The problem facing anyone about to assemble a basic first-aid, is that it is impossible to predict exactly what medicines or other equipment will be needed. After all, you can't foresee what illnesses or accidents are going to befall.

In an average first-aid kit for humans will probably be found a few token sticking plasters and bandages, antihistamine lotion, some Dettol, and a packet of aspirins. But what do you include in a first-aid kit for your animal collection?

Those keepers specialising in a particular branch of the animal kingdom, be it reptiles or psittacines, will find it a difficult choice to make, but for those people keeping an eclectic range of animals encompassing several different Classes from mammals to fish, the decision of what to stock in the first-aid kit is even harder. In this article I will examine the items I have found most useful. I'm sure the reader will be able to think of many others.

Invariably you find that animals, very inconsiderately, have an uncanny knack of falling ill or injuring themselves on a Sunday or else late at night, when it is difficult to enlist the services of a veterinary surgeon. This is when a first-aid kit proves its worth.

It must be emphasised, however, that a first-aid kit, no matter how capacious and well-stocked, is not a substitute for veterinary assistance, but, in many cases, should be regarded as a stopgap measure to allow treatment to commence immediately in order to "buy" the animal time until it can be examined by the vet.

A good animal-keeper researches the common ailments of the species he plans to obtain - and keeps a stock of the appropriate treatments.

An aquarist would keep specialist drugs for dealing with such perennial complaints of tropical and cold water fish as White Spot (caused by the protozoan, Ichthyophthirius), mycosis or fungal disease (Saprolegnia), flatworms (Gyrodactylus and Dactylogyrus), and gill flukes.

An aviculturist would always have a supply of Scaly Face/Scaly Leg treatment to hand. Caused by the microscopic mite, Knemidocoptes pilae, the best known manifestation of this affliction is the hard, crusty growths commonly seen on the legs and face (particularly around the eyes and beak) of budgerigars, some other psittacines and the canary. A suitable brand-name remedy is sold in pet shops or, even simpler, olive oil seems to be quite effective.

Most mammal species are highly territorial and fights, often unprovoked and without apparent reason, are commonplace. The result of a bite or a scratch can be an abscess, a painful accumulation of pus which, if left untreated, can leak toxins into the bloodstream, causing death by septicaemia.

A few sterile hypodermic needles are essential equipment in the armoury of a mammalogist (yes, I'm aware that other animals can occasionally suffer from abscesses, too, but not quite as often as do mammals) with which to puncture the abscess and permit the contents (pus, blood or fluid) to seep out. Surgical spirit is required to disinfect the area beforehand, and a pair of dressing scissors are useful to enlarge the hole by gently inserting the tip of the scissors and opening them slightly. An abscess must be kept open as it heals to allow the contents to continue to drain. For this reason, scar tissue (normally a good thing) must not be allowed to form and seal the opening. I use a humble cocktail stick to gently pick open the aperture each day.

I have found that Vic Vapour Rub is efficacious when attempting to introduce a pair of small rodents to each other, and I make sure that I've always got a jar in stock.

Rodents such as Striped Grass Mice, spiny mice, gerbils and jirds are notoriously difficult to pair up even in a "neutral" cage, but a little vapour rub applied to the noses and hind quarters of both parties, thereby masking their own distinctive odours, facilitates the process - though, be warned, it is not one hundred per cent successful in every case.

A pair of nail-clippers or a very sharp pair of scissors is needed for trimming claws and beaks. There is a bewildering variety of nail-clippers on the market, though most work on the "guillotine" method, and it may take some time to decide which is the best pair for your own circumstances.

Kept alongside the nail clippers should be a styptic "pen" or styptic powder. No matter how carefully you trim an animal's nails, or how competent you think you are, it is inevitable that there will come the time when you inadvertently cut across the "quick", that pink medial line, an agglomeration of blood vessels and nerve endings highly sensitive to pain, that runs down the lower half of the nail.

A styptic of some description should be within reach when trimming nails as it will stop the bleeding should things go wrong. The one I use is the same type that is sold to men who cut themselves whilst shaving and is purchased very cheaply from the chemist's.

I am never without some general antibiotic treatment such as Terramycin or Aureomycin and the anti-parasitic treatment, ivermectin (available under a number of different brand names such as "Ivomec").

I treat all small rodent arrivals and departures prophylactically with ivermectin, such is the prevalence of the mange mite with these animals. This mite, which causes intense irritation and hair loss, can lay dormant and "flare up" when the animal is subjected to stress, such as is inevitable when the animal is transferred to a new environment. One drop on the nape of the neck or given orally is usually quite sufficient to prevent symptoms. In cases where an infection is obviously present, weekly treatment of ivermectin for up to four weeks may be necessary.

I usually keep the useful antibiotic, Terramycin, in three different forms.

In a soluble powder, it can be added to the drinking water of animals, particularly birds, suffering from bacterial infections.

In the case of small rodents, I prefer to inject it subcutaneously. The reason for this is because these animals rely on what is euphemistically known as "gut flora" - beneficial bacteria in the intestines that assist in the digestion of food. There is a danger that any antibiotic that travels down the usual oral route will destroy the beneficial, as well as the pathogenic, bacteria. So it is to "by-pass" the stomach and gut that I inject just underneath the scruff of the neck, but it is a matter of personal preference.

And finally, I keep a can of Terramycin in aerosol form for topical application of skin wounds.

The problem with ivermectin and the antibiotics that I've mentioned above is that they are all classified as POM (Prescription Only Medicine), as our most worming preparations (another vital addition to the first-aid kit), and therefore they can be obtained only from a veterinary surgeon, who may be reluctant for you to hold supplies of such potent medicines just on the "off-chance" of one of your animals falling ill. The vet prefers to prescribe medicines for a specific animal and a specific ailment. How does he know you will not abuse the treatment, or misdiagnose the illness?

Here it pays to develop a good working relationship with your vet, so that he knows you can be trusted to make the right judgement and administer the drug correctly.

He will still have to satisfy himself that the medicines are for use only on your own animals, and not on anybody else's, which would infringe the Veterinary Surgeons' Act, which makes it an offence for anybody other than qualified veterinary surgeons to diagnose and treat animals belonging to the general public.

When I approached my own vet for the various ingredients of a first-aid kit that I was putting together for a pet superstore where I was then the Manager, I had to give an assurance that I would be treating only the animals that fell ill in the pet shop and not treating customers' animals.

I am proud of the relationship I have developed with my own local vet over a period of some twenty years, with the result that he doesn't doubt my capability of doing most simple procedures myself, although that relationship was slightly soured earlier this year when a new apprentice vet at the surgery refused to issue me with some antibiotic because the young man, not having been told, had no way of knowing whether I was competent and trustworthy. A carefully worded letter of complaint to his bosses soon produced an apology.

Another POM is Chloramphenicol eye ointment. Ocular problems are common, especially with small mammals kept on fine, softwood, sawdust which can irritate the mucus membranes of the eye. The tube should be sealed and, once the seal is broken, discarded as soon as treatment is finished.

Herpetologists should keep a fine diameter piece of plastic tubing, which will be indispensable should a tortoises or terrapin require stomach (tube) feeding. Vaseline (petroleum jelly) is used to lubricate the tube.

Let's talk about ticks. The commonest is the sheep tick, which attaches itself to other animals in addition to sheep.

In the case of birds, ticks seem to work their way to the crown of the head, presumably because this is one area where the bird cannot remove them for itself. These unpleasant, vampirish arachnids can transmit disease and often you don't even notice the tick until you recover the bird's dead body (they are much more noticeable on mammals).

I have lost three birds to ticks, including a wild sparrow brought in to me because it was obviously unwell and a beautiful Golden-mantled Rosella.

You can buy a special, inexpensive, "tick-removal" tool, but I prefer the "old-fashioned" method. To pull off a tick can leave its mouthparts still imbedded in the animal's flesh and this can cause a nasty sore. I liberally smother the tick with Vaseline or liquid paraffin which causes it to loosen its hold. Then I grip the tick firmly with a pair of tweezers or forceps and remove it with a sharp twist. Having briefly mentioned liquid paraffin, it is worth adding that this is also useful for animals with constipation.

Other useful equipment to keep in the first-aid kit include -

a selection of plastic syringes in 2 ml, 5 ml, and 10 ml sizes;
thermometer for larger mammals;
latex rubber gloves;
bamboo or splints of wood for broken legs;
an arthropodal powder/spray for killing fleas &mites;
the antiseptics Savlon and Hibiscrub;
2.5 cm zinc oxide plaster;
and a non-adhesive sterile dressing such as Melolin.
Bird and mammal keepers need to have a basic hand-rearing kit on hand.

Cotton wool or cotton buds are not recommended to clean wounds, abscesses, etc., because they disintegrate, leaving strands of cotton in the wound, although I have to confess that I don't always practise what I preach and I have been known to use cotton buds which I find are indispensable for cleaning in tight crevices.

The items should be stored in a rodent-proof, insect-proof, wooden or metal cabinet or box, clearly marked, and kept in a cool, dry location. If there are children in the household (or there will probably be times when you will be visited by grandchildren, nieces or nephews), it is very important to keep the cabinet or box locked at all times. The telephone number of your vet should be posted on the door or lid to save time looking for it in an emergency. Medicines should be kept in their original bottles, clearly labelled with the name of the drug, dosage rate and the expiry date, and the species it can safely be used on. (All species react differently; remember that some worming powders/solutions which are safe for ornamental pheasants have been known to kill pigeons or parrots.)

The contents of the first-aid kit should be checked regularly and anything that is out-of-date or contaminated by mites or fungal spores, discarded immediately. Rather than throw the items into the bin, return them to the veterinary surgeon, particularly important in the case of contaminated sharps (needles), to ensure they are disposed of safely.

The most effective short-term treatment for almost every ailment is warmth. The rapidity of some animals' recovery when placed in a warm environment is almost miraculous.

Although not exactly an item that can be stored in the first-aid kit, it is worth mentioning the importance of having a small hospital cage already set up to receive a sick mammal or bird at a moment's notice. Larger mammals and birds may require something like a packing crate equipped with a heat mat or a heat lamp. Don't forget to carry a few spare bulbs to avoid the panic I felt many years ago, when I was young and stupid, and carelessly lay a hot heat lamp, which I had just removed from over the top of a brooder full of pheasant chicks while I cleaned them out, on a cold metal surface. The heat lamp, not surprisingly, exploded and, for the rest of the morning, I was dashing frantically from shop to shop, "in every decreasing circles" as they say, until I finally managed to obtain a replacement bulb, terrified that the chicks would chill.

Aquarists and herpetologists should keep at least one spare tank handy ready for the isolation of any sick specimen. In the case of fish, the tank should already be set up with water and a fully functional filtration system because you cannot (or, at least, should not) put fish into tap water that has not stood for at least a couple of days, preferably much longer (four weeks is the optimum time), to allow the water to lose its chill and, equally importantly, its chlorine, a toxic halogen to which fish are extremely susceptible. You can buy dechlorinating agents these days from pet shops and specialist aquarist shops, which drastically cut down on the time it takes before fish can be added, and the fish-keeper should keep a bottle in the first-aid kit, but, even with the addition of a dechlorinator to the water, I still prefer to delay transferring the fish for several days if possible.

Finally, don't neglect the importance of keeping detailed and accurate records of symptoms, treatment, amount of drug administered, frequency of treatment, response rate, and so on, which will prove an indispensable comparison should another animal succumb to the same complaint at a later date.

A FIRST-AID KIT CHECKLIST
(Items mentioned in the text, not all of which will be applicable to every species or to every keeper):

antibiotic;
antiseptic lotion;
bamboo canes or splints of wood;
cocktail sticks;
cotton buds;
dechlorinator (fish);
dressing;
eye ointment;
fine plastic tubing (chelonians);
flea & mite spray/powder;
fungus remedy (fish);
hand-rearing accessories;
hypodermic needles;
ivermectin;
latex gloves;
liquid paraffin;
nail clippers;
olive oil;
parasitic treatment (fish);
petroleum jelly;
Scaly Face/Scaly Leg treatment (bird);
scissors;
styptic;
surgical spirit;
syringes;
thermometer;
tick removal tool;
tweezers or forceps;
Vic Vapour Rub;
White Spot remedy (fish);
wormer;
zinc oxide plaster.