Monthly Archives: January 2018

Episode 15: There be Dragons! Jan 26 2018

Reptile, Veterinary, , ,

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It’s the Australia Day holiday down under and Brendan and Mark are in a festive and feisty mood.

News

Mark jumps in the deep end to ponder on the meaning of Australia day – and what exactly should we be celebrating? Another load of news stories this week: Songbirds struggling with noise; banning of circus animals; and animal welfare campaigners protest a proposed dog breeding facility. in lighter news we jump on the treadmill with baby sea turtles and discuss a fishy story about tapeworm infections in humans.

Book Review

Brendan is good at sniffing out obscure titles and this week is no exception. Following on from the discussion in Episode 5, he reviews the educational, lighthearted, and fun book ‘Does it Fart?’. He scores it an aromatic 8.0 out of 10.

Bearded Dragon Care

The main topic is the iconic Australian reptile commonly kept as a pet world-wide, the Bearded Dragon (Pogona spp.). We outline the basics for keeping these as pets, and the common problems encountered when unwell bearded dragons are taken to veterinary clinics.

Links

Does it Fart? The definitive field guide to animal flatulence.

Songbirds are struggling with noise pollution

New Jersey (USA) plan to ban exotic circus animals suffers setback

Animal welfare campaigners against proposed dog breeding facility in Australia

Baby sea turtles on treadmills for science

Tapeworm acquired from eating raw fish

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Episode 14: An eerie feeling – Jan 16 2018

Dog, Parasitology, Rabbit, Surgery, Veterinary, , , ,

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We are excited about our new professional recorded intro and outro. Lots of news this week: including how to cope with ‘vet shaming’; an automatic bird identification system program excites Mark; natures smallest rainbow found – on a spider; a lethal bat fungus sees the light, and Brendan dreams of heading off to Richard Branson’s private island.

For our product review Brendan looks at the free PDF e-book Australasian Parasites Inside and Out.

Ears are our topic for this week. We discuss the treatment of aural haematomas, and chat about various ear conditions in unusual pets, and ask the question ‘Why do most ferrets have grotty ears?’

Links:

Coping with vet shaming

Automatic bird identification system

Nature’s smallest rainbow on spider

Lethal bat fungus may be susceptible to UV light

Richard Branson’s Koala Conservancy

Australasian Parasites Inside and Out free e-book

Contact us: VetGurus@gmail.com      Twitter: @VetGurus

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/vetgurus

Episode 13: Lucky for some

Rabbit, Reptile, Rodent, , , , , ,

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Here we are already half way through January. Brendan and Mark are both back at work fighting the good fight against pesky parasites, belligerent bacteria, vexatious virus, and cranky clients.

In news, snake eggs are found in a school sandpit in Australia, pumas (or wild mountain lions) are picky when choosing their sleeping sites, and the Mekong region reveals over 100 new species. Mark fires Brendan up with a story about the animal inspirations behind the newest Star Wars creatures, then brings us back to earth with an article about the mental health of animal shelter workers.

Since this is our 13th episode – lucky for some – we decided to make our main topic a chat about the lifespan of pets. How old can we expect our small mammals, birds and reptiles to live for? No spoilers – subscribe and listen to learn the answers.

Links:

Snake eggs found in Australian school sandpit

Pumas sleeping habits revealed

Mekong region reveals 115 new species

Greater Mekong region

Animal inspiration behind the Last Jedi creatures

Why do animal shelter workers burn out?

Contact us: VetGurus@gmail.com      Twitter: @VetGurus

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/vetgurus

Outro music courtesy of Canadian Lee Rosevere from happypuppyrecords.ca

Episode 12: Bottoms up

Dog

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Welcome to 2018. We hope you had a safe and relaxing holiday period and wish all our listeners the best for the coming year.

2018 is off to a flying start, though perhaps not for birds in Brighton, England, where residents have installed spikes in trees. In other news, sea stars (starfish) make a comeback, a new species of spider is named after a famous musician, and brain surgery is performed in a fur seal.

Mark chats about trazadone use in dogs for anxiety based behaviour disorders in a product review.

In our main topic this episode we get to the bottom of anal gland disease in dogs. Mark and Brendan discuss their preferred treatment regimes for this common condition in pet canines.

Links:

Trazadone

Bird spikes in trees ruffle feathers in England

Sea stars make a comeback in California

Brain surgery in a fur seal

Intertidal spider discovered

Contact us: VetGurus@gmail.com      Twitter: @VetGurus

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/vetgurus

Outro music courtesy of Canadian Lee Rosevere from happypuppyrecords.ca