Junior Veterinarians week 2 | snapshot

We finished up our Junior Veterinarian unit this week! We talked about how accidents happen and sometimes we scrape/cut our skin. We remembered times that we hurt ourselves.  Usually nature gives us and animals our own band-aid called a “scab” and the cut heals all by itself. This happens to animals, too. But if a cut goes into the epidermis and down to the dermis, we or the animal will need stitches. Rece shared with us about his story of getting stitches. Stitches mean that the vet will sew the skin back together. The vet usually likes to use dis-solvable stitches. Most dis-solvable stitches start to break down within one to two weeks. However, it could take several months before your stitches disappear completely. After the wound has healed, it may be possible for a nurse to remove the loose ends of the dis-solvable stitches, to speed up the process. For our follow-up activity, the students practiced stitching with a plastic stitch pad from Walmart and discovered how to lace “in & out” with a plastic needle. It was a challenge, but we all really enjoyed it! We also learned about Wildlife Veterinarians, which specialize in exotic animal medicine, Wildlife medicine presents a unique set of challenges within the veterinarian job description. These vets must become medical specialists in hundreds of different species, each with unique anatomy and responses to medicine, as well as understand normal verses abnormal behavior for each species.  Wild animals hide their injuries and illnesses for as long as possible as a survival instinct. Often, once it becomes apparent that a wild animal is sick, it is an emergency situation. This makes the job of an exotic animal veterinarian much more challenging than working with pet dogs and cats. It is also a job that does not lack in excitement and many wildlife veterinarians get to develop novel medical treatments when new cases present themselves.  Wildlife Veterinarian Job Duties:  · Monitor behavior and eating habits of animals  · Develop meal plans for animals to meet the nutritional needs of each species  · Examine all animals in the facility yearly and as needed throughout the year, which can include physical exams, blood work, x-rays etc.  · Monitor and participate in breeding programs of endangered species  · Perform surgery as needed on animals, often in the animal’s housing  · Develop innovative treatment for exotic animals  · Work closely with animal care staff in all aspects of the animals’ care  An exotic animal veterinarian must work in the same conditions as a zookeeper. The job requires working in a veterinary hospital setting and in the animal’s exhibit or habitat. Animals need care no matter the weather or the day of the week. So working on the weekends, nights, and in snow, winds, and sleet can be expected. Exotic animal veterinarians are also at risk for injury from their patients and are exposed to zoonotic diseases on a daily basis. We had lots of fun making wild animal masks from egg crates :) Grady's wild tiger! and Bennett's, too! Ainsley's zebra! Laine's wild horse! and Anne Sutton's, too! Rece's gorilla! Makenzie's deer! We had three crocodiles! Eain's! Khristian's! and Kirsten's, too! and Rock's black wolf! Oh my! WHAT A WONDERFUL PET PARADE TO END OUR UNIT!!!!!!!!!! Look at Honey Bunny's toenails :))) Ms. Alison and Mr. Scott's boxer, Sam :D Thank you to the parents, families, and friends who made this possible for the students and who came to watch the parade! We all enjoyed this so much and it made some wonderful memories for us all! :) We also were able to celebrate William's 5th birthday with him and were so happy to see Ms. Annie out and about. We are missing her so much! Our Crime Solvers unit starts Monday!!!!