Episode 8 Junior Vets

On Junior Vets today...

Puppy Willow needs help with a worrying infection.

Has competition horse Jack got painful ulcers in his tummy?

And it gets close up and far too personal for me

when the penguins need vet care.

Oh! Ooh! Just got nipped!

I'm Alex Riley and this is Junior Vets.

Pets, wildlife,

farm animals...

all in need of expert help.

And at Edinburgh's amazing Vet School,

six raw recruits have arrived.

They're working alongside the school's top notch team.

Awww! As if I just did that!

And they are being pushed to their very limit...

Whoa!

..as they help to save the lives of sick and injured animals.

Six new Junior Vets,

but I can only chose one...

winner.

This year's Head Vet is...

Good morning, Junior Vets.

We're getting to the end of Vet School.

There's only a few more chances to impress me

and to impress the vets here.

So, make sure that every job you do, you do it really well,

and maximise that opportunity.

All right, today's pairs are as follows...

Bonte and Robyn,

Nyatepe and Molly,

and Josh, you're with Jamie.

So, off you go. Go and help some animals.

The end is almost in sight, which means I'm going to have to think

very seriously about who deserves the all out Head Vet title.

Jamie's been vetting about all over the place

with a big smile on his face... most of the time.

Oh!

Hey, there's nothing wrong with enjoying your work.

Good girl!

Especially when you're working this hard.

-Quite happy?

-Yeah.

Nyatepe's another get stuck in type.

Wow, that is so beautiful!

Vet work is all about connecting with the animals

you're working with, so you can relax them.

I'd like to see Nyatepe really having a go at bonding

with his patient today.

Jack the competition horse is the pride and joy

of vet nurse tutor Caroline.

Hey, good boy!

But the big lad hasn't been himself recently

and looks like he needs a bit of top class vet help.

Coming your way, Jack.

Here are Junior Vets Molly and Nyatepe.

What's the problem with him?

He's been recently treated for gastric ulcers,

so he came in about four weeks ago

and we found that he had some ulcers in his stomach,

so he's been treated.

Hopefully, Jack's stomach ulcers are getting better,

but if they're not, he could be feeling really poorly

and uncomfortable.

Right over his ears.

Today, the team need to check if Jack's condition has got better

since his last check.

It's really bad when you have a mouth ulcer, but to have

one in your stomach, I can't really imagine what it would be like.

He's really cute.

He's really calm as well.

The Junior Vets need to move Jack for his check up.

He's nervy around strangers, so nice and easy, you two.

I'm scared that he might step on my foot.

Jack's ready for his stomach ulcer check.

Top horse vet John is working with Molly and Nyatepe on this one.

So, we're going to re-examine him

and find out if his stomach's got better.

They're going to have to use this long, bendy

endoscope camera to take a peak inside Jack's stomach.

He seems really scared, like, his eyes just seem really scared.

He's looking a bit nervy, so good calming skills, Nyatepe.

I think Jack really liked you cos as soon as we turned the corner,

you were, like, stroking him and giving him all your attention.

I think he really liked it.

I bonded with Jack really quickly,

which was unusual cos he was quite scared of everyone.

That's confident work.

That's good.

Jack's safely into position.

And we'll soon find out if Molly and Nyatepe have the stomach

for endoscoping.

Oh, that's amazing.

At Edinburgh Zoo, giant creatures need Jamie and Josh's help.

What do you mean these aren't giants?!

These are the world's largest land snails.

Ohh! They're massive.

See!

These are giant African land snails.

Vet Romain needs some help with these monster-sized patients,

and Jamie may have spotted why.

-They've got cracked shells.

-Yes.

Yeah. Shell damage.

It can be a life-threatening problem for snails.

This armour protects their soft insides from predators.

We'll have a look at them. You've got gloves on,

so I'll give you one each to hold.

I mean, you've got your garden snails

and then you walk into a zoo and you've got these massive ones.

-Whoops!

-I'm stroking a snail.

Yeah. It's a bit strange, isn't it?

You OK? Not too worried?

Some people are worried about snails

but they can't do anything to you.

It doesn't feel slimy than I thought it was.

It's just sort of like...sticky.

I was quite surprised, actually.

They weren't as slimy as I thought they would be.

-They just sort of wouldn't... let go.

-Yeah.

-Hello!

-Snail, meet snail.

I was a bit scared cos with my hand,

-I thought they would just take one hand, not two.

-Yeah.

I want one.

Introductions over. Let's get some vet work done.

There's a big dent there like someone...

If that was a car, someone's bashed into the car.

It's difficult to know how much of a problem it is.

Sometimes, they're a bit silly and they start chewing away

at each other's shells,

and they don't have teeth but they have, like, a kind of a tongue

with little hooks on.

You walk in and you see they've got cracked shells. I thought,

"Well, they've just banged against a rock or something."

No, they've been eating each other. Wow!

What I'll do, I'll get a swab here with a bit of water

and you can just clean his shell a little bit for me,

especially where you see that nick is.

The team give the snails a quick dip

and carefully clean around the broken bits...

Oh, that feels weird!

..so they can see how serious the shell damage is.

Now make sure you don't get water in the snail's lungs, chaps,

because a snail doesn't breathe through its mouth,

it breathes from an opening under its shell.

-So, if you look carefully, there's a little hole, OK?

-Oh, yeah.

That's like a big nostril, OK? That's where a snail breathes.

If you look inside, that's actually the inside of his lungs

and the lung goes up the shell.

We had to make sure that no water went down

cos it could've infected it

and it could have, like...

Well, if it got a really bad infection, it could've killed it.

Do the cracks mean, like, that, erm, they could have an infection?

An infection or some bacteria could get in there,

so we're just going to scan them to make absolutely sure.

The shell damage seems minor, but an ultrasound scan will show

if there's any further damage hidden out of sight under the shell.

Yeah, what is that?

That is the gut. That's pieces of food inside there.

Can you believe we're actually doing an ultrasound on snails?

Any serious health problems?

I'm not seeing anything that looks like a big infection or hard lump

or anything, so that all looks quite good.

All good. Now the team use the ultrasound to check to see

if their snails are pregnant.

I don't see any eggs in these guys.

Eggs? I'm confused, and I think Josh is too.

Erm, are both of these boys or...?

Ah! Now that's a good question because they're both boys

and they're both girls, so all snails are both.

They'll mate with each other, and then they'll both get pregnant

so, it's very strange, isn't it?

That's an awkward relationship!

That's why they're so interesting. They're so different to us.

They'll all lay eggs and they're all boys

And they're all girls!

And the good news is, these guys, I mean girls,

let's just say snails, are all fit and healthy,

and can be returned to the peace and quiet of their enclosure.

Bye-bye, my little chum.

And Josh and Jamie get outdoors

when grumpy penguins need handling with extreme care later.

Come on, girl. Oh, you're trying to swim away!

This is seven-month-old puppy, Willow.

She might look all playful and happy

but she's having an uncomfortable time whenever she wants a pee.

So it needs sorting.

To Vet School, Willow...

..because Bonte, Robyn and vet Tracy are waiting to help you out.

-Is she a Labrador?

-No, she's a golden retriever.

-Right.

-Her name's Willow.

-Hello, Willow. Is it all right to...?

-Yeah, you can say hi.

Yeah, when Willow came in and I saw her,

she straightaway reminded me of my dog.

I started to get, not upset, like, but it was just reminding me of her.

Oh, you are so cute. Yes, you are.

Willow came to see us

because she has been having bacteria that go up into her bladder

where the urine sits and causes her to have a lot of discomfort.

So, she feels like she has to pee a lot.

Do you know what we usually treat bacteria with?

-Is it antibiotics?

-Yes. Good.

Willow's already had lots of antibiotics to fight an infection,

but they haven't worked.

The vet team need to find out exactly what's causing this problem.

OK, munchkin!

So they're going to take a peak inside of Willow

using one of the Vet School's scanners.

-Just a little bit more.

-Ooh!

Is that to make it more clear so you can see more, yeah?

Yeah, exactly, so it helps get in really good contact through the skin

so we can see inside really well.

OK. So we start.

Ooh, look at that. Willow's insides.

-Is that her bladder?

-Not her bladder.

-Her intestine?

-Not intestine. It's part of its...

-Kidney?

Good. It's a kidney.

So what does the kidney actually do, like, when water's travelling down?

So the kidney takes all of the liquid from her body and clears out

all of the waste material and keeps the water behind.

But straightaway Tracy's expert eye tells the team that Willow's kidneys

are not the source of the problem.

Next, the team move on to her bladder, where her wee is stored.

Is that her bladder?

That is her bladder. Good!

Tracy told us that on the ultrasound to look out for darker bits.

Darker areas would mean Willow has a healthy bladder,

but that's not what they're seeing.

Is there anything there that's abnormal?

The only thing that's a little bit unusual is all of that speckling

in the bladder. It's not normally there.

So that would make me think that maybe she does have something

in her urine, like she actually has an infection right now.

That's not good, but just how serious is it?

All will be revealed

when we catch up with these two Junior Vets in a bit.

Is that normal?

Erm, er, it's not.

At the equine hospital, Nyatepe and Molly are helping competition horse

Jack, who's been suffering with stomach ulcers.

The team are trying to work out if the problem is improving

or if he needs more medical treatment.

Hello, Junior Vets.

-Hello, Alex.

-What you up to then?

So, we're going to be getting this camera

and we're going to stick it inside his stomach cos he's had a few

stomach ulcers, and he's had treatment for them.

So, we're just going to check that it's been cleared.

Before Jack can be sedated, the Junior Vets need to help vet John

give him a thorough examination.

It's really important that we know his heart's working properly

because if it's not working properly and we've sedated him,

it can make him too sleepy and then he might fall over.

So, first thing we're going to do is have a listen to his heart

and you're going to tell me what his heart rate is.

There you go.

-32.

-And you've got 44.

So 32 to 44 is a normal heart rate for a horse, so that's really good.

Good news, but a warning for you lot.

Things are about to get all horrible looking. No, not me!

Jack is about to have his internal endoscope examination

and it could be a bit "urgh"!

Let's have a look in your nose and see if you've got any bogeys!

Up goes the camera. It really doesn't hurt Jack.

His food tube is just behind there

so we're going to go into his food tube.

Oh, that's amazing!

It's probably a bit scary and tickly...

-JACK SNEEZES

-Bless you, Jack.

But Nyatepe is doing a top job keeping him all relaxed.

It's OK. Good boy.

You're doing really good

I think you did really calm his cos when we stuck the endoscope up,

you were, like, giving him all your attention and I think he liked that.

Wow! At last we've got the bendy camera up Jack's nostril

and right into his stomach.

Is that the acid?

Yeah, that's the acid fluid, exactly, in his stomach.

I think it was disgusting to look at because

when we were, like, controlling the camera, there was all this liquid

and it wasn't very nice.

-Oh, can you see all that yellow stuff coming out of there?

-Yeah.

That's bile coming out of the small intestine.

There was, like, loads of different tubes and it was really weird.

I can imagine what it'll feel like because, like,

when you get a blocked nose, it feels swollen and stuff,

-it's not really a nice feeling.

-No.

Before the treatment, what did the ulcers look like?

Instead of being pink there, it would be red.

It's a little bit red in there, isn't it?

-but they're not very...

-Oh, yeah.

This is not too bad.

Jack's stomach is still inflamed but some medicine should sort that out.

The marks where the ulcers were, were quite clear but they were

obviously getting better cos, like, they weren't red, they were pink.

I was really pleased when we saw that the ulcers were getting better

cos that meant that Jack could now eat.

Best let Jack's owner, vet nurse tutor Caroline, know the good news.

No need to worry, Caroline.

We've had a look and the ulcers are still there

and they'll probably still be a bit sore, but they should be OK,

and if you carry on with his medication

then everything should be fine.

You should also let him graze a lot

-so that saliva will dilute the acids in his tummy.

-Great.

He's nearly got as many freckles as me!

All Jack's internal checks are complete.

It's been a bit of a stressful day.

I reckon he deserves a good scratch on his favourite spot

to chill him out.

Both hands, get in.

Oh, he's moving back, he wants you to go a bit further forward.

I found his tickly spot, but I don't think I found it, like,

he showed me where it was cos he kept moving forward and backwards

to try and tell me where it is.

Ah! Left a bit... Right a bit... There you go!

Ah, I love that!

Right, dinner time. The big lad hasn't been able to eat

since yesterday. I bet he's so hungry he could eat a horse!

JACK NEIGHS

I'm joking, Jack!

Hey, Jack!

I thought they were fantastic, actually.

I thought they really engaged with the process

and engaged with Jack, as well, and with Caroline.

Nyatepe in particular

actually seemed to really interact well with Jack.

He did a great job actually of making Jack feel comfortable

about the whole procedure.

He's got very bad table manners!

With Caroline being a vet nurse herself,

and then we were having to tell her how her horse was,

it was quite scary!

I think I've done quite well with handling the horse,

cos, like, I think I've gained quite a lot of trust from him.

And, yeah, he's just really nice. He's a really nice horse.

I've found out that I kind of like horses.

Jamie and Josh have been called to work behind the scenes at the zoo.

They've even let me join them, and penguins need vet help next.

Look at 'em! Look at 'em!

We're not sightseeing today though.

There's important work to do here.

I love the penguins.

But, like, you go to all the zoos you see all the penguins,

you never picture yourself being actually in the enclosure with them.

I wouldn't even have thought you would be allowed in there

cos you don't know what they're going to be like.

How does it feel to be this close to actual penguins?

It's amazing!

You really only ever see them, like, from behind bars or on the TV.

Vet Romain is worried some of the penguins may have picked up

injuries and illnesses.

Romain needed to give, like, most of the penguins a close-up inspection

just to make sure they were all OK.

Let's move you. These guys are a bit of a nibblers.

Oh! Ooh! Just got nipped. He just got me.

When he pecked Alex, it was really funny!

Cheeky! Let's focus on the gentoo penguin with a bent beak, please.

Just take her head gently. She gets a little bit stressed, this girl.

The tip of the beak has started to grow askew.

Romain thinks the wonky beak might be making it difficult

for the penguin to eat and wants a closer look.

-Come on, girl. Oof, you're trying to swim away.

-It's OK.

Why do they have, like, spikes in their mouth?

So if you think if there's a slippery wet fish in your mouth,

it's quite easy for it to escape or to slip out,

so if they grab a fish, it won't slip out.

You wouldn't see this every day, would you?

There's no point in me going and trimming this now.

What we'll do is, in about two or three months we'll see,

and if I need to I can just clip or wear down a little bit

of that beak just to make it a bit better.

All good. Romain is happy that the wonky beak is not a serious problem.

So, after a little strop, the gentoo is good to go.

As vets, would you be able to give that bird a clean bill of health?

Yeah. Ha, see what you did there!

This guy's nickname is Mr Hippy.

Mr Hippy's had an infection that could've affected his appetite.

My Junior Vets need to see if he's looking and feeling underweight.

-Pop your hand there and just feel there.

-Oh, yeah.

Did you feel it? It's like a ridge and there's muscle on either side,

so it gives us an idea of how thin or fat a bird is,

how they've been eating, how they've been moving.

I'm touching a penguin.

Didn't think that I would, like, touch a penguin,

but, like, it was just amazing.

Basically, Romain said we needed to take a blood sample

to see if he's got an infection.

And that's where the vein actually runs.

Now the problem is that...

PENGUIN SQUAWKS

Penguins...

Do you mind?!

We've got serious vet work to be done here, sunshine.

You're so cheeky. You usually come and cause trouble.

I'll keep an eye on the rock hopper penguin,

you lot focus on getting Mr Hippy's blood sample.

You hold it on. You need to squeeze it on tightly.

So, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

Done, and Mr Hippy heads back cool as you like.

Oh! There he goes.

Good luck with the blood test results, Mr Hippy.

Did you see how he walked away then?

He was like, "Oh, come on, I wasn't frightened!"

Alex's impressions aren't the best.

I could have done better!

"I could've taken 'em. I'm a tough guy!"

What it is, they didn't want to laugh cos they don't want to appear

unprofessional in front of the actual vets, so, er,

they're trying to win that Vet Of The Day award.

Weren't you?

Onwards! I have to admit that Josh and Jamie have taken to

being zoo vets like penguins to water.

Oh, it was amazing! Even though it has been raining.

So, Romain, how do you think our Junior Vets did today?

I think they did really well. Jamie had a good grasp

of the kind of things that go through my mind.

OK, so he's sort of thinking along the lines of a vet already.

I think possibly what he's been exposed to is already

starting to rub off on him.

Back at the small animal hospital, Robyn and Bonte have discovered

a problem with Willow's bladder.

An ultrasound scan suggests the puppy has an infection,

but they have no idea how serious the illness is.

So the team have to insert a camera directly into her bladder.

So, essentially, the area that we need to clip is kind of a rectangle

up there and then kind of the base of her tail.

You can leave the prep work to our Junior Vets, Tracy.

OK. That looks great.

So if you start at the middle there,

and then just work your way to the outside.

Great!

We had to make sure that she was completely sterile

so we could, like, avoid further infections and stuff.

So this is the scope that we're going to use to go into her bladder,

and this is the sheath that is outside of the scope that helps

to protect the scope.

So if you touched a bit of her skin with the scope without

-sterilising it, it could give her bacteria.

-Yeah. Exactly.

This tiny hi tech camera probe is super sensitive,

just like patient Willow.

Is there any risks with using that?

I mean, it's quite hard.

It's a metal rod, so you could poke through the side of her bladder

if you weren't watching where you were going.

Oof! Serious focus required here, then.

Were you worried about what they were going to find?

Yeah, cos she hadn't, like, really given us a clear idea

of what it was going to be.

I was really worried that it was going to be something serious.

Do you guys see those little white dots all over the place?

That's not normal.

It should be all nice and pink and healthy.

That's not a great sign. The team need to explore further.

-You can actually... Do you guys see?

-Wow!

Wow! That's the probe flashing under Willow's skin!

It's showing that the camera is in the right place.

There's lots of things sticking out.

OK, so now I'm in her bladder.

And the images confirm Tracy's fears.

Do you remember how with the ultrasound

-we saw all that speckling?

-Is that what that is?

That's what all the grainy stuff is.

And the bits that look rough, is that normal?

Erm, it's not. It's not terrible but it isn't quite 100% normal.

She has evidence of kind of chronic infections.

Poor Willow.

This infection must have been making her feel really unwell,

but it's not all bad news.

OK. All done.

Vet Tracy is confident that Willow does have a brighter future.

So I think she's just a dog that has chronic urinary tract infections,

and we just need to make sure that she's on the appropriate

antibiotic for long enough to really get rid of the bacteria.

So, will she always have it?

Hopefully we'll be able to control it, that she will be able

to get rid of the infection so it doesn't ever come back.

Good job, guys.

It was really good to know that Willow's going to be OK

because she was still going to have the infection for a bit,

but it was going to get better.

So how do you think Bonte and Robyn did today?

I think they both did great. I was really impressed.

They both did a great job of clipping the patient

and really kind of working through the case with me today.

Especially Robyn, from the first moment we started working,

she was full of questions, firing questions at me

faster than I could actually keep up with her, so I was very impressed.

Ah! Look at this lot.

All back together, nice clean scrubs and germ free.

I bet they're dying to know who I'm going to name as Vet Of The Day.

Another brilliant day of vet work,

if I may say so. Have you got what it takes to keep on going,

to keep on pushing on until Vet School graduation?

I'm sure you have. You're brilliant.

But who will be Vet Of The Day? Well...

Will it be Jamie and Josh?

They were great with the giant snails

and got well stuck in with those feisty penguins at the zoo.

Or maybe Molly and Nyatepe, who looked after Jack the horse

really well when that camera got right up Jack's nose.

Nyatepe was by his side to calm him down.

But then again when Willow the puppy needed a tricky internal

investigation, Bonte and Robyn took it all in their stride.

They were all great, but today for me it was an individual

who really impressed.

My Vet Of The Day is a Junior Vet who's well-known for being fantastic

when it comes to the physical aspects of the job.

But on this occasion this Junior Vet showed that he had a gentle side,

a caring and compassionate side that was wonderful to see.

And so for that reason,

my Vet Of The Day is Nyatepe!

Congratulations! Well done!

Well done, Nyatepe. Very good!

Top notch vet work from Nyatepe all day long.

I feel really happy that I've won.

Cos I liked that animal so much, that's what made me win.

Well done!

Right. Shall I go in and do the poop?

And just a bit of poo cleaning for our gracious losers.

This is quite a good chore, actually.

-Yeah. You get up close to animals.

-Yeah!

Fancy getting vetting yourself?

Well, get over to the CBBC website right now

and you'll find a special patient needing your expert help.

Next time, my Junior Vets take charge at the pet show.

They're in the water working with sharks...

and they're helping little dog Nisha

when she needs major knee surgery.