Exotics

We treat large numbers of exotic animals at the practice including snakes, tortoises, lizards, parrots, alpacas, llamas, camels and seals. We have also treated and helped with the reflotation of several stranded dolphins and whales.

We encourage annual health checks for reptiles and birds, where we can assess their general health, weigh them and address any possible environmental, feeding or health problems - taking blood samples if necessary. We use isoflurane anaesthesia and have good surgical facilities for undertaking operations such as removing eggs from egg bound tortoises or other reptiles. We can microchip tortoises and parrots at the practice.

We have clients who keep alpacas, llamas and bactrian camels. Apart from just treating the sick animals when the need arises, we can also undertake annual health checks and give advice on vaccination, worming and conduct examinations for insurance purposes. Paul Riley is a member of the Veterinary Camelid Society and other Vets in the practice are also interested in working with camelids.

National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.The Sanctuary rescues ill or injured stranded seal pups in the autumn and releases them in the spring when they are healthy and of a suitable release weight. Routine veterinary visits to the seal sanctuary are undertaken through the season and if seal pups need to have x-rays or general anaesthetics, we will carry these out back at our practice. Every year we do general anaesthetics on a number of pups, to carry out surgical procedures such as removing infected digits, dental extractions, repairing fractures and operating on ulcerated corneas.

Paul Riley as a member of BDMLR has attended a number of whale and dolphin strandings including the successful reflotation of minke whales and comon dolphins. We are now waiting for our next stranding and reflotation so that we can attach a satellite tag (supplied by BDMLR) to the cetaceans' dorsal fin and monitor its' activity and location on release.