Great news! Meeting between officers from Department of Wildlife and National Parks and Taipei Zoo, Taiwan R.O.C on 2nd August 2010 had been a great kick start to the Reptile Medicine Training Course. It was agreed that the training course will be held at Melaka Zoo, 30 November till 2nd December 2010. Date is pending agreement from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia on loan of x-ray machine and technician.
The training course will focus on 3 main groups of reptiles: tortoises/terrapins, snakes and crocodiles. These groups of reptiles are the most abundantly found, kept in zoos in South-east Asia, and encountered by wildlife veterinarian. As usual, veterinary medicine training courses is never without loads of field work. We are planning to take in 24 participants in total, from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Phillipines, Thailand, Laos, and Singapore.
Loads of preparations and arrangements to be done, loan of equipments, booking of hotel, rest houses, arrangement of food with the restaurant, invitations to send out, follow-ups, receiving the applications, communications with the applicants, arrangement of transport for the speakers and participants, moving the equipments to Melaka Zoo, etc.
We are planning for a full workout this time around, radiography, ultrasonography, haematology and biochemistry analysis, anaesthesia, physicalk capture (be careful here), and lots of discussions and exchange of knowledge and informations. This would be a great course!
