake and glucose levels! 🌟 Here is Leo having a tasty syringe feed after his neutering procedure! He was VERY keen about his grub and kept demanding more! 😍💜
⚠ Creepy Crawly Trigger Warning! ⚠ A Day In The Lab: What’s under the microscope? 🔬 These are some mites that were found in a skin scrape from an African Pygmy Hedgehog 🦔, and a louse found on a hair pluck from a Guinea Pig 🐹. Skin scrapes and hair plucks are both some of the diagnostic tests we may perform to assess skin issues. Skin scrapes help us to detect surface-living, burrowing, and follicular mites. Hair plucks help us to look for pigment changes, traumatisation of the hair tip suggestive of self-trauma, certain lice and mites, and follicular casts, as well as to assess what stage of the hair growth cycle the hair is in. Other tests to investigate skin issues can be: tape strips, impression smears, skin biopsies, blood tests, and coat brushings. For a lot of small mammal species, mites and other ectoparasites (those that live on the skin of a host) manifest clinical signs only when there is something else suppressing their host’s immune system, such as malnutrition or an underlying disease, so should not be ignored. #sevclinicalcorner
If only all patients were this good for syringe feeding! 😆 Mixing medications with small amounts of tasty, rodent-friendly food can help to mask the flavour of any nasty-tasting antibiotics and make the experience a more positive one. 💜 This can be especially important for our rat patients as they are super prone to "bait shyness" (a learned avoidance/aversion to new foods due to their taste). Here we have Lancelot the Syrian hamster enjoying his medication mixed with some Emeraid Omnivore! 🐹
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