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Pythons Hatched
The Birmingham Nature Centre has successfully hatched a nest of Savu Island pythons, one of the smallest pythons in the world. This is only the second time ever they have been bred by zoological institutions in the UK.

With the babies not out on display, the public can see pictures of the nest at the Centre's new Facebook page. The babies weigh just 21-23g. Currently brown in colour, after their first slough (shed) they will turn bright orange/red before maturing to a mottled black, brown. Males are smaller than females but they only get to 6ft max in length.

Councillor Martin Mullaney, Cabinet Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, said: "The Nature Centre has a wide variety of species. Many are available for the public to see, but others are housed there for the purposes of conservation and breeding projects across world. Not only is it a great day out for families, but with Facebook, we can now give people an opportunity to see species not necessarily accessible."

The python's habitat is a tiny island in Indonesia. They were only discovered in 1993 and the find has prompted the need to explore Indonesia for more undiscovered species.

The babies will be fed and looked after until they are old enough to go to other zoos in the United Kingdom and Europe to carry on the breeding program and introduce new genetic bloodlines in to the collections.

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Submissions open for BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026

News Story 1
 The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.

It is an opportunity for applicants to present new research on any veterinary subject, such as the preliminary results of a study, discussion of a new technique or a description of an interesting case.

They must be based on high-quality clinical research conducted in industry, practice or academia, and summarised in 250 words.

Applications are welcome from vets, vet nurses, practice managers, and students.

Submissions are open until 6 March 2026. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Survey seeks ruminant sector views on antimicrobial stewardship

A new survey is seeking views of people working in the UK ruminant sector on how to tackle the challenge of demonstrating responsible antibiotic stewardship.

Forming part of a wider, collaborative initiative, the results will help identify the types of data available so that challenges with data collection can be better understood and addressed.

Anyone working in the UK farming sector, including vets and farmers,is encouraged to complete the survey, which is available at app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk