The British Chelonia Group Spring Symposium in Cambridge, 9th-10th March 2024.
Report by Margaret and John Cooper.
The British Chelonia Group Spring Symposium, held in Cambridge on 9th-10th March 2024, was a landmark event that united experts and enthusiasts in a comprehensive discussion on the impacts of temperature changes on tortoises, terrapins, and turtles. This report encapsulates a weekend of enlightening lectures, hands-on workshops, and a heartfelt tribute to conservation efforts, symbolising our enduring commitment to chelonian health and habitat preservation.
FFON.
We had a busy weekend in Cambridge, first collecting specimens (including an orangutan skull) from Cambridge Veterinary School where they had been radiographed. We stayed overnight at Homerton College and attended the BCG (British Chelonia Group) Spring Symposium. It was an excellent programme of events and some good speakers. We started the proceedings on the Sunday morning with a joint lecture about our work in Kenya with tortoises and terrapins. It was a chance to put on record our “epitaph to Shamba Musa”, our much-loved piece of African bush near Kwale, which we reluctantly sold in 2022 (see photo below).
In the afternoon we organised an interactive CPD (continuing professional development) practical session. Students and others, (in)appropriately clad in different hats and protective aprons, were taken through the principles of health monitoring of reptiles, especially chelonians (see photo below)...
In the preamble, renowned animal author David Alderton (see photo below) emphasised the importance of understanding reptile biology and husbandry, Margaret Cooper discussed financial and legal responsibilities of animal keepers and John Cooper introduced the concept of diagnosis on a budget, including the role of simple in-house techniques and tests that might be used by an enterprising or knowledgeable owner.
Mounted and model reptiles were used to demonstrate how samples such as faeces could be checked and/or cytological and other specimens prepared, before needing to seek veterinary attention. Some of these ‘laboratory’ techniques were demonstrated by veterinary surgeons Sarah Pellett and Justine Shotton (see photo below).
Much fun was had and CPD participants – who each received a certificate – said that they had learnt a lot.
You would have enjoyed it.
Photos by Margaret E Cooper
