Shepton Vets

This is Huey the harvest mouse. He was raised in captivity with his brother. He developed a swelling on his face so needed anaesthetising to investigate it. As he only weighed 7g we had to improvise an anaesthetic circuit. He is currently doing well at home 2 weeks on.

Groot the two year old Degu came to spend the day with us for an operation. He has been recently rescued and his new owners have noted he seems to be quite lonely so Groot is going to be getting some female company (lucky Groot!). However to make sure we wouldn’t be seeing lots of little Degu babies around, Groot needed to be castrated. Degu castrations are surprisingly not a common operation at Shepton Vets(!), but his procedure went very well and he is now eagerly awaiting a meeting with his new lady friends!!

You may remember little Mateus Gregorio, named after Vet Greg, who delivered him by caesarean section earlier this year. We were delighted to see Mateus Gregorio back last week for his neutering procedure and it seems he likes to travel in style! We certainly think the ‘kitty backpack’ look suits Greg. Little Mateus Gregorio is becoming a bit of a star as he recently won two best of breeds at two local cat shows - Wessex and Wiltshire and got numerous first places in the m...iscellaneous classes. He then managed to achieve the best of variety pedigree pet beating an Olympian gold cat, eventually going on to win the best in show household pet. He is off to Chester in August to hopefully impress the judges up north so we look forward to hearing more of his travels!
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Whisper is a lovely and fluffy Maine Coon. Her hair was getting so long that she needed a dematt whilst under sedation, and all the excess hair was enough to make another cat - Whisper's twin!!

Bill came in for his first vaccinations and showed how he enjoys watching the world go by from on top of his carrier!

**Update**: 3.30pm Thanks for sharing owners have no been found.
This lovely boy was found wandering near the train station at Castle Cary. Chipped but not registered with the main databases.... Please share and help us re-unite him with this family.
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If you’ve visited the practice in the past few weeks you may have noticed that two of our consulting rooms may have looked a bit scruffy. Thankfully this is due to the fact that we are having these rooms, and a few other areas refurbished. Work starts today, so they will soon be back up and running.

Today Lynn and Chloe were visited by nine 8 week old border collie puppies for their first vaccine. Their mum was unwell a few weeks ago so they had to be weaned quite quickly, but it hasn't set them back at all, and they will soon be moving on to their new homes.

Doris had her keyhole spay 1 week ago and like all of our patients that choose this option, she made a speedy recovery. This week she felt so much better that she decided to try to eat the bird feed fat balls in the garden. Sadly her visit this time was trying to stop the consequences, we hope Doris feels better soon.

We are having a few issues with our telephone lines this morning. If you need to contact us, please call the farm office number on 01749 341761. Thank you for patience while we rectify the problem.

Say hello to Apollo, who came in for a kitten chat with nurse Lucy and 1st vaccinations with vet Gudi. Apollo was so relaxed he fell asleep in his owner’s arms in the end. His owners have signed him up to our Healthy Pets Club, sorting all his routine preventative treatment. We look forward to seeing Apollo back in 3 weeks for his neutering operation, microchip and 2nd vaccinations. .

We see quite a lot of chickens and the occasional goose but not many turkeys! Today we had a visit from Albert the pet turkey who was having problems with his feet. He was very well behaved and took his medication very well. Hopefully he will be feeling better soon.

Indy the Springer spaniel has a warning for us all about the dangers of grass seeds! Like most spaniels, she is prone in these summer months to suffer from getting grass seeds stuck all over her body, due to her inquisitive nature. Indy lives at home in Stratford on Avon, but one weekend while staying with family in Somerset she woke up with a swollen eye and face. She was examined during our Sunday morning poorly pet clinic and sedated to be thoroughly inspected – her eye...s, ears and mouth were investigated further and X-rayed but no obvious seed was found, though it still remained our top suspicion as the cause.
On returning home, she returned to her local vets a few days later when swelling spread more severely, and after surgery, a grass seed culprit was eventually found under the skin!
She is now healing up well but wanted to spread the message of grass seeds this summer, so be aware!
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Staying safe in the sun!
With the temperature predicted to be greater then 25 degrees across the country this weekend, we thought we would share some top tips for keeping your pets safe in the sun; - Avoid the heat of the day; walk in the early mornings and late evenings and provide a source of shade in your garden - Provide constant access to fresh water... - Avoid leaving your pets in the car, even with the windows open, even if only for five minutes, this can cause very serious heat stress very quickly - If your pet is excessively panting take them to a cooler place - Paddling pools and other water sources will help them cool off
How to recognise heat stroke; - Early signs; persistent panting, rapid breathing, dry mouth, dry nose - Later stages; unsteady when walking, rapid heart rate, grey OR bright red gums, vomiting, diarrhoea - Fatal signs; collapse, seizures, coma which sadly can lead to death - If you are worried about any of the above signs, please contact us immediately for advise
In the event of heat stroke! - Move your pet to a cool, dark place - Apply tap water to towels and place around the body, particularly the neck, back, stomach, groin, ears and paws but DO NOT leave them on the animal - Use a cooling fan if possible to direct the heat away from the animal - Do not use very cold water or ice – cool tap water is best - Call your vet as soon as possible!
Don’t forget that we are open on Saturday 8:30 -10:30 am in Wells, 8:00 - 4 pm in Shepton, and on Sunday 9:30-11 am at Shepton for our Poorly Pets Clinic. We are always at the end of the phone too!
We hope you have a lovely weekend, enjoy the sun and stay safe! (Image: Piggy & Charlie Brown staying safe in the shade!)
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Say hello to Marley, who came in for puppy chat with Nurse Carolyn and well pet welcome with Vet Gudi. Such a well behaved pup! We look forward to seeing him back in 2 weeks for his second vaccinations.
Can you guess what cross breed he is?

Islay came in to see Nurse Carolyn for a weigh and worm check. Islay was a little unsure at first but after a lot of cuddles and a little treat climbed into Carolyn's arms and was happy to stay and play all day!

Happy Birthday Vet Josh!! 🎂

Vet Gudi saw these 4 puppies with Nurse Jade for their health checks and micro chipping, before they go to their new homes at the weekend! They were very brave and all got a clean bill of health!