After 18 years of making do in rental accommodation, work is about to start on our new and carefully designed permanent home. It’s all due to your support. Read on to find out when we move, where we’ll be and what the building will look like. Continue reading “Welcome! Scroll down for our latest posts.”
There’s a new sound in the suburbs of Adelaide at night. I hear it most evenings in my gum tree. It’s the sound of fruit bats.
With them comes a new danger. Only experienced and vaccinated carers should handle bats. Read later what to do if you find a bat.
Grey-headed Flying-foxes established their first permanent camp in Adelaide in 2010. Currently it numbers around 10,000.
The colony is mostly comprised of immigrants, coming to Adelaide as part of a bigger movement southward in Australia. Just like Rainbow Lorikeets did, flying foxes have followed suitable food trees and shrubs planted by us. They’re here to stay.
However, we’re at the limit of their tolerable climate range. During harsh summer temperatures, many adults and young pups are found on the ground with heat stress. These are mostly the bats you might find and want to help.
Bats carry viruses that can infect and even kill people. The chance of infection from handling a single bat is very low but you need to know the risk.
ABL is a rabies virus carried by most bat species, including microbats. It is transmitted by bites or by secretions such as tears or saliva. Three people are known to have died from ABL in Australia, the last in 2013.
Wild animals look cute, but they don’t want to be handled and will bite. If you get bitten by a bat, wash and disinfect the area well, and contact your doctor. You will probably need post-exposure rabies immunoglobulin injections. This, by the way, is the same if you get bitten by any animal in countries with ‘regular’ rabies, such as Indonesia.
Hendra virus has killed at least four people, all of whom had close contact with infected horses. Two were vets, Dr Ben Cunneen in 2008, and Dr Alister Rodgers in 2009 who attended the sick horses.
Hendra virus has been found in bats but not yet in people here in South Australia. It’s spread to horses from bat faeces and urine found underneath trees where bats feed or roost. The horses then get a severe disease with respiratory or neurological signs and 70% mortality.
Since 2012, an equine Hendra virus vaccine appears to have had great success in reducing the number of fatalities. All 19 affected horses since that date were unvaccinated. If you have a horse:
Bats are cool, and no danger if we leave them alone. Would you like to take a look?
The next time you’re at a game on a warm evening, watch the buzzing insects around the lights. You’ll see something flitter and flutter through the beam. These are one of around 8 species of insectivorous bats, or microbats, quietly going about their job of keeping bug numbers down. If you listen closely you can just hear their echolocating squeaks.
Flying foxes are even easier. The Adelaide parklands colony can be found in the pines near Frome Road south of the Zoo. They’re hanging upside down, high up, and resting far away from danger. Each evening they head out in search of food. Then, like me, you may hear their chattering in the trees or see a dark shape flap overhead. That’s no bird.
Related: What you can catch from animals
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If the only way you could have a certain puppy was if they were already desexed, would it be a deal-breaker for you? It would be for me.
It’s not a trivial issue. Many breeds in Australia come already desexed by the breeder before sale. I can see why they do it, but as a vet, it makes me uncomfortable. What’s the big deal? Continue reading “Early Age Desexing and Incontinence”
‘At a glance’ (details below)
Now dive deeper… Continue reading “Help! My Dog Yelps & Shakes For No Reason”
‘Emergency Care’ (details below)
If in doubt, see a vet immediately. True choking is often fatal. No vet will criticise you for being careful, even if there is nothing wrong.
Now dive deeper… Continue reading “Reverse Sneezing in Dogs”
As a grumpy cat lover, I’m embarrassed to say what gets under my skin. It’s when a cat is so much fun to be around that someone says, “he’s like a dog.” Although it’s meant as high praise, to me it says a lot about how we risk seeing cats. Continue reading “The Top Ten Mistakes Cat Owners Make”
‘Emergency Care’ (details below)
now dive deeper… Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate Chocolate”
You’ve got a dog needing treatment and you’ve even got some of your own meds nearby. Can you use them?
The use of non-veterinary drugs is a common question from pet owners. When is it a good idea to give your dog human medications? Sometimes, surprisingly, it is. Just not that often.* Continue reading “What Human Drugs Are Safe For Dogs?”
Blood testing in dogs and cats isn’t simply a case of ‘more is better’. It can be lifesaving but it can also occasionally bring harm. The decision to do it is by no means as black and white as it seems.
I’m going to use the evidence and my experience to help you decide if blood tests are a good idea for your pet. I’ll start by answering the question: when are blood tests useful? Then I’ll discuss the downsides.
I have never seen a drug either so hyped or so demonised as Apoquel. If you have a dog that lives with itchy skin and allergies you’ve probably already heard of it. You might have heard of miraculous cures of long-suffering dogs. You might instead have heard of a drug too dangerous to trust. Continue reading “Should My Itchy Dog Get Apoquel?”
Did you see on TodayTonight where a dog went to two different vets and was told it would cost either $2000 or less than $100? The story focused on corporate vets but I don’t think that’s the real story. lf you want to get the vet care you want you need to understand what’s going on. Continue reading “What Cheaper Vet Care Looks Like”
