“Not Just A Ferret” With Anna Mercer @ferretnurservn

Join us this week as we sit down with Anna Mercer AKA Anna The Ferret Nurse!

In this episode, we talk about everything from ferrets to fine art – including bats, mustelids, skunks, abstract expressionism, bass guitar, qualifying during COVID, and hummus…

Anna shares her experience as a recently qualified vet nurse, and what it was like to qualify during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Anna originally trained as a fine artist so we chat a little about our thoughts on abstract expressionism. After her degree, Anna worked with bats at the Bat Conservation Trust and therapy animals (including a therapy skunk!) in a hospital, which inspired her to retrain as a vet nurse.

Anna started as a VCA in 2016 and qualified as an RVN in January 2021 after a 10-month delay due to coronavirus. Before this, she had many jobs. She used to work for a company that specialised in animal-assisted therapy, taking exotic animals into brain injury units & mental health wards. She has also worked for an ecologist consultancy performing bat surveys. Anna is currently studying towards a certificate in advanced nursing of small mammals.

As you may have guessed by her name, one of her main passions is everything and anything that involves ferrets! She is keen to promote ferret health and spends her spare time researching health issues and ferret husbandry. You learn more about her work with ferrets on her blog: annatheferretnurse.wordpress.com/

She has a passion for wildlife rehabilitation and has volunteered for many years at The Bat Conservation Trust rescuing bats. In 2019, Anna also volunteered for the charity Barking Mad Dog Rescue, working to improve the lives of abandoned dogs in Romania.

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