Nearly-Dr Ferox Nearly-Dr Ferox A Veterinary student writes about her experiences as she becomes a vet, and shares informative animal health articles along the way 
Articles
The nervous Wait
2007-12-06 10:46:00 Results come out tomorrow. Celebration or Consolation is imminent. I wasn’t worried when I walked out of the exams, in fact I only started to worry this morning. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I even have a little lee-way because I did ok last semester. I’m sure I’ll be fine. But I can’t stop worrying. All I know for sure is that nobody failed parasitology, I didn’t need a high mark to pass Bacteriology & Mycology, Pathology surely couldn’t be as bad as it looked, and my AHM marks will be boosted from the Veterinary Public Health and Farm Work Report assignments. Pharmacology and Intro to Clinical Sciences could go either way, although I felt ok for Pharm. After I get my results I’m going to try to find some work experience in Vet clinics, once I know how to apply following the University’s guidelines. 17 weeks or so to do. I’ll tell you what. If I pass everything tomorrow, I will write you a song. Yes, I know, uncontroll... More About: Wait
Siamese Fighting Fish
2007-12-05 04:06:00 I love these fish - and so do many other aquarsts- because not only are they so beautiful but they can have very unique personalities. They’re commonly available in pet shops everywhere, and I have to say in breaks my heart to see them confined to half a cup of water, with no heater, slowly dieing in their own polution. Oh, sure, the people in the pet shop will tell you that these remarkable fish can live like that, that they live in puddles in Thailand and require the minimum of maintenance, but that’s not quite true. Remember that petshops will say what you want to hear to make a sale, even if it’s not what’s best for the animal, so it’s always a good idea to do your own research first. I got my first Siamese Fighting Fish (or Betta as they’re often known) as a Christmas present when I was 12. The addiction quickly set in and I’ve owned dozens of these fish, and had many of them die needlessly. I’ve learnt what my mistakes were si...
Christmas and your Pets
2007-12-03 02:12:00 Ah, such a busy weekend. Socialising, Christmas Shopping and, of course, starting the whole decorating thing with the tree and lights. My cats are quite perplexed by tinsel, and when they were younger were also very interested in the dangling, shiny things on the tree. Dogs and cats, like small children, are often attracted to the shiny decorations we put on the Christmas trees, and the presents that lurk underneath. It’s not unknown for a puppy to eat the box of chocolates under the tree- including the actual box and wrapping paper. Not only have they eaten your present, but that’s really bad for you health and sick pets for Christmas is no fun for anybody. So if you have pets, give some thought as to how you decorate your house this year. (more…) More About: Pets
Genetic Modification
2007-11-30 02:50:00 Being a Veterinary student and seriously interested in animals, there are few things more annoying than being told you need to know a lot about plants as well and walking around a paddock measuring grass. However, it is true, because a large number of the species we treat eat these plants, whether they’re supposed to or not. Recently Victorian and NSW governments have lifted a ban on growing genetically modified canola, deciding that the grain industry should be able to regulate itself and make its own choices on the matter. There has been an ongoing debate about the advantages of genetically modified crops, and huge differences of opinion, some of which are scientific and some of which are emotive. Hopefully I’ll be able to explain a bit about what’s happening. There are essentially two sides to the argument. There are the pro-GM (genetic modification) groups including many companies that have invested in the technology, and there are the anti-GM groups includin... More About: Modification
Ringworm - The Facts
2007-11-29 01:34:00 Yes, Ringworm can infect you too. Yes, your pet can catch ringworm even if you worm it regularly, because it’s actually a fungus, not a worm. Once it’s diagnosed it’s actually fairly simple to treat. That goes for both adults and kids playing with the affected animal too. Ringworm may also be called tinea if it’s in a human. (more…) More About: Facts
Dear Readers
2007-11-29 00:49:00 You can tell when your website starts to become more popular when you start to receive spam comments. It’s almost heartbreaking to receive notification of a new comment, get all excited about having a reader response, only to find it’s an advert for raunchy videos. On the other hand, when it’s an actual comment, I do a little happy dance. Also, if you ever want to know anything related to pet health (or even human health) feel free to ask in a comment, or send me an email at ferox@blogging4life.com and I will probably write an article on it for you. Whether it’s about particular diseases, behaviour, species or products, I’m here to help. Don’t be scared, I don’t bite. More About: Readers
Gardasil - Why Get Vaccinated
2007-11-28 05:02:00 Women around the world cross their legs and cringe at the thought of getting a pap smear, and it’s just as bad waiting nervously for two weeks to find out if everything is normal or not. For those that don’t know, Gardasil is a vaccine against some of the causes of cervical cancer and genital warts. At the moment it’s free in Australia to women under the age of 26, and is included in the school vaccination program for girls. Wait, you might think, a vaccine for a STD being given to schoolgirls? Many parents and members of the community expressed their outrage. And what’s in it? Virus like particles that cannot replicate. I have heard mutterings of genetic modification, and yes, it is produced by genetically modifying yeast. I hear people exclaim their disapproval and and refuse to be injected with something that has undergone genetic engineering. It’s sad, and I often despair at the ignorance of the world, so in this case I have decided to take a bre...
Alpacas - they’re so cute!
2007-11-27 05:01:00 It was around this time last year that I did work experience at Pinjarra Alpacas. Work experience is part of my course, because although you might be brilliant at biochemistry, physiology and anatomy, if you never get out there and see the animal, you’ll never understand what an animal is. Alpacas are fantastic and convenient animals to work with. Previous to Pinjarra I had only worked with a pair of flock guards. Alpacas are, without doubt, the most interactive livestock you could keep. They’re smaller than horses and can’t be ridden, but they can be shown and are heaps of fun. Alpacas come in two fleece types - the silky Suri and the fluffy Huacaya. I’ve always thought that the suri look very bohemian, and the huacaya look very sarcastic. They also come in a huge range of colours, which is the reason alpaca fleece isn’t commonly sold in commercial products - it’s nearly impossible to get a large quantity of the same colour. There are white one... More About: Cute
Last Gift of Peace
2007-11-26 02:47:00 There comes a difficult time in the life of many a doting pet owner when they are confronted with a heavy decision and their final responsibility.Euthanasia is a hard word to get your mouth around. It doesn’t matter how often it’s confronted, it is always difficult, whether it’s your pet or whether you’re the veterinarian administering the green dream. The Green Dream itself is simply a concentrated barbiturate anaesthetic, coloured green so that nobody mistakes it for anything else. If it is administered directly into a vein it is painless and fast acting, causing unconsciousness followed by death. If the vein is missed then the surrounding area will hurt, because the Green Dream is acidic. It is important not to feel like you have in anyway failed your pet by facing the choice of euthanasia. The alternative in many cases is long, drawn out suffering either as the degree slowly progresses, or your finances disappear with no result. It’s well ... More About: Peace , Gift
What’s in the Swimming Pool?
2007-11-25 11:31:00 One of the advantages of being a veterinary student is that you have the opportunity to learn a lot about zoonotic diseases- that is the diseases animals carry that can infect you. This is fascinating, and useful, to know. Australia is just heading into Summer, so this evening I’ve decided to tell you about some potential diseases you might find swimming around in the local swimming pool. As adults, most of us are immune from past encounters with these organisms, and outbreaks are rare in developed countries because they are usually prevented by good hygiene. However, they still occur, especially in places such as daycare centers. It only takes a little bit of poo or urine to contaminate a body of water, and it could affect you. If you are happy being ignorant about what a few drops of urine or a smudge of poop in a public swimming pool could infect you with (regardless of chlorine), then don’t read on and have a nice day. But if you’re interested… (more&he... More About: Swimming , Pool
Getting into a Veterinary Course
2007-11-24 08:17:00 There are countless people out there that either want to be a vet, or used to want to be a vet. The job has a great attraction, after all you get to work with lots of different animals all day! What isn’t often considered, is that it could be literally all day - tending a calving cow at 2am, treating a car crash victim through the night, or even attenting a long distance horse event that starts in the wee hours of the morning. Then going to work at 8 or 9 o’clock. Yup, you can work with animals all day. Oh, and the animals are really pleased to see you. They’re scared of the strange new room, or they remember exactly where you took their temperature last time. They are either bigger than you, or have sharper teeth, and don’t understand that what you’re doing is for the best. Most animals you meet, wont like you. Also, quite a few of them are old and dieing, despite any think you might have stocked in your cupboard. Often alll you can do is provide the &... More About: Erin
After the Party is Over
2007-11-23 04:43:00 Such great relief, so little energy. Finally, after a month long exam period we can finally relax and let our hair down. Or, rather, put torture devices on our feet and put our hair up (women mostly) to celebrate at our Half Way Dinner. For us Vet Students, it’s a big transition going from the pre-clinical years at Parkville to the clinical years in Werribee. At last we get into the actual medicine, get to play with live animals, and finally feel like we’re going to be real, professional vets. It was a great night, everyone dressing up and getting into the theme “A hint of Bling”. The food was fantastic, and the venue was very nice. It was so good to be able to socialise as a group and meet everyone’s family or partner. (more…) More About: Party , The Party
The Thief
2007-11-20 04:08:00 I was woken this morning to be informed that during the night, a cunning thief had broken into our house through the kitchen window, stolen a tomato, had several bites of an apple, piddled all over the kitchen, and then left through the window again. Bizarre, yes? Not so much when I tell you that it was, probably, a Brush-tail possum that was the culprit. It’s possible that it was a Ring-tail but not likely as a Ring-tail would never be so bold, and would only need a smaller hole. The local possums have been getting bolder as the weather gets dryer, but this is the first time one has tried to chew through flywire. (more…) More About: Thief
Surgeons: Point and Shoot
2007-11-19 10:24:00 It was a terrible mistake, made even more so by the sheer number of students who fell for it. “Intro to Clinical Sciences is easy, because it’s interesting! It’s going to be so easy to study, and there wasn’t that much too it.” How wrong we realised we were. How to do a clinical exam, principles of surgery including equipment, sutures, scrubbing, asepsis and wound management, principles of anaesthesia including all the drugs and reflexes to test, euthanasia, firearms, drugs in food producing animals, etc. The subject was bigger than we remembered it being. True, it is interesting, but there’s so much to remember and our poor student brains are already crammed with five other University subjects. While it is fair to say that these things are going to be very important in our future careers, a lot of things we’re going to replace with other, more pressing pieces of knowledge. When you’re planning an approach to a tumour mass in a dog&rsq... More About: Point , Surgeons , Shoot , Urge
Dear Readers
2007-11-18 22:41:00 I do appreciate knowing that people are reading this Blog and reading their comments, but I thought I’d let you know what registering as a user on this Blog means. Essentially, if you register, only your first comment is placed in a line to be moderated and posted on the Blog. All your other comments after the first one is approved will appear automatically. You get the instant satisfaction of seeing your comment appear immediately, and I don’t have to manually approve them. This is designed to stop spam. So sign up and check back regularly! More About: Readers
Little Black Dress
2007-11-18 07:39:00 As a Veterinary student, I spend a lot of time dressed up in poo-splattered overalls that aren’t built for a woman, blue scrubs that look frumpy and blood-stained lab coats. The overalls are, quite simply, built for men, and so don’t take hips into account. The colour is a light green-yellow-brown, so nobody will notice if there are any hard-to-remove poo stains. They’re too hot in summer and you can’t wear a jumper under them in winter. If you wear the jumper over them, then that is what will end up being an odd shade of green-yellow-brown. The overalls are complemented with a pair of sturdy, waterproof steel-capped boots that simply must be worn with two pairs of socks. They’re certainly functional enough down on the farm, but you just can’t wear them anywhere else. The blue scrubs do make me feel like a professional, but don’t suit my shape terribly well and are hard to put on over jeans. Under a surgical gown they’re great, but don... More About: Black , Dress , Little Black Dress
Fish Medicine
2007-11-17 11:24:00 These days there’s a ever increasing interest in keeping aquariums, whether it’s to keep a ‘wet pet’ like an Oscar or a stunning planted community tank. Many people start off with a goldfish or a Betta (aka Siamese Fighting Fish ), and quickly pick up the knowledge they need to become successful fishkeepers. Unfortunately, just as many don’t, and because fish can’t bark or whine they end up neglected or lacking the care they really need. This leads to deaths or illnesses, and heaps of money spent on medications to try to cure conditions caused by little more than not understanding the fish. Of course, sometimes an experiences aquarist also has an outbreak of disease, but if they are fortunate and cautions it will be confined to a quarantine tank and easier to treat. Probably the most common fish disease encountered in freshwater tanks is White Spot. (more…) More About: Medicine
Why Not Neuter?
2007-11-16 00:12:00 Not so long ago, my boyfriend acquired a beautiful orange kitten (you can see his pic in ‘Why every little girl should have a cat’), and promptly named him Baelrog: the thing that lurks in the darkness. Shortly afterwards, the topic of vaccination, micro-chipping and desexing came up. Vaccinations, sure, as soon as we have the cash on hand to pay for it. Micro-chipping, well, a bit more expensive so we’ll put it off a little. Desexing was met with resistance. Personally, I have spent some time in shelters during the kitten season, and it seriously depressed me when one of the mother cats gave birth to six indistinguishable tabby kittens (see photo), and the shelter staff knew that they would have to euthanize at least 3 of them, because there wasn’t enough food. How can you possibly choose in that situation, which ones live and which ones will die? The answer is that you can’t make any justifiable decision in that position. It’s unfair that people...
Computers and their people
2007-11-15 02:43:00 There’s something about the computer technicians at Uni that makes them think upgrading all out programs every year is a good thing……. when they neglect to upgrade the computers to the new ones that have been sitting in storage for a year. Now we can’t access the online learning management system from university computers. Good going guys! Oh, we also can’t print out the notes placed on the LMS for us because they disabled that option. Why? Because if people print them at uni, they will lose paper and ink. Brilliant thinking! If the faculty was organised and had our notes already printed at the start of lectures as promised, we wouldn’t need to print them at uni. Oh, and by making them non-printbale, we also can’t print them at home. That wouldn’t be so bad, except there are some sets of notes that were never going to be handed out, and we can’t print them, which makes it harder for us to study. And when we have to use the Ma... More About: Computers , People
Those last 15 minutes
2007-11-14 09:26:00 Somedays (like today) I wish I had enough in my head to write relevant things on a topic for hours and come out of an exam with a sore hand, it would make me feel much more confident about my performance in that exam. I don’t understand how people can come out and say “Oh, I wrote four pages on that question” when I only wrote two. In our notes, there were only about 3 pages on the subject, what on earth did you find to write about? I have never, ever, still been furiously writing right up to the stop time in an exam. I usually finish half an hour to 15 minutes early. In that time I go over what I’ve written, and try to figure out how likely it is that I’ve passed. My logic goes something like this: This exam is worth 80% of the subject. It has 6 questions, therefore each question is worth about 13%. I need 50% overall to pass…… so I need ot get 4 questions right. But, I only feel confident about 3 of these questions (or rather 1 questi... More About: Minutes , Utes
Why Every Little Girl Should Have a Cat
2007-11-13 02:19:00 I’ve always grown up with cats. There was Tom; found as a kitten under a tomato plant, Ma; accidently ‘kidnapped’ from grandma’s house and kept for 19 years, Cosy; a beautiful tortoiseshell lady and these days there’s Dippa; who halucinates, and Whoops; a black and white moggy born to a pedigree burman. Some of my friends though, have not had the joys of growing up with a kitty. This is a tragedy in the making, because not only have they been deprived of the joy of keeping a cat, they and thier (potenitally) unborn children are at serious risk. The reason is a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, and this little protozoa is unique. When replicating in a human, it may cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever and muscle pain, and is usually undiagnosed. As the host becomes immune, the parasite will form cysts, and these usually cause no complications unless the individual is immunosuppresed. However, if the human is pregnant when she first encounters Toxoplas... More About: Girl , Little Girl
My heartattack
2007-11-12 08:54:00 I did something stupid today. I mean, really stupid. You know how it is, when you’re stressed out and trying to acomplish a dozen things at once that simple things slip your mind? Well, it happens to everyone sooner or later. For those that don’t know - I’m in the middle of exams right now. 4 down, 4 to go. I spent the weekend studying for Pharmacology and Toxicology, which is what I thought I had this afternoon at 2pm. I got there early, as I usually do, and started reading through my short notes, waiting for other fellow students to show up. It starts getting closer to 2pm, and I still can’t see any. Oh well, I assume that they’re on the other side of the fountain, or sitting in the shade somewhere because it is kind of hot that day. 2pm. No classmates inside, but it’s starting so I go in. The exams on the seats are the wrong subject. The people in the section aren’t from my yearlevel. Bugger. I check with the superviser, yesss my pharmaco... More About: Attack , Atta
Household Death-traps for Pets part2
2007-11-11 07:30:00 There’s a smorgasbord of corrosive and toxic stuff in your laundry and garage. You wouldn’t eat it, but sometimes pets do. Detergents, insecticides, car products, rat poison herbicides… some of these are designed to be toxic, so it’s no surprise when they are, put them somewhere safe. Cationic Detergents. These are corrosive and will burn any skin they come in contact with. The burns may be in the mouth, in the airway, or on the footpads. They may look red and swollen, but can be bluish if the airway has been damaged. These hurt, and signs are associated with that pain. Essential oils. These may be eaten or absorbed across the skin, and can cause weakness, muscle tremors, depression, odd behaviour, vomiting, diarrhoea and seizures. The amount of oil it takes to kill a dog is 2-5g per kg of body weight. Mothballs. These contain naphthalene and can cause anaemia and damage cells. Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, anorexia and collapse. Bloo... More About: Pets , Household , Death
Household Death-traps for Pets part1
2007-11-10 04:13:00 Your home, garden and neighbourhood could be crawling with death-traps for unwitting owners and curious pets. Actually, it probably is. Luckily, with a bit of knowledge and a little care, most of these hazards can be avoided. Some of these dangers you will have no doubt heard about, but perhaps don’t know what it is that makes them dangerous, or what the symptoms are. Read on! Your food. Pets , especially dogs, do like their food don’t they? Countless times owners have witnessed their dogs licking up something disgusting off the ground, like somethingelse’s poop. Some people feed their dog table scraps, with mixed results. Sometimes that adorable puppy with eat the presents you left under the Christmas tree. What should you really be worried about, and what should you look for? Grapes and Raisins. Some dogs have been reported to develop kidney failure after eating grapes or raisins. How they are toxic isn’t known, and not all dogs go on to develop kidney failure, but for tho... More About: Household , Death
Allow me to Explain
2007-11-09 09:12:00 Veterinary Students at the University of Melbourne are mostly selected from the top 4% of their high school year and the top 10% of their first year at Uni. We go through high school knowing that we are, to be blunt, very intelligent. Our education is easy, many of us don’t even bother to study for tests until our final two years, and we still get over 80% in everything. We go though our VCE (or equivalent) without so much as breaking a sweat because we know we’re going to do well. Doing ‘badly’ for us would have meant an enter of less than 90. For most of us, we don’t get that Enter of 96-point-whatever to get straight into a pre-vet year, but we easily have a good enough score to get into Science at Melbourne Uni. We’re confident that we can get a 1st class Honour average (80%) and transfer into vet, which is how the bulk of placements are filled. Clearly, we managed to do this because we’re now in Veterinary Science (although I admit I... More About: Allo
Credit where Credit is Due
2007-11-08 12:21:00 The header, up on the top of my page, that you see there cycling through titles? It’s finally working thanks to a lot of help from two very clever people. Firstly- Tom from Indiehawk examined the codes for a few hours and got it working for me. I have no idea what he did or how he did it, but I am very grateful. And Chris- who owns Blogging4Life for getting me started on all my earlier questions and being very patient through the whole ordeal. Thank heavens for nice people. By the way, the images you see in the header at the top come from two places. The heifer calf, kelpie and cats are photos I took on work experience. The rooster, parrot, sheep and kangaroo are from flickr.com under the creative commons license. More About: Credit
Snails: The Enemy
More articles from this author:2007-11-08 09:18:00 The life of a farmer raising livestock is entirely dependant on how much grass they can get to grow on their land. Stock eat the grass, grow fat, and then are sold. So it comes as very little surprise that the snail is an enemy of agriculture in two ways. First of all, it’s eating thegrass that the stock could have eaten. Second, they carry within them the infective stages of devastating parasites known as flukes. Fasciola hepatica, here on the left, is the main culprit here in Australia. Known commonly as the Liver fluke, the name is fairly self-explainatory. The adult lives in the bile ducts of mammals, usually cattle and sheep, but it has been known to infect horses and even people on occasion. In sheep they commonly cause sudden death from hepatitis as the immature flukes migrate through the liver tissue, eating away. Cattle usually suffer a more chronic form of the disease, because the bigger livers of cattle can cope with more flukes than smaller livers. Fasciola hepati... More About: Enemy , The Enemy , Snails 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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