Pro-active healthcare veterinary visits

 

Dr Ian Green from Green and Foster Veterinary Surgeons in Newport has been our Park vet for a number of years now.  As part of our pro-active healthcare programme, Dr Green visits the Park on a regular, scheduled basis to discuss a broad range of livestock-related issues and to spend time doing a  ‘round of check-ups’.   Notes are taken on each occasion and records kept.  I’ve included a few photographs as a reminder of this latest visit::

 

First port of call was ‘Pets Corner’ where the rabbits were vaccinated against Myxomatosis.  Dr Green confirmed that all rabbits were ‘fighting fit’ (quite literally actually – one of our young males has been quite feisty recently so has gone in for neutering in the hope he’ll be more amicable!)

One of our ferrets (Nelson) has lost a lot of his hair again (this has been a recurring phenomenon that Dr Green believes is as a result of Cushings disease, apparently quite commonly found in ferrets) – so Nelson’s medication has been boosted for a few weeks to see if he grows his coat back.  Fortunately the two ‘boys’ have a number of warm places to nest within their enclosure so the thin coat isn’t too much of a worry!

 

 

Second check-point was the Otter enclosure.  One of our Otters has had an eye infection so our vet was keen to see the current status.  Fortunately the eye is looking a lot better (we persuaded the little ‘fellas’ up to the fence with a tasty treat so that Dr Green could get a close-up view!)

 

 

 

 

Then, as per the Blog that Tara entered this Saturday, Dr Green checked the ‘madness of the matriarchal Meerkats’ – to make sure the young females vying for the Alpha role aren’t doing each other any serious damage in the process!  Fortunately their scraps seem only to be causing surface wounds.

 

 

 

 

 

Next check-up was the female Crowned Crane who has developed a slight limp over the past couple of weeks.  Dr Green found evidence of some fluid in the stifle joint and has prescribed medication accordingly.

 

 

 

We have an Emperor Goose with a long-term limp and hoped that Dr Green could gauge whether she is likely to be in pain and if so whether she requires ongoing medication.  Fortunately Dr Green’s diagnosis is that the limp is as a result of the leg not being able to straighten completely rather than as a result of ‘favouring’ the leg because of discomfort (the limp has previously not improved with painkillers).  Therefore we’ll release her back into the main area of the Park and monitor her once she’s back amongst the other wildfowl.

 

 

 

Ned, our male Bearded Dragon, was suspected as having a slight mouth infection -  Dr Green took a closer look and we’re going to swab his lower jaw with an antiseptic treatment for a few days just to be sure.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the Penguins has a small red mark next to his eye.  Dr Green isn’t too concerned about it (it’s apparently similar to a sty on a human eyelid).  The Animal Care Team will be applying a topical eye cream for a few days to help the healing process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, Dr Green  had a look (from a distance) at one of the White Faced Whistling Ducks in the Lesser Flamingo enclosure who has recently developed a slight limp.  It’s difficult to ‘catch-up’ the ducks without unsettling the Flamingos so we’ve decided to monitor the duck’s progress from afar over the next few days before we take the step of disrupting the peaceful setting!