🩺 I just realized I've been doing this for a decade... (2016 vs. 2026!)

Welcome to the new crew! Let's talk 10 years of ER tech life & exotic keeping. On Wednesdays We Wear Scales 🦎💅 A midweek check-in from your favorite pink-haired reptile nurse. Hey! Grab your iced coffee and help me welcome another wave of fresh faces to the crew! Our little corner of the internet keeps growing, so I wanted to hit pause on our usual weekly schedule and do a proper reintroduction. While looking back at some old photos recently, a realization hit me like a ton of bricks: I have officially been a Certified Veterinary Technician since 2016! Ten. Whole. Years. Seeing the photo of me in 2016 right next to me today in 2026 feels completely wild. A decade in medicine changes you in the best ways possible, it gives you sharper instincts, a much cooler aesthetic, and a deep appreciation for the weird, wild world of animal care. The Terrarium: Meet Your Head Zookeeper 🦖 For everyone who recently joined the Sweet Ave Zoo family, hi! I’m Kasey. By day (and mostly by night), I work as an overnight emergency veterinary technician. By... well, also by night, I run Sweet Ave Zoo, where I share the real, unfiltered, and slightly chaotic reality of keeping exotic pets and invertebrates. A decade in clinical ER medicine means I don't sugarcoat animal care. I am incredibly passionate about evidence-based husbandry, proper nutrition, and making sure exotic pets get the high-level care they deserve. When I’m not at the clinic, I’m managing my home zoo, which includes: Chompers, my massive Savannah monitor. Fettuccine, my super chill boa constrictor. Pistachio, my grumpy desert-king Uromastyx. Jeff & Azalea, my resident GBB tarantula and jumping spider. Plus cane toads, an axolotl, isopods, and my furry sidekick, Sapphire the dog! 💡 Keeper Notes: What a Decade in Vet Med Teaches You Hitting the 10-year mark as a CVT teaches you a lot about medicine, but it teaches you even more about animal ownership. If I could go back and give 2016-Kasey three pieces of advice, here is what they’d be: 1. Prevention beats emergency care every single time: 90% of exotic medical emergencies stem from improper husbandry, usually incorrect basking temps, poor diet, or wrong humidity. Dialing in your habitat parameters from day one saves your pet's life and saves you thousands in emergency vet bills. 2. Never stop asking questions: The exotic pet hobby evolves fast. What was considered "standard care" ten years ago is often outdated today. Always stay curious and keep learning! 3. Build a community: Exotic keeping can feel isolating when none of your local friends understand why you are obsessed with isopods or tarantulas. Having a supportive, educated community makes the journey so much better. ⚡ Product Spotlight: Binge-Read the Sweet Ave Zoo Archive! If you are one of our new subscribers and want to catch up on everything we’ve covered over the last 38 issues, you don't have to miss a single thing. We host our entire newsletter catalog live online! You can browse past issues to read about everything from building bioactive clean-up crews with isopods to dialing in triple-digit basking zones for desert reptiles and reading thermal camera scans. It is the absolute best way to binge-read the backstories of the resident animals, catch up on clinical keeper tips, and get fully up to speed with the rest of the crew. [Click Here to Binge-Read the Sweet Ave Zoo Blog Archive!] MY WEBSITE Visit Our Socials Sweet Ave Pawtucket, RI 02861 View in browser You are getting this email because you've subscribed to sweetavezoo at beacons.ai/sweetavezoo. If you'd like to stop receiving these emails, you can unsubscribe from the list.