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Dick Vet Rabbit and Exotic Practice

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Dick Vet Rabbit and Exotic Practice

The Rabbit, Exotic Animal and Wildlife Service offers veterinary care for small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and wildlife.

ging cases. Should a patient need to be hospitalized, we have four individually tailored wards – rabbit ward, wildlife ward, avian ward and reptile ward. We also have a grass paddock to allow grazing for our rabbit inpatients. Our patients are very varied and range from hamsters and guinea pigs, to leopard geckos and iguanas, to budgerigars and golden eagles. We recommend 6 monthly health checks for your pet, where your vet will perform a full clinical examination and discuss the importance of husbandry to help keep your pet fit and healthy

This page is monitored Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. We regret we cannot reply to questions regarding patient advice and would ask you phone the hospital to speak, or book an appointment, with a vet.

18/11/2025

Nominations are open for this year's Burgess Excel Vet Awards.
These awards celebrate the hard work, expertise, and dedication of veterinary teams and students who work to champion the health and welfare of our rabbit and guinea pig patients.

If you've had a positive experience with any our team or think they have gone the extra mile for your pet, why not consider nominating them for an award at the link below?
https://www.burgesspetcare.com/burgess-excel-vet-awards/nomination-form/

The nomination categories are:
🐹Guinea Pig Vet of the Year
🐹Guinea Pig Friendly Practice of the Year
🐹 GPAW Campaign of the Year
🐰 Rabbit Vet of the Year
🐰 Rabbit Vet Nurse of the Year
🐰 Rabbit Support Staff of the Year
🐰Rabbit Practice of the Year
🐰RAW Campaign of the Year
🐾Small Animal Student of the Year

Nominations close on 28 November.

Practice: Dick Vet Rabbit & Exotic Animal Practice

Veterinary Surgeons: Jenna Richardson, Emma Keeble, Athin Athinodorou, Kirsty Melton, Megan Kiln, Michaela Betts, and Marende de Gier

Veterinary Nurses: Aïcha Aboudinar, Dale Gillies, and Jess Randall

14/11/2025

Did you know that RCVS-registered vets must undertake a minimum of 35 hours a year of Continual Professional Development (CPD) to keep their veterinary knowledge and skills up to date?

Two vets from our Practice, Michaela Betts & Athin Athinodorou, recently attended the British Veterinary Zoological Society conference (BVZS) in Birmingham. Both attended multiple talks on exotic animal medicine and surgery and Michaela presented a lecture sharing tips and techniques for achieving the best images for small mammal radiography (X-ray).

The 3-day event is for veterinary professionals to learn more about advancements in exotic animal medicine and surgery, helping to ensure they stay informed on all the latest techniques and research to provide the best care and support for pets.

08/11/2025

Today is World Radiography Day, marking the anniversary of when X-rays were discovered in 1895.

X-ray images, or radiographs, are a vital tool that help to investigate and diagnose a range of problems in our exotic patients. They are useful in helping us to assess bone density, fractures, dental disease, urinary stones, stomach size and gas build-up in the gastrointestinal tract.

Can you identify some of the animals we’ve been X-raying? Post your answers in the comments below.

UPDATE: Huge thanks to everyone who commented or messaged their answers to us. We can now reveal that the answers are:

A: bird
B: hamster
C: fish
D: tortoise
E: chameleon
F: rat

Thanks for playing along 😀

03/11/2025

Calling all clients - our practice is taking part in the Animal Medicines Amnesty campaign this month, and would like you to get involved.

Everyone has a role to use and dispose of veterinary medicines responsibly to protect pet and human wellbeing, and the health of the environment. That’s why we are receiving and disposing of unused animal medicines throughout November.

Getting involved is easy. Check to see if you have any out-of-date or unused pet medications. If so, simply return them to our practice for safe disposal.

Pet medicines should never be disposed of in household waste as this can contaminate the environment. They shouldn’t be kept for future use on pets either, as they can be harmful.

Read more about the how to use and dispose of veterinary medicines safely here: https://edin.ac/47hBrYn

31/10/2025

JOB OPPORTUNITY: We are offering an Internship in Rabbit and Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery with our team!

This 12-month, full-time post provides excellent hands-on experience for qualified veterinarians, or those who have completed a rotating internship and are looking to deepen their skills in rabbit and exotic animal medicine and surgery. Interns will gain extensive clinical, teaching, and research experience in a supportive, world-renowned environment.

The successful candidate will have a dedicated mentor, opportunities to take part in research, and access to weekly seminars, journal clubs, and practical training.

Salary: £34,610.

For more information on this full-time, fixed term contract, visit: https://edin.ac/3XaUkWN

Applications close at 23:59 on 21 November 2025

24/10/2025

Today marks the final day of Guinea Pig Awareness Week 2025 and we’re going to talk about ‘Comfort’.

Whether indoors or outdoors, making sure your guinea pig has the right environment is key to keeping them happy and healthy. Their home should have plenty of soft, dry bedding to keep their underside cosy, and have hides for them to seek shelter in and space to run and play.

We see a considerable amount of arthritis in middle-aged and older guinea pigs. Rough flooring can also lead to reddening of the foot pads. Consider soft, absorbent bedding, like Vetbeds. Fleece hides and tunnels can also provide a comfy resting area.

As well as being great to eat, hay is soft and springy and can make an excellent additional bedding layer. In the colder months, placing a heated SnuggleSafe under a Vetbed can provide relief for aching joints.

Guinea pigs love comfort just as much as we do and can even enjoy a hammock. The bigger the better for enclosure size and consider adding a shallow ramp to an upstairs level to increase the floor space you can offer your pet.

For more information on enrichment ideas, providing home comforts, and the care they need, you can visit: https://guineapigalliance.com/guinea-pig-welfare/environment/a-guide-to-guinea-pig-housing/

23/10/2025

It’s Guinea Pig Awareness Week and the spotlight today is on ‘Enrichment’.

While it is vitally important that we provide our pets with clean water, fresh food, and an appropriately sized and clean enclosure, enrichment is also a very important part of their care and comfort.

This allows them to express natural behaviour and to prevent boredom. From tunnels and puzzle feeders, to hide boxes and group dinners, enrichment comes in many forms and lots of little things can have a big impact on guinea pigs' happiness and welfare.

Check out this video of our teaching guinea pigs enjoying their guinea-pig safe leaves. Sound on for extra cuteness!

22/10/2025

This week we are sharing some information on how to care for your guinea pig. Today we are looking at their diet.

An appropriate diet is essential in reducing the risk of dental disease and promoting a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Ensuring the majority of your pig’s diet is a good quality, dust-free hay and/or fresh grass is vital.

Guinea pigs cannot make their own vitamin C, so are reliant on their diet to get this important vitamin. A small amount, less than an egg cup full twice daily, of complete guinea pig pellets will help achieve this, alongside provision of guinea pig appropriate vegetables, herbs and garden weeds.

Overfeeding of calcium-rich foods such as dandelion, kale and parsley should be avoided, as this can make guinea pigs prone to a build-up of calcium crystals and stones in their urinary tract. Instead, a mix of greens should be offered to prevent overeating of one type.

Just like in rabbits, muesli mix foods should be avoided. While they might look fun with their bright colours, a guinea pig will selectively eat the higher sugar parts which sadly very commonly leads to dental disease, as well as becoming overweight.

21/10/2025

It’s Guinea Pig Awareness Week, and this year’s theme is all about ‘Comfort, Care and Companionship’.

The spotlight today is on ‘Companionship’.

Guinea pigs are social animals and rely on other pigs to keep them company, groom, play, be active, keep watch for any dangers, and cuddle up to. These interactions help to keep your pet mentally and physically healthy.

Groups of females, with or without a neutered boar, or pairs of neutered male guinea pigs introduced at a young age, can often live together very harmoniously.

Having a bonded friend or two come along for moral support can also really help to reduce any stress associated with vet visits or hospital stays.

We always recommend that guinea pigs are kept with other guinea pigs. Rabbits and guinea pigs should not live together. Not only are their modes of communication very different, but rabbits can bully guinea pigs and also carry respiratory pathogens that can be harmful to guinea pigs.

Did you know that we have experts in guinea pig health at our practice? Learn more about what we do here: https://edin.ac/43SgIbC

25/09/2025

Meet Skye, a Congo African Grey parrot, and Kudo, an Yellow-Headed Amazon parrot, who came in to our practice recently for a general health check and nail trim.

Both birds were very well behaved for their consultation, including their pedicures, and were very popular with both our vet and nursing team.

We recommend that all our avian patients have an annual or bi-annual general health check to help identify any subtle health changes, and ensure they remain in tip-top shape.

Birds are very good at hiding signs of disease, therefore if you notice that your bird is unwell, it is important to act quickly and seek veterinary care.

Non-specific signs of illness include having a 'fluffed up feather' appearance, reduced appetite, watery or different coloured faeces, reduced vocalisation and being less active. A more specific clinical sign, which can be an indicator for respiratory disease, is 'tail bobbing', where there is movement of the tail back and forth when the bird is sat at rest on their perch.

If you have any concerns about your birds health, please contact your vet for further advice.

22/09/2025

How sweet are these little guinea pig pups?

This trio is just under four weeks old and came in to see our team for s*xing. Guinea pigs can become s*xually mature from as early as 4-6 weeks old, so it’s very important that individuals are correctly identified and separated into single-s*x groups to avoid unwanted litters.

Although it is relatively straightforward to determine the s*x of guinea pigs, it can be very difficult to determine the s*x of some animals based on their external appearance, and the s*x of some birds and reptiles can only be determined by checking the DNA in a blood or feather sample!

If you need help determining the s*x of your pet, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our experienced team.

Pictured left to right are DVREP nurse Dale and DVREP vets Michaela and Athin

20/08/2025

Free faecal parasite check for pet rabbits

We would like to invite our registered rabbit patients to participate in a research project. Our study aims to better understand how common intestinal parasites are in rabbits by examining faecal samples, and we are offering free faecal sample analysis for rabbits registered at our practice.

To participate, we would need you to complete a short questionnaire about your rabbit and collect 5-10 of your rabbit's faecal pellets per day over a five-day period. We will then analyse the sample free of charge and send you the results.

Study numbers are limited and will be recruited on a first come, first served basis.

If you would like your rabbit to be involved, please speak to one of our Practice vets during your next visit, or if you don't have a visit planned, please send an email with your name and your rabbit's name(s) to [email protected] with the subject title ‘Rabbit Intestinal Parasites Study’, and we will be in touch.

Address

Hospital For Small Animals. Easter Bush Campus
Edinburgh
EH259RG

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

0131 650 7650

Website

https://vet.ed.ac.uk/clinical/small-animal/rabbit-exotic-practice

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Our Story

The Rabbit, Exotic Animal and Wildlife Service provides gold standard veterinary care for the more unusual pets. Our Veterinary Surgeons and Nurses have undertaken further training and qualifications to specialize in Exotic Pet veterinary medicine. We provide both a First Opinion service for our local clients and a Referral Veterinary Service for veterinary surgeons needing assistance with challenging cases. Should a patient need to be hospitalized, we have four individually tailored wards – rabbit ward, wildlife ward, avian ward and reptile ward. We also have a grass paddock to allow grazing for our rabbit inpatients. Our patients are very varied and range from hamsters and guinea pigs, to leopard geckos and iguanas, to budgerigars and golden eagles. We recommend 6 monthly health checks for your pet, where your vet will perform a full clinical examination and discuss the importance of husbandry to help keep your pet fit and healthy This page is monitored Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. We regret we cannot reply to questions regarding patient advice and would ask you phone the hospital to speak to, or book an appointment with, one of our vets.