12 Apr 2023
A special session examining common emergency cases and how to handle them is on the agenda at the Birmingham event next month.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Image: © Okea / Adobe Stock
Vets are being given the chance to boost their confidence in dealing with reptile cases by attending next month’s BVA Live in Birmingham.
Handling reptile emergencies in practice is the subject of a session, to be led by Tom Dutton, clinical lead exotics at Great Western Exotics in Swindon, on the first day of the event, 11 May.
The lecture is set to cover common emergency cases and the best ways to handle them, including care provision, fluid therapy and nutritional support.
The session follows the recent publication of a new position paper, in which a BVA working group made 32 separate recommendations to improve the welfare of non-traditional companion animals (NTCAs), including reptiles such as snakes and lizards.
Among them was a call for vet schools to “continue to embed” the teaching of basic NTCA care in their degree programmes after inconsistencies in their current approaches were highlighted.
BVA senior vice-president Justine Shotton said: “This is a really important session for every member of ‘team vet’.
“All vets will have been through training at vet school, so they are able to confidently handle common species of reptiles, and provide the emergency care and first aid they may need.
“But, with some vets seeing increasing numbers of non-traditional companion animals like reptiles in practice, this session is a good reminder of the best ways to do so in an emergency.”
