Planned maintenance work

Please note from 6pm on the 10th November to 10am on the 11th November 2026, the CPD Shop will be closed for planned maintenance work.
If you require access to your booked online course please visit https://onlinecpd.rvc.ac.uk/my/
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Exotic animal nursing online

Key Information

CPD Hours: 18 hours

Course Length: Six weeks

Course Format: An intensive tutor-moderated online learning experience. Resources include online presentations, electronic course notes, videos, supplementary reading material and discussion forums with colleagues and the tutors

Enrol Now

01 Feb - 14 Mar 27
£379.00

Alternatively you can download and email using our Registration Form

Really enjoyed the course. Great speakers with good breadth of knowledge. Engaging and interesting throughout with lots of good information to take away and use in practice

Course Information

Key Areas
  • Basic husbandry and handling of parrots and other birds
  • Basic husbandry and handling of reptile species
  • Nursing and inpatient care of avian species
  • Nursing and inpatient care of reptile species
  • Common conditions and triage critical care of avian species
  • Common conditions and triage critical care of reptile species
About this course

The demand for reptile and avian species veterinary care is on the increase – how confident are you nursing these unique animals?

The course will cover all aspects of nursing both reptile and avian species in practice. It will be split into three weeks dedicated to reptiles and three weeks dedicated to birds. It will take us back to basics as so often husbandry and handling of these animals plays a huge role in their care. Often inappropriate husbandry and diet in these species leads to veterinary presentations, so understanding this will be a huge step in improving your nursing of them and a great way to improve their welfare.

You will also learn about aspects of inpatient care and how to effectively house these animals in a ward. Triage of these species will be discussed as well as critical care which is often slightly different to our usual canine and feline patients.

Why do this course?
This course will help any veterinary nurse or staff member who is likely to see avian or reptile species in practice. It will give you the tools to be able to give advice on husbandry and care of these animals to owners and you will learn all the relevant care needed to deal with these animals in general veterinary practice.

CPD Hours
CPD hours are awarded based on the level of participation. Depending on the course, this may include viewing live or recorded lectures, contributing to the discussion forums, completing online case assessment exercises or self-assessment quizzes and reviewing supplementary reading material.

Please note most of our courses are time released to open with a new topic each week, please bear this in mind when allocating time to complete these courses.

For more information on our eCPD and Webinar Plus CPD please visit: https://www.rvc.ac.uk/study/cpd/about/delivery-modes

Tutors

Kelly Deane, FdSc CertVNES PGCertVetEd FHEA RVN 
Anaesthesia Nurse
The Queen's Veterinary School Hospital

Abigail Edis, FdSc PGCertVetEd CertVNES FHEA RVN
Exotics Service Lead Veterinary Nurse and Clinical Educator
The Royal Veterinary College