Blog

Dystocia is a common problem in female chelonians (tortoises and turtles) and is defined as difficulty in passing eggs. Female turtles can produce eggs even when males are not present. Dystocia most commonly occurs due to lack of an appropriate nesting site, inappropriate environmental temperature, poor diet, or diseases of the reproductive system. Signs that…
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Meet the Vet – Dr Petra Schnitzer

Meet the Vet – Dr Petra Schnitzer
Petra graduated at the University of Vienna, and after training in birds and exotics, she went on to complete externships in northern Italy and Brazil. Petra then worked as a vet at the Loro Parque (Tenerife, Spain) which has the most extensive parrot collection in the world before heading back to Northern Italy, where she…
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The healing power of fish skin for our bushfire victims

The healing power of fish skin for our bushfire victims
Dr Lorenzo Crosta along with a group of final year veterinary students, UC Davis, WIRES and Dr Michelle Oakley recently visited an area near Lithgow which was heavily impacted by bushfire. The team located injured macropods (mainly Eastern Grey Kangaroos) and then under sedation examined and treated a range of injuries. A relatively new treatment…
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Wildlife Health at the Avian Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital

What is the Avian Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital?

Where do you take a koala who has been hit by a car, or a wombat who is suffering from dehydration? The Avian Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital (AREPH) is the only purpose-built University-run wildlife hospital in Australia. It also includes a state-of-the-art laboratory for the study of exotic animal and wildlife health.

Around 1000 wildlife cases each year are managed by AREPH at Camden who receive no external funding for this treatment of wildlife – it relies solely on donations from members of the public and from the income generated through the AREPH. It is now around 25% of all the cases we see here at AREPH.

New building developments have destructed natural habitats, and as a result, we have seen a significant increase in the number of wildlife cases admitted to our hospital.

What type of care does AREPH provide to sick and injured animals?

AREPH has many furry, fuzzy and slimy clientele, from blue-tongue lizards, lace monitors, and turtles, to koalas, sugar gliders and joeys.

Appin Jack is a koala we recently treated after he was found injured on the side of the road after being hit by a car. He suffered severe trauma to both of his eyes and required one eye to be removed.

Due to the severity of his injuries, he couldn’t be released into the wild. Luckily we were able to arrange for him to go into permanent care at the Koala Hospital, where he is happily living with the other koalas.

In the past four years, we have treated more than 4500 wildlife cases. This treatment does not stop at surgery; it also includes extended periods within rehabilitative facilities on-site before we secure their support with WIRES or other wildlife organisations.

To continue helping our much-loved wildlife patients we need your support.

How will your support help?

The AREPH has several priorities. Your donation will:

help all wildlife in our care and support them through their rehabilitation
fund new reptile enclosures so our bearded dragons, blue tongue lizards, native pythons and turtles can enjoy a comfortable and climate-controlled stay in hospital
help upgrade our avian wildlife cages
fund a dedicated veterinarian to treat these wildlife cases
fund new mammal cages for possums, gliders and marsupials while they recover from their various ailments
help update our koala den to include large branches and a new set of high forks to allow them the height they need while in our care.
What can you do to help support wildlife at AREPH?

Like our animals, donations both large and small mean so much to us and allow us to give wildlife animals the best care.

Donations can be made safely and securely here https://crowdfunding.sydney.edu.au/project/15874

If you are not in a position to give, please share our project with your friends and family through social media and your networks.