Post-Graduation in New Companion Animals – 1st Edition
Exotics, or New Companion Animal (NCA) Medicine is a rapidly expanding field within veterinary practice, reflecting the growing diversity of species kept as pets and the need for specialized clinical responses.
This fully online postgraduate course aims to meet the demand for advanced and up-to-date training in the clinical management of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and ornamental fish. The programme brings together internationally recognised lecturers with extensive academic and practical experience, ensuring a strong technical-scientific framework focused on clinical application.
With a total of 80 hours, delivered through both live thematic sessions and recorded content, the course combines flexible access with academic rigour, promoting the development of essential skills for medical care of non-conventional species.
This postgraduate course is designed for veterinarians (and, in exceptional cases, veterinary nurses) seeking to deepen their expertise in ECAM—whether newly qualified professionals entering the job market or practicing clinicians increasingly faced with these species and wishing to update their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Why choose this course?
- 100% Online – Learn where and when you like, without compromising the quality and technical depth of in-person training.
- Unlimited access to recorded sessions – Revisit the content whenever needed, at your own pace, and consolidate your knowledge effectively.
- International speakers – Learn from leading global experts, offering diverse perspectives and real clinical case studies.
- Practical and applied training – Includes case discussions, procedure videos, and exclusive supplementary materials.
Objective
To provide advanced, flexible, and accessible postgraduate training with cutting-edge speakers in the field of exotic companion animals.
- Equip veterinarians to clinically manage exotic companion animals (reptiles, birds, small mammals, fish, invertebrates).
- Update knowledge based on the latest scientific evidence and clinical best practices.
- Promote animal welfare and responsible, legal practices in the handling and trade of these species.
- Foster international networks for training and collaboration among veterinarians and specialists.
- Strengthen participants’ professional differentiation in an increasingly competitive market.
Invest in your future and in the well-being of your exotic patients!
- English
- 100% Online: Synchronous and asynchronous (possibility to assist live, or watch sessions recordings later)
- Lecturers
- From January 10th to June 27th
- 80H
- Registration
- Capped at 30 participants
- Certificate of Completion
For more informations, please contact +351 969 918 680 ou formacao@euvg.pt
Target Audience
- Newly graduated veterinarians:
- Who wish to specialize in an area with increasing demand.
- Seeking practical and up-to-date training before entering the job market or starting an internship/placement.
- Interested in developing clinical skills applied to non-conventional species.
- Practising veterinarians
- With an interest in expanding or deepening their clinical work with new companion animals.
- Looking to update their knowledge in light of scientific advancements and new legal and ethical requirements.
- Veterinarians working in general or specialised clinics, rehabilitation centres, zoos, or educational institutions.
Fees and Registration
Application fee and administrative charges – 50€
Tuition fee – 1.750€
Early Bird (15%) Tuition fee – until 30/09/2025
Possibility to pay in 4 interest-free instalments (please get in contact with us).
More people are choosing rabbits, birds, reptiles, and other exotic animals as pets—and the truth is, in clinical practice, we often see such cases. However, we know that our basic training in Veterinary Medicine doesn’t always prepare us as it should to deal with these types of species, which have very specific needs.
It’s about investing in knowledge to be able to offer quality care to all patients, even those with feathers, scales, or long ears.
Having a pet is not only a great joy, but also a great responsibility.
Having a veterinarian specialized in this type of animal gave me the confidence to embark on this unique journey of sharing life with a companion who may live more than 60 years, as is the case with Coco, my parrot.
As a guardian of seven hens, I can assure you that having chickens as companion animals is a unique and rewarding experience.
However, It is still difficult to find professionals with specific knowledge about birds, since most are trained for dogs and cats. This lack of specialization compromises the health and well-being of these amazing animals.
Program Coordination Team
Alexandre Azevedo
Teresa Teigão
Carolina Bento
Carolina completed her Degree in Veterinary Medicine and Master's degree at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Lisbon, and a PhD in virology and immunology of cetaceans at the same institution. Additionally, she recently (in 2023) completed a Master's degree in Bioinformatics and Biostatistics at the Universidad Catolica de Murcia. Working as a veterinarian at Vetcondeixa, specializing in small and exotic animals, she also serves as an Assistant Professor at EUVG. Since 2009, she has extensively collaborated with Cram-ECOMARE, contributing to internships, projects, and providing veterinary consulting services. Carolina has completed postgraduate courses in exotic and wild animal medicine and surgery, as well as in abdominal and cardiac ultrasound.
Lecturers
João Brandão
João Brandão, LMV, MS, Dipl. ECZM (Avian), Dipl. ACZM, Associate Professor of Zoological Medicine at the Oklahoma State University earned his veterinary degree from the University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro in Vila Real, Portugal. He completed exotic animal and zoological medicine internships at the Great Western Referrals (Swindon, UK), Tufts University (North Grafton, MA), and the University of Georgia (Athens, GA). Brandao completed a three-year zoological medicine residency and a Master of Science degree in Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Louisiana State University. He is a diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine (Avian), the American College of Zoological Medicine, and EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Avian Medicine and Surgery. He has been awarded the Debbie and Wayne Bell Professorship in Veterinary Clinical Sciences.
Tom Hellebuyck
Dr. Tom Hellebuyck graduated as a veterinarian from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ghent University (Belgium) in 2006. Following his PhD that focused on Devriesea agamarum infections in lizards, he continued to perform research on the health problems of a variety of reptiles, amphibians, and birds. He became head of the clinic at the Division for Exotic Companion Animals and Wildlife at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Ghent University. He is a Diplomate of the European College of Zoological Medicine (Herp) and is actively involved in several ECZM committees. He has authored and co-authored numerous scientific publications and book chapters and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. In addition, he acts as an advisor to national authorities with regard to reptile medicine and welfare. He is the current representative member of the country in the ARAV International Committee.
Sara Dias
Sara graduated from University of Lisbon, in Portugal, in 2010. She completed a one year internship in exotic animal medicine and zoological medicine at Los Sauces (Madrid, Spain), followed by two years of small and exotic practice in Portugal. Sara started her European College of Zoological Medicine Small Mammal Residency at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) in 2015. After finishing her residency, she moved to the USA to work as an Assistant Professor at Kansas State University for two years, and in 2019 she decided to move to the UK, to work at a Private Multidisciplinary Referral Hospital (currently working as the Head of the Exotics Service at Willows Referrals) and as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Nottinhgam University. Sara loves teaching and empowering new generations. Sara is a member of the education and examination committee (chair for Small Mammals) of the ECZM and is also actively involved in several zoological medicine organizations. Sara is currently doing her PhD at Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), and is a regular speaker at both national and international conferences, CPD courses and post-graduate certificate courses, and she publishes regularly in national and international research journals.
Miranda J. Sadar
Dr. Miranda Sadar is a graduate of the Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. After graduation, she completed a one-year clinical internship in zoological, zoological companion animal, and wildlife medicine at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After finishing a two-year fellowship at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, she completed a zoological residency with a focus on zoological companion animals at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Sadar was an Assistant Professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine for two years prior to moving back to Colorado State University, where she is an Associate Professor in the Avian, Exotic, and Zoological Medicine service. In 2016, she became a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine. Dr. Sadar’s research interests focus on minimally invasive modalities to decrease stress, both situational and painful stress, in non-traditional species.
Petra Schnitzer
Lorenzo Crosta
Zdenek Knotek
Norin Chai
Peter DiGeronimo
Peter DiGeronimo completed a bachelor's degree in biology from Drew University in 2006 and then earned his veterinary degree and a graduate certificate of veterinary public health from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 2010. He spent the next 5 years in small animal and exotic companion animal practice before completing a specialty internship in zoological medicine at Louisiana State University, the Audubon Zoo, and the Baton Rouge Zoo and a master's degree in Wildlife & Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh in 2016. Dr. DiGeronimo worked as a clinical instructor of zoological medicine at the University of Pennsylvania for 3 years and where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor. He was the veterinarian for Adventure Aquarium for 4 years before taking his current role as an associate veterinarian at the Philadelphia Zoo in 2021. He became a board-certified specialist in the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2020, continues to lecture and to publish on the medicine and conservation of a variety of species, and currently serves as a veterinary advisor for the AZA's New World Primate TAG and Lion Tamarin SSP.
Claire Vergneau-Grosset
Claire Vergneau-Grosset is an Associate Professor in Zoological Medicine at Université de Montréal Faculté de médecine vétérinaire in Canada. She has also been affiliated with the Aquarium du Québec since 2015. Claire graduated from the École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort in France in 2008. She completed an internship in veterinary clinical sciences (IPSAV) in zoological medicine at the Université de Montréal in 2009 followed by a residency in Companion Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine at the University of California, Davis (UCD) from 2011 to 2014. Dr. Vergneau-Grosset became a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine in 2014. She worked as a Clinical instructor in aquatic animal health at UCD from 2014 – 2015, performing applied research and providing consultations for ornamental fish, both owned as pets or held in aquaculture and zoos. Dr. Vergneau-Grosset worked as a teaching clinician in zoological medicine at the University of Montreal from 2015 to 2019. Claire has authored scientific articles about aquatic invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals and she has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on these subjects. She has a strong research interest for fish welfare and analgesia and has received the Zoetis award for Excellence in Research in 2025.