Author Profile
Dr Nicole Wynne BSc BVMS MANZCVS (Unusual Pets)
Dr. Nicole is one of Pet Circle's qualified veterinarians and exotic pet expert. Dr. Nicole graduated from Murdoch University in WA in 2014, and immediately started working in exotics-only practice. Her record for the number of different species seen in a day is 15! She was also one of the few vets in Australia that would routinely see venomous snakes ranging from death adders to tiger snakes. Although Dr. Nicole enjoys seeing all exotic pets, her absolute favourite are rabbits. She passed her Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists Membership (MANZCVS) exam in unusual and exotic pets in 2021, making her one of only a handful of vets in Australia that hold that qualification.
Her favourite part of being a vet is building relationships with the patients themselves, and seeing how their reactions to you change over time. One of her current patients will refuse to get in her carry cage if she doesn't get a five minute head, neck, and back massage, and another patient has not been shy about letting Dr. Nicole know that she considers the time she sedated her for a CT scan to be a gross breach of their interpersonal trust.
Dr. Nicole's Pets
Dr. Nicole's pets are almost all hindgut fermenters! Ella, her three-legged ten year old dwarf lop rabbit, snores the house down for 22 hours out of the day. She eats steadily for the remaining 2 hours of the day. Ella is friends with Stormy, another tri-pawd that helps Ella out with grooming and snuggling. Her other rabbit, Dusty, is a seven year old crossbred rabbit that was hand-raised by Dr. Nicole from 3 days of age. While a lifetime of being raised by a rabbit vet seems to have imbued him with an iron strength, it seems to have come at a cost to his mental prowess - he really is a very dim little bunny. Dr. Nicole also has Rocky, a retired harness racing Standardbred that she has been retraining under saddle for the past 4 years. He is a very sweet horse that just wants to please, and has done great learning to canter under saddle. Finally, Pickle Rick the kakariki parrot was an unclaimed stray at Dr. Nicole's vet hospital that managed to sneak a ride into her heart and home.
Dusty, confused as always!
Rocky says hello!
Ella 'helping' with IKEA furniture
At Pet Circle
History: Dr. Nicole joined Pet Circle in mid-2020. Forming part of our veterinary team, Nicole provides in-house veterinary counsel, especially for exotic pet questions, written pet care content for Pet Circle's Education Portal, writes individualized pet care plans via our "Vet Pet Plan" service, and helps customers with veterinary questions via our Live Chat "Speak to a Vet" option.
Dr. Nicole loves that Pet Circle helps pet owners sift through the confusing and often inaccurate piles of information available on the internet. She enjoys being able to help exotic pets around Australia by ensuring that their owners have access to accurate advice about care, diet, and husbandry in an easy-to-use online environment.
Nicole's Top Recommended Products
Burgess Excel Mature Rabbit Nuggets
"This is a tasty rabbit pellet that both my rabbits love and thrive on, and is a great option for switching bunnies from a âjunk foodâ pellet over to a healthier one. I love the additional ingredients that help to maintain health in older rabbits."
"This toy was designed for cats, but it is the perfect size for feeding pellets and chopped up treats to rabbits. Exotic pets benefit from food puzzle toys too!"
"Not only is this product effective and safe for flea and mite treatment and prevention in exotic pets, it is also on label for rabbits and guinea pigs, which means it is one of the few products that has actually been tested for efficacy and safety in exotic pets!"
Breeders Choice Recycled Paper Litter
"This litter is super absorbent, great at odour control, and is harmless if ingested! We live in a tiny apartment and we never notice litterbox smells, even though we have two bunnies that can rival a great dane in poop production."
Want to read our vet team's advice? Check out our Discover Page for tips on keeping your pets happy and healthy.