Quarry House Vets

27/08/2024

We've had the wonderful Morgan with us for the last two weeks! 😀

Morgan is a 5th year Vet Student who will be qualifying in a few months. 🎉 She spent two weeks with us on a EMS placement and put her knowledge to the test!

Morgan has already had a lot practical experience and will be an amazing Vet. She has a keen interest in exotics and lucky for her and them, she got to meet some for our exotic patients!! 🦎🐍🐢.

If you don't have an exotic pet, don't worry - Morgan does love all animals! Here she is helping our patients gain the perfect smile!

We wish Morgan luck with her graduation and hope you see her again soon.

19/08/2024

📣 HAVE YOU VISITED OUR WEBSITE? DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT US?

💚Read our mission statement, values and working partnerships on our website:

📌 https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/about/

💙 Check out the services we offer here: https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/services/

🐾 Browse our website!

17/08/2024

🎉 IT'S THE WEEKEND!! YAY!! 🐾

We hope you all have an amazing weekend. However if your pet is in need of any veterinary treatment, please see our emergency service page for who to call...

https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/emergency-service/

16/08/2024

13/08/2024

😍 OUR FIRST VISIT 😍

Meet "sisters" Fern and Maple.

They were both very well behaved on their first visit to us and received lots of love and attention from everyone.

These best buddies love to eat, sleep, play, repeat. We bet they have the best adventures together and we look forward to hearing all about them when we see them over the years to come.

11/08/2024

🐾 MY FIRST VISIT 🐾

Here is Tucker looking very brave and noble on his first visit to us this week.

He is a very sweet boy and we look forward to seeing him grow and have many happy adventures. Tucker's favorite things to do are chew, play and sleep!

10/08/2024

Hiya everyone, Athina here!
I'm currently volunteering for The Blue Cross who have partnered with Pets at Home for their Pet Food Bank event throughout August!
Please feel free to pop into the Paignton Pets at Home, or any other Pets at Home and considering donating to the cause! I'll be around on weekend around Lunch Time!

09/08/2024

🐾 MY FIRST VISIT 🐾

At 9 weeks old Luna visited us for the first time and was very brave.

She is such an adorable girl and has created the purrfect 'meme' photo. She looks brave, scared, ready to play and raising an eyebrow all in one picture!!

Luna loves to run wild and we just know she will be keeping everyone on their toes for years to come.

07/08/2024

🐾 MY FIRST VISIT 🐾

The cutest smile award goes to STORM.

Storm was the perfect angel on her visit to us but we're told her favourite thing to do is some sneaky toileting!! We're sure you will grow out of that Storm.

What a beautiful troublemaker you will be! 😍

05/08/2024

🐾 MY FIRST VISIT 🐾

Little Mac had his first visit to us a few weeks back and what a cutie he is!

Mac's favourite thing to do is play with his toys and we hope visiting us will be a close second.

We just love soft fluffy kittens!

29/07/2024

🐰🐰 We are pleased to say we have again been accredited as a Rabbit Friendly Clinic.

We were first awarded a SILVER Rabbit Friendly accreditation by the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund in October 2022 and were the first RWAF Rabbit Friendly accredited clinic in Torbay and the surrounding area.

We have again proved to have a greater knowledge of rabbit care. RWAF’s specialist vet has reassessed our staff, veterinary practice, standard procedures and our continued training to re-award us as Rabbit Friendly Clinic.

📣 Spread the word among your bunny owner friends.

For more information, check out our website here: https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/rabbit-friendly-clinic/

18/07/2024

We have vet student Ben with us again!

Ben first came on an EMS placement with us back in April and we are delighted to have him visit us again. Ben is keen to get stuck in and always helps with a smile on his face (as you can see). We hope to see him back over the next few years.

"EMS (extra-mural studies) placements offer an important insight and introduction into the professional career of a veterinary surgeon, and give vital experience to undergraduates before they graduate. EMS also represents the beginning of a life-long cycle of continuing their own professional development outside of a traditional teaching context, which continues after graduation and throughout their career." - RCVS

14/07/2024

🐾 Why the sad face Seamus?

Is it because the weekend is nearly over?

Don't worry, we open 9am tomorrow (phone lines open at 8am). We are looking forward to seeing some of our wonderful patients and clients in the week ahead. Hopefully we only see everyone for preventative care but if anyone is poorly, we hope to make them feel much better!

* Seamus wasn't really sad. He was quite happy on his first visit to us and had lots of cuddles. He enjoys chewing and playing with his humans. He's a beautiful boy.

13/07/2024

We know the weather has been on and off lately but there must have been some sun. Afterall it is summer isn't it?! 🤣

I caught my two having a good catch up in the sun. Tinkerbell (cat) loves hanging out with Reggie (tortoise), although, not when he is in his cheeky mood and tries to nip at her feet. 😬 That's one way to get your cat exercising! 🤣.

We would love to see photos of your pets enjoying the sun. Feel free to post them below.

Have a great weekend.

12/07/2024

😻 Lilo 😻

Another little cutie!
Lilo was so brave on her first visit to us. She is such a sweet girl who loves climbing and napping!!

Cuteness overload!

11/07/2024

As you know we love all our patients and love sharing photos of their visits to us with you.

Isn't this the purrfect picture of little Peggy. She visited us for the first time back in April. We bet she has grown a lot since then and we can't wait to see her again.

She is picture purrfect!! 😻

09/07/2024

🐾 Do you have a new puppy or Kitten? 🐶🐱

Give your new best friend the very best start to life with our kitten or puppy packs.

Packs include:

💚 First Vaccine Course
💚 Flea Treatment
💚 Worm Treatment
💚 2 Bags Of Food
💚 Vet Check At 5 Months To Discuss Diet and Neutering
💚 10% Off Neutering
💚 4 Weeks Free Insurance

https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/services/puppy-and-kitten-packs/

08/07/2024

🐾 We just can't help sharing all the puppy visits with you!!

So here's another one...

The very adorable Skyler came in for her second vaccine last week.

She was so well behaved and had many cuddles with everyone! Isn't she the cutest fluff ball?! 😍

01/07/2024

🐾 Meet Marvel 🐾

Marvel is an absolute cutie, who came for her first visit to our Newton Abbot branch last week.

Marvel is a happy friendly pup and we can't wait to see her again.

01/07/2024

** Clinic Update **

On Saturday 6th July, we will have nurse appointments available. Unfortunately we will not have a vet present.

If your pet needs urgent treatment, our Head Nurse Jo, will be available to assess and advise. Jo is well equipped to deal with emergencies as she is further nurse and surgical trained and has years of experience.

If you need a weekend appointment to see a vet, please book an alternate Saturday. We thank you for your understanding and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

29/06/2024

What can we say? 😍🤩

Carys isn't shy having her photo taken - just look at that smile!

What a beauty she is. Carys is such a sweet, gentle girl and her favourite thing to do is play with her toys.

We can't wait to see her again soon.

28/06/2024

Companionship

Rabbits are very sociable animals and should never be kept alone – they value the company of other rabbits as much as they value food! They need companionship and should live with at least one other rabbit to ensure they are never lonely.
If you haven’t already got a bonded pair or group, you can not just put individuals together as they may not get along. ‘Pairing up’ can be a long process, however it is well worth it in the end. All rabbits in the group must be neutered. We highly recommend this for health reasons and you don’t want them ‘breeding like rabbits’!

Keeping rabbits together isn’t just recommended for the social aspect but also for health and happiness reasons. All rabbits whether they are wild or pet rabbits are prey animals and have the same needs and instincts. Rabbits group together to keep warm and safe. A single rabbit will feel anxious and unsafe being alone because of having to spend a lot of time on high alert for danger. Single rabbits are proven to show behaviours that indicate negative welfare such as bar biting – this is thought to be stress.

Rabbits communicate with each other really well through noises and subtle body language. There really isn’t a better companion for them than another rabbit. It has been known that people have put a rabbit and a guinea pig together. We strongly recommend against this. However if you already have a bonded pair please do not separate them as that would be cruel, but rabbits and guinea pigs both need to be with their own species. Behaviours such as snuggling, grooming, diet and exercise needs will be different between rabbits and guinea pigs. Also being with their own species will make it less likely for them to be carrying around an infection that could kill the other.

27/06/2024

🐰 Enrich your rabbits lives 🐰

We all know that rabbits love to spend their time eating, digging, jumping, running, rearing up, hiding and socialising. Therefore we must allow them to carry out all of these natural behaviours by enrichment. Here are some ideas on how to do that…

🟡 Digging Pits
🔶 Toys
🟡 Hides and Tunnels
🔶 Rearing Up
🟡 Foraging
🔶 Platforms
🟡 Keep it entertaining

See our latest news post for more: https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/news/

26/06/2024

The behaviour we are looking at today is
Foraging
Foraging is searching for and collecting wild food resources such as edible plants, fruits, nuts, seeds and fungi. Foraging plays an important role in keeping an animal fit and healthy increasing their ability to survive and reproduce.

Rabbits forage by eating leafy plants and leaves, digging and chewing roots, grazing grass and stripping bark – depending on which season it is!

Unfortunately pet rabbits are very rarely kept in a way that allows these natural behaviours to be performed. However, pet rabbits will still perform foraging behaviours when searching for their food. This is very important as it means they will spend more time searching for and eating their food reducing the chance of them becoming overweight, poorly and bored.

3 ways to help your rabbits show normal foraging behaviours...
1. Provide Companionship
Rabbits need companions to be able to forage more, this is because they are less stressed. Rabbits live in groups because it reduces the time that each individual rabbit has to be alert for danger. Solo rabbits will spend more time alert and less time on important activities such as foraging for food.

2. Feed The Right Diet

Feeding your rabbits mostly good quality hay and freshly picked grass will help them show more foraging behaviours as these contain many different plant species. Rabbits will nose through the grass and hay to find the bits that smell and taste the best to them. To encourage your rabbits foraging behaviours you could sprinkle their small daily feed of nuggets in through the hay and grass, making them search for it. Offering them fresh fruit tree branches and garden weeds will also help simulate different forms of foraging behaviours.

3. Providing The Correct Environment

Letting your rabbits graze on your lawn, making them have to move around to find their food and giving them the opportunities to select different plants to eat, would be ideal.
However, we understand that this isn’t always possible. Other things you can do to encourage foraging are using puzzle feeders, hiding leafy greens in different places so they have to look for their treats or tuck their hay and grass into boxes and tubes.

Rabbits that forage are more likely to be happy, healthy and entertaining to watch.

25/06/2024

Rabbit Awareness Week - Day 2! 🐰

💚 HEALTH 💚

Let's talk about poo.

If your rabbits are healthy and have a good diet then they shouldn't get dirty, sticky bottoms!

They should produce two kinds of poo...

💛 Pellet Poo - large, round and full of fibre! This is the most common poo and the ones you will be cleaning up the most.

🧡 Caecotrophs (caecal pellets) - Normally your bunnies will eat this kind of poo directly from their bottoms! I know it sounds gross but that's nature for you!!

If your rabbits aren't eating their caecal pellets and it's starting to stick to the fur around their bottom and tummy then there is a reason why!! Don't let it build up as this can cause some serious problems!

🔶 A diet that has too much sugar or starch will cause digestive problems. Your rabbits guts are very delicate and the right balance of diet is important. Too much carbohydrates can cause their caecotrophs to be softer and improperly formed. This means they won't eat them and it will end up sticking to their bottom and tummy, causing problems.

🔷 As fruit and carrots contain a lot of sugar, please only feed your bunnies a very small amount, a half-inch cube per day is enough.

🔶 Feed nuggets rather than a muesli-type mix to ensure your rabbits get all the nutrients they need in every portion but not too many, as this can cause too many caecotrophs being produced. Your rabbits then won't eat them all, leading them to build up on their fur.

24/06/2024

🐰 RABBIT AWARENESS WEEK 🐰

As a rabbit friendly clinic we are very excited to be supporting this year’s RAW, which focuses on raising awareness of the importance of rabbits’ diet.

The latest PAW Report found that 13% of owners feed muesli mix as one of the main types of food their rabbits eat – these diets have been implicated in a variety of health problems – and only 73% of owners feed hay as one of their rabbits’ main foods; inadequate hay provision is associated with rabbit obesity.

💜 Feed your bunnies unlimited grass or hay but never lawn clipping as these ferment very quickly and can be extremely harmful to your rabbits.

💚 Feeding greens, vegetables and herbs play a vital part in a rabbit’s diet too! - You don't just have to buy it from the supermarket as there are lots of plants that are safe for your rabbits to eat. Checkout RWAF's safe list here: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/greens-veg-and-herbs/

💜 Remember to give your bunnies a vary of greens and keep to small portions of any one plant. Also, if you're collecting wild plants, please avoid areas frequented by dogs, at the side of roads or sprayed with pesticides.

💚 Avoid poisonous plants! For more advice on what to look for, checkout this handy guide: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/poisonous-plants/

💜 Fruits and carrot bodies can be given as treats. Remember they are high in sugars so it should only be given as an occasional treat no more than on

💚 Always have fresh clean water for them to drink!

14/06/2024

Did you know we have lots of information regarding vaccinations, neutering, teeth health and more, all on our website??

If you want to learn more visit: https://quarryhousevets.co.uk/services/advice/