Geckos are on the run – how exactly do they do it? Are fish self-aware? How do you monitor the wellbeing of captive elephants? We attempt to answer these questions in our news of the week. Don’t blink – you may miss the final news article.
Reproductive issues in lizards is our main topic this week. Mark and Brendan discuss the various problems encountered in lizards when things go wrong with reproduction, and how to fix these issues. This has turned out to be a bigger topic than anticipated so this is Part 1 of 2. Listen next week for Part 2!
Specialised Animal Nutrition. Specialised Animal Nutrition is the Australian distributor of Oxbow Animal Health products. Used and recommended by top exotic animal veterinarians around the globe, the Oxbow range comprises premium life-staged feeds and supportive care products for small herbivores.
Microchips Australia: Microchips Australia is the Australian distributor for: Trovan microchips, readers and reading systems; Lone Star Veterinary Retractor systems and Petrek GPS tracking products. Microchips Australia is run by veterinarians experienced in small and large animal as well as avian and exotic practice, they know exactly what is needed for your practice.
Chemical Essentials. Cleaning and disinfection products and solutions for a wide variety of industries throughout Australia, as well as specific markets in New Zealand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. The sole importer of the internationally acclaimed F10SC Disinfectant and its related range of advanced cleaning, personal hygiene and animal skin care products.
Become a VetGuru patron! Support our podcast – the equivalent of a coup of coffee is all we ask to help keep us going: Patreon.com/vetgurus
Speaking of patrons: a big shout out for our newest patron Emily A!
Microchips Australia: Microchips Australia is the Australian distributor for: Trovan microchips, readers and reading systems; Lone Star Veterinary Retractor systems and Petrek GPS tracking products. Microchips Australia is run by veterinarians experienced in small and large animal as well as avian and exotic practice, they know exactly what is needed for your practice.
Specialised Animal Nutrition. Specialised Animal Nutrition is the Australian distributor of Oxbow Animal Health products. Used and recommended by top exotic animal veterinarians around the globe, the Oxbow range comprises premium life-staged feeds and supportive care products for small herbivores.
Chemical Essentials. Cleaning and disinfection products and solutions for a wide variety of industries throughout Australia, as well as specific markets in New Zealand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. The sole importer of the internationally acclaimed F10SC Disinfectant and its related range of advanced cleaning, personal hygiene and animal skin care products.
Could Llamas be the answer to the ideal human flu vaccine? Scientists had no idea where the world’s tiniest flightless bird came from, until now- Mark explains. In our final news story we debate if the era of greyhound racing is coming to an end.
Limbs. Or lack thereof. That is the main topic this week: amputation of limbs of various species is discussed by Brendan and Mark – what species do we commonly remove limbs from, and why? What species cope without a limb and what species don’t?
Product review: Opsite Flexigrid transparent film dressing. Brendan is enthusiastic about this versatile dressing. He particularly likes to use it for reptile skin lesions and post- surgery. He gives it a solid 8.3 out of 10.
Chemical Essentials. Cleaning and disinfection products and solutions for a wide variety of industries throughout Australia, as well as specific markets in New Zealand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. The sole importer of the internationally acclaimed F10SC Disinfectant and its related range of advanced cleaning, personal hygiene and animal skin care products.
Specialised Animal Nutrition. Specialised Animal Nutrition is the Australian distributor of Oxbow Animal Health products. Used and recommended by top exotic animal veterinarians around the globe, the Oxbow range comprises premium life-staged feeds and supportive care products for small herbivores.
Brendan wants to go to Bali – for work of course. Maybe he will be less angry about the situation with greyhound racing in New South Wales if he had a break? Mark goes mad about the pesky parasite toxoplasmosis, then sniffs out a story details dog’s detecting cancer in our final news story this week.
Upper respiratory tract diseases of the rabbit is our main topic this week. ‘Snuffles’ is the catch-all phrase often used to describe these disorders. We talk about the various causes of these commonly seen upper respiratory diseases in rabbits. Mark and Brendan then get down to a serious discussion of treatment and have a philosophical debate on the possibility of preventing these conditions.
Please support our main sponsors. When you next purchase their products let them know you listen to the VetGurus and thank them for supporting us!!
Specialised Animal Nutrition. Specialised Animal Nutrition is the Australian distributor of Oxbow Animal Health products. Used and recommended by top exotic animal veterinarians around the globe, the Oxbow range comprises premium life-staged feeds and supportive care products for small herbivores.
Chemical Essentials. Cleaning and disinfection products and solutions for a wide variety of industries throughout Australia, as well as specific markets in New Zealand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea. The sole importer of the internationally acclaimed F10SC Disinfectant and its related range of advanced cleaning, personal hygiene and animal skin care products.
Death is in the news this week with the end of the world’s oldest spider at the age of 43, the weird and depressing world of hummingbird love charm trafficking, and we follow the trail of the London thylacines. Brighter news is the novel approach to control of locusts in China through the use of a chicken army!
Brendan has a book review this week: Clinical anatomy and physiology of exotic species by B. O’Malley. An excellent text for anyone interested in unusual/exotic pet medicine and surgery, packed full of practical diagrams, tips and advice. A must for exotics vets and technicians/nurses. Brendan scores it a high 9.5 out of 10.
Enter our competition: 1 week until close of entries!
Send in an email to vetgurus@gmail.com with a veterinary story for a chance to win a signed copy of A Guide to Health and Disease in Reptiles and Amphibians. Shipping to the winner – wherever they are located in the world – is included. So drop us a line, say hi and tell us a story!
Quirky news again this week, which begins with talk on empathy – can it be learned, is there a genetic factor or who cares? A field study of Mary River Turtles in Australia reveals an ageing population. The cannibal Red Squirrels of Yukon and the death of Australia’s last flamingo are our last news stories.
Our main topic discusses the benefits of desexing, with particular emphasis on small mammals. What are the other benefits of desexing apart from the obvious prevention of breeding and helping control behaviour issues? Mark and Brendan point out significant reasons why we need to desex our small mammals.
Brendan may have Man Flu but that doesn’t stop the vet gurus from releasing another podcast full of veterinary goodness! He soldiers on, delirious, to warn us not to feed the monkeys, and directs our attention to a cute polar bear cub born in the UK. Mark presents 6 unusual facts about Tapirs and muses over the potential demise of the world’s smallest porpoise.
Our review this week is a movie – or make that 2 movies: BladeRunner and the recently released BladeRunner 2049. Both of us award it over 9 out of 10.
Top Tips and Tricks about Guinea Pigs is out main topic this week. We provide some fun facts and figures regarding our piggy friends, including the fact they don’t come from guinea, a disturbing picture of geriatric male guinea pig rectums, and the composition of uroliths in this species.
