‘It should be okay to not be a vet 24/7’

![][1] Anna Cunningham is a veterinary surgeon at Old Stone Vets in Alston, Cumbria. I was at the pub last Friday evening just trying to enjoy my G+T after a long day at work, when the barman (having just found out I was a vet) said ‘I’m just asking for a friend...how long will my mate’s lesser-spotted, giant-footed, super scaly lizard live for and what should he feed it? Actually, come to think of it, it’s been looking a bit under the weather recently...any home remedies you could suggest?’ I wasn’t on call that evening and, even if I was, this was no emergency. I was trying to have a relaxing evening and switch off from thinking about work. However, I found myself replying ‘Oh interesting question, I must admit that I haven’t actually dealt with many lizards, but I will have a chat with my colleagues and we’ll see if we can come up with an … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif