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Monday 8:30am - 5:30pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm Saturday 9am - 12pm

Alpine Animal Doctors

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Porepunkah, VIC
Alpine Animal Doctors

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Come and visit 'Dr Bek', your other family doctor, at Alpine Animal Hospital

We take pride in the excellent service we can offer our patients and clients, utilising the latest equipment, technology and training available.

01/11/2026

🧠🐭 MONDAY MINDBENDER: WHY CHINCHILLAS SHOULD NEVER HAVE A BATH! 💦

Ever wondered why chinchillas have dust baths instead of jumping in the tub?

Well, it’s all down to their ridiculously luxurious fur!

Chinchillas have some of the densest fur in the animal kingdom. In fact, around **50–60 hairs can grow from a single hair follicle!** That’s an awful lot of fluff packed into a very small space.

This incredible coat is brilliant at keeping them warm and insulated in their natural, dry environment. But there’s a catch...

If their fur gets wet, water can become trapped deep within that incredibly dense coat. It can be very difficult to dry properly, and wet fur loses much of its insulating ability.

If they stay damp, chinchillas can become dangerously chilled and develop hypothermia. Trapped moisture can also create the perfect conditions for fungal skin infections.

So instead of water, chinchillas roll around in specially formulated dust, which absorbs excess oils and helps keep their coats in tip-top condition.

Basically, they’re walking balls of fluff with a very strict no-swimming policy! 😂

Nature is clever... but sometimes being too fluffy comes with its own problems! 🐭

Image by Nikolett Emmert from Pixabay

29/10/2026

🐾 **PET OF THE WEEK – BRUNO! ❤️

Little old man Bruno came in this week for a lump check, and what we expected to be a relatively straightforward procedure turned into quite the ordeal for everyone involved – Bruno, his worried parents, and our team.

The lump was large, in a tricky position, and had been bleeding so profusely that our poor boy had become quite anaemic. 😔

After weighing up our options, we decided to give Bruno a blood transfusion, take some X-rays to check for any signs of spread, and give him a day or two to recover before tackling surgery.

Fast forward to today… D-DAY! 😬

With some trepidation (okay, A LOT of trepidation!), our rather anxious surgical team got to work while Bruno’s parents held their breath, fully aware of the potential complications.

And Bruno? Well, apparently nobody told him this was supposed to be a big deal!

He sailed through surgery with barely a blink and woke up with his usual demands…

FOOD! NOW, PLEASE! 😂🍗

Sometimes our patients remind us just how wonderfully resilient they can be. We’re incredibly relieved that Bruno came through so well, and there were a few very happy humans breathing a whole lot easier afterwards!

Sending this gorgeous old gentleman lots of love as he recovers. ❤️🐶

25/10/2026

🧠🐒 MONDAY MINDBENDER: THE AYE-AYE — NATURE’S LITTLE NIGHTMARE! 👀

If a lemur, a bat and a particularly creepy hand had a baby, you might end up with an aye-aye! 😂

Meet the **aye-aye**, a bizarre little primate from Madagascar that looks like it was assembled from the spare parts drawer of evolution.

And its weirdness is SO much more than skin deep…

☝️ THE FINGER OF DOOM

The aye-aye has an extraordinarily long, thin middle finger that it uses to tap on tree branches, listening for hollow spaces where tasty grubs are hiding. Once it finds a likely spot, it gnaws a hole in the wood and uses that spindly finger to fish the grub out.

Basically, it has its own built-in grub-detecting sonar system. 🤯

🦷 TEETH THAT NEVER STOP GROWING

Like rodents, aye-ayes have continuously growing incisors. They use these chompers to gnaw through wood and reach the delicious insect larvae hiding inside.

Imagine having teeth that never stop growing. Your dentist would need a subscription service! 😂

👂 BIG EARS, BIG ADVANTAGE

Those enormous ears help the aye-aye detect the tiny sounds made by grubs moving inside wood. It combines its hearing, tapping finger and seriously powerful teeth to hunt for food.

It’s basically a tiny nocturnal pest-control specialist with absolutely zero regard for conventional beauty standards.

🌙 A NIGHT OWL… SORT OF

Aye-ayes are nocturnal and spend much of their time in trees, searching for food after dark. They also build leafy nests high in the branches to sleep in during the day.

Despite their rather alarming appearance, they’re specialised primates with an incredible set of adaptations.

💀 UNFORTUNATELY, BEING WEIRD CAN BE DANGEROUS

In parts of Madagascar, aye-ayes have traditionally been associated with bad luck or evil omens. These superstitions have contributed to them being killed, alongside the very real threats of habitat loss.

Which is a pretty rough deal for an animal whose biggest crime is having a finger that looks like it belongs in a horror movie. 😬

So, would you want an aye-aye living in your backyard?

👇 Tell us in the comments!

24/10/2026

☀️💧 A little reminder to look after our wildlife this summer! 🐝🦎

With the hot days of summer approaching, it’s not just our pets who need access to fresh water. Our local wildlife needs a helping hand, too! 💚

This little guy was found floating in our dog water bowl. He’d obviously popped in for a refreshing drink and had an unfortunate little accident along the way! 😬

Thankfully, we rescued him in time! I had a small human on hand who helped me dry him out, before being given the very important honour of setting our little visitor free. 🥰

A few simple ways you can help our wildlife this summer:
💧 Put out shallow dishes of fresh water.
🪨 Add some rocks or sticks so little critters can climb out if they fall in.
🌳 Place water in a shady, sheltered spot.
🔄 Refresh the water regularly to keep it clean.

It’s a tiny thing that can make a BIG difference, especially when the weather heats up. ❤️

And remember, a water bowl with an easy escape route can be a lifesaver for our little native visitors! 🐾🌿

This was the only water bowl in our yard that didn’t have a stick in it. 🙄 It now does! 😜

12/10/2026

🦑🧠 MONDAY MINDBENDER! 🧠🦑

Ever heard of a squid giving itself brain damage by eating dinner? No? Well, welcome to the weird and wonderful world of squid anatomy! 😂

Some squid have a doughnut-shaped brain, with their oesophagus running straight through the middle! 🧠🍩

That means when they swallow food that’s too large, it can squeeze through the brain’s central opening and potentially damage the delicate nervous tissue around it.

Talk about having to chew your food properly! 😬

Imagine having a brain that comes with its own built-in portion-control warning system… and ignoring it anyway. 🤦‍♀️🦑

Nature really is absolutely bonkers!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nhobgood

08/10/2026

🐾💚 HAPPY VET NURSE DAY! 💚🐾

Today we’re celebrating those amazing humans who work tirelessly, compassionately (and occasionally covered in unidentifiable bodily fluids 😂) to care for your fur family.

Vet nurses are the unsung heroes of the veterinary world. They comfort the scared, cuddle the sick, wrangle the wriggly, clean up the gross stuff, keep us vets on track and somehow manage to keep smiling through it all. They do so much behind the scenes, often without nearly enough recognition for their hard yakka. ❤️

To our wonderful Alpine Vets nurses — we love you guys to bits! 🥰 We genuinely couldn’t do what we do without you, and the clinic wouldn’t be the same without your dedication, compassion, humour and all-round awesomeness.

So today, give your vet nurse a little extra love. They deserve every bit of it! 🐶🐱🐰

Happy Vet Nurse Day to all the incredible vet nurses out there. You bloody legends! 🩺💚

04/10/2026

🧠 Monday Mindbender 🐋

Did you know beluga whales are one of the few whales that can actually swim backwards?! 😲

And these guys are pretty unusual in other ways too.

Unlike most whales, the vertebrae in a beluga’s neck aren’t fused together, giving them an incredible amount of flexibility. They can nod, turn and move their heads from side to side — almost like we can! 🐋

And then there’s that enormous, squishy lump on their forehead… 😂

That’s called a **melon**, and it’s filled with specialised fatty tissue. Belugas can actually change the shape of their melon to help focus and fine-tune their echolocation, allowing them to direct their clicks and better interpret the echoes bouncing back from their surroundings.

Basically, they have a built-in, squishy sonar dish on their forehead! 🤯

Nature is pretty bloody clever. 💙🐋

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:FaysaLBinDaruL

01/10/2026

🐍 PET OF THE WEEK — STORM! 🐍

This week’s Pet of the Week is gorgeous Storm, who decided that playing with a snake seemed like a *fantastic* idea… and unfortunately came off very much second best! 😬

Thankfully, Storm’s parents were incredibly astute and realised very quickly that something was seriously wrong.

Storm walked into the clinic, but within just 30 minutes he was struggling to stand and breathing hard. We immediately started antivenom and supportive IV fluids, but his symptoms continued to worsen, so he needed a second vial of antivenom.

Given how quickly things were changing, Storm came home with me overnight so I could keep a very close eye on him and monitor his vital signs.

Thankfully, he stabilised overnight and by the following afternoon he was well enough to head home — with no evidence of his very close call! ❤️

Storm is one very lucky pup. 🥰

And a timely reminder that snake bites can progress incredibly quickly. If you suspect your pet has encountered a snake, don’t wait for symptoms to become severe — get them to a vet immediately. 🐍🚨

We’re very happy to report that Storm is back to being his usual cheeky self… although hopefully with slightly better judgement about his choice of playmates! 😂❤️

30/09/2026

🐍 SNAKE BITE SEASON IS UPON US! 🐍

The weather is warming up, which means our local nope ropes are becoming increasingly active. 😳

Now is a great time to clear the garden of rubbish, piles of timber, sheets of iron and other clutter that might provide a nice little hidey hole for a snake.

Keeping grass and weeds short can also help make your yard a little less appealing to our slithery neighbours.

But even with the best prevention, snake bites happen.

Signs of snake envenomation in pets can include:

🤮 Vomiting
💩 Diarrhoea
🫨 Wobbliness or weakness
😵 Collapse
⚡ Seizures
🐾 Paralysis
💨 Difficulty breathing

And here’s the REALLY important bit…

Some pets can collapse within 10–15 minutes of a snake encounter, then appear to recover.

🚨 DO NOT be fooled by this! 🚨

This temporary improvement can be followed by a rapid and potentially life-threatening deterioration.

Please don’t take a “wait and see” approach if you suspect your pet has been bitten.

☎️ Contact your vet immediately and get your pet in for assessment and treatment.

The sooner we can start appropriate treatment, including antivenom when indicated, the better the chance of getting on top of the envenomation before it becomes severe.

Snake bites are an emergency.

If you suspect a snake bite, don’t wait for symptoms to worsen. Get moving! 🐍🚗💨

Stay safe out there, everyone — and keep those four-legged snake hunters under close supervision! 🐶🐱❤️

Photo by Caden Van Cleave

27/09/2026

🧠 MONDAY MINDBENDER! 🧠

🦍 DID YOU KNOW THAT GORILLAS BURP WHEN THEY’RE HAPPY? 😂

Yep. You read that correctly.

Gorillas make a soft belching or burping-like sound that is actually an important part of their communication. These gentle grumbles and belches are often associated with relaxed, comfortable gorillas — particularly when they’re happily munching on their favourite foods. 😋

They also make humming and singing-like sounds when they’re feeling content.

So basically…

Happy gorilla = burpy gorilla. 😂

Imagine if humans worked the same way…

“Are you alright?”

“Yep. Just had a really nice lunch.”
BUUUUURP. 😌

Maybe they’re my spirit animal?! 😜

Honestly, gorillas might have this whole expressing your feelings through bodily noises thing pretty well sorted. 🤣🦍

https://anil-oeztas.de/

Address

7047 Great Alpine Road
Porepunkah, VIC
3740

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday	9am - 12pm

Telephone

+61357562444

Website

http://www.alpinevet.com.au/

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