March24_Old Mill’s wild side!

This month we have some very unique “Pets of the Month” – ones that you wouldn’t find in just any Australian backyard! They are typically only found in far-away places, so it is a thrill and honour to help these exotic wild creatures right here in the Moreton Bay region. 

Winny the Tasmanian Devil had an upset tummy and required immediate care to rule out an obstruction.  Being carnivorous scavengers, Devils will eat just about anything they come across, so there was a real chance Winny and twin sister Jezebel had been up to no good.  It was thankfully ruled simply as a tummy bug this time, and Dr Slade warned the Devil sisters to stay out of trouble!

From the cute and cuddly, (well at least the Devils are for now!) to the fast and feathered, and February saw Dr Warren perform a unique lump removal on a Greater Rhea called Cathy.  Similar to an Emu, the Greater Rhea is a tall flightless bird, and this particular girl had a cancer lump that was about the size of a rockmelon and weighed almost 2.5kg!  Being an older bird, the anaesthetics used were of great importance to the success of the operation.  With her big strong legs safely tucked up out of the way, Dr Warren was able to suture the huge hole closed, which has healed remarkably well in the weeks since her surgery. 

Alf is a Lowland Tapir who – like most Tapirs outside their natural rainforest habitat – suffers from eye issues.  Alf’s previous vet used an ointment for over a year that only partly fixed the problem, so we had an uphill battle on our hands to get on top of the ongoing problem.  We enlisted the help of an ophthalmology specialist and together put into place a successful treatment regime.  Alf’s future is bright with the eye issue now properly diagnosed and under control.

Old Mill Animal Hospital is proud to be the preferred veterinarians for these cool creatures. You can read more about the Old Mill team’s exotic adventures on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oldmillvet