The Student Room Group

Animal care course

Does anyone take animal care level 2 or 3 (I’m going to be doing level 3) can you tell me if you enjoy it or what sort of things you do in the course? xx
I did level 2 and im finishing off my first year of level 3, in my opinion its a great course to be in and really teaches you more about animals in general, although it all depends on the college and the facilities they provide, in my college, the teaching generally consists of; husbandry and care of animals (grooming, diet etc), health and disease of animals (covers anything and everything related to the animals' body), welfare and ethics (things about how animals are treated, animal behaviour and what it means as well as work experience, as it is a requirement over here.

I loveeeee the course, so i'll speak from experience and tell you about the pros and cons of the course...

Pros:
You literally meet the nicest and sweetest people in the world! i mean you're essentially working with people that love animals
You get to work with SO many animals, here are some i've worked with (again, depends on the college you're in)

Mammals: Rabbits, guinea pigs, sugar gliders, mice (normal and pygmy), hamsters, degus, gerbils, rats, hedgehods.
Reptiles: Bearded dragons, basilisks, geckos, skink, tortoises, chameleons, and snakes (pythons & cornsnakes)
Birds: Lorikeets, zebra finches, & lovebirds.
Inverts: Stick insects, tarantulas, scorpions, millipede (ew i know), cockroaches, snails, crabs, turtles and toads
I also often work with marmosets ^ they are adorable lil things

Cons:
It is probably one of the lowest paid industries to work in...like im talking minimum wage...so uni would be one of the only ways to get paid more but you can always do some research on that!
Assignment workload and time completion period is crazyyy...i dont mean to freak you out but ive got 4 assignments due in the next 2 weeks and each of them are around 30 pages long

So the course does include a lot of practical and theory sessions, although the practicals are rare unless pictures are required for the assignment/unit.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask!
Reply 2
Original post by TheAnimalArtist
I did level 2 and im finishing off my first year of level 3, in my opinion its a great course to be in and really teaches you more about animals in general, although it all depends on the college and the facilities they provide, in my college, the teaching generally consists of; husbandry and care of animals (grooming, diet etc), health and disease of animals (covers anything and everything related to the animals' body), welfare and ethics (things about how animals are treated, animal behaviour and what it means as well as work experience, as it is a requirement over here.

I loveeeee the course, so i'll speak from experience and tell you about the pros and cons of the course...

Pros:
You literally meet the nicest and sweetest people in the world! i mean you're essentially working with people that love animals
You get to work with SO many animals, here are some i've worked with (again, depends on the college you're in)

Mammals: Rabbits, guinea pigs, sugar gliders, mice (normal and pygmy), hamsters, degus, gerbils, rats, hedgehods.
Reptiles: Bearded dragons, basilisks, geckos, skink, tortoises, chameleons, and snakes (pythons & cornsnakes)
Birds: Lorikeets, zebra finches, & lovebirds.
Inverts: Stick insects, tarantulas, scorpions, millipede (ew i know), cockroaches, snails, crabs, turtles and toads
I also often work with marmosets ^ they are adorable lil things

Cons:
It is probably one of the lowest paid industries to work in...like im talking minimum wage...so uni would be one of the only ways to get paid more but you can always do some research on that!
Assignment workload and time completion period is crazyyy...i dont mean to freak you out but ive got 4 assignments due in the next 2 weeks and each of them are around 30 pages long

So the course does include a lot of practical and theory sessions, although the practicals are rare unless pictures are required for the assignment/unit.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask!


Thankyou for the detail you answered in! I feel like I know a lot more about the course, sorry if you don’t mind could you answer these questions?
1. Do you think I’ll be fine if I’m a little squeamish at blood etc?
2. What do you wanna do as your career in the future?
3. Do you have to partake in gruesome things? (the lady said some students did a blood transfusion on a ferret)
Thankyou!!!
I don't mind!

1. You'll be fine! i'm awful when it comes to blood as well, so if i survived a year already im sure you'll be able to! The main thing that was related to blood in my course was in the unit of health and disease since we got shown the type of condition the animal would be in, how it would act etc. so it was nothing more than some pictures of diseases/infections or disorders alongside some research about them when doing assignments and what not
There might also be a situation where you see some blood on animal (could be due to so many reasons) you're working with, but its what is expected in some cases...e.g. if males are housed in high groups there might be some fighting

2. Ahh, i've been asked this so many timed xd in all honesty, i have no idea...since im not exactly fond of the idea of treating animals and seeing blood all the time, the vet related jobs aren't exactly my cup of tea...
but i have looked at the types of jobs you could get so im trying to limit my options now xd its between grooming, being a lecturer in the course or something related to animal behaviour e.g. cat & dog behaviourist/educational speaker kinda thing, it's gonna be hard but i dont mind as long as i like the job at the end of the day

Although it may not seem like it, there are MANY options when working with animals, like zookeeping jobs, dog trainer, groomer, kennel worker, rescue center worker, animal technician, lecturer, vet, vet assistant etc. and so on

3. Eeek that sounds....interesting...
I haven't had to partake in that kinda stuff just yet (might be a thing in my second year) but maybe its because of the college im in?
the most gruesome thing i've had to do is probably....having to cut a live cricket? or feed a dead mice to a snake xd

Always here if you have any more questions!
Reply 4
Original post by TheAnimalArtist
I don't mind!

1. You'll be fine! i'm awful when it comes to blood as well, so if i survived a year already im sure you'll be able to! The main thing that was related to blood in my course was in the unit of health and disease since we got shown the type of condition the animal would be in, how it would act etc. so it was nothing more than some pictures of diseases/infections or disorders alongside some research about them when doing assignments and what not
There might also be a situation where you see some blood on animal (could be due to so many reasons) you're working with, but its what is expected in some cases...e.g. if males are housed in high groups there might be some fighting

2. Ahh, i've been asked this so many timed xd in all honesty, i have no idea...since im not exactly fond of the idea of treating animals and seeing blood all the time, the vet related jobs aren't exactly my cup of tea...
but i have looked at the types of jobs you could get so im trying to limit my options now xd its between grooming, being a lecturer in the course or something related to animal behaviour e.g. cat & dog behaviourist/educational speaker kinda thing, it's gonna be hard but i dont mind as long as i like the job at the end of the day

Although it may not seem like it, there are MANY options when working with animals, like zookeeping jobs, dog trainer, groomer, kennel worker, rescue center worker, animal technician, lecturer, vet, vet assistant etc. and so on

3. Eeek that sounds....interesting...
I haven't had to partake in that kinda stuff just yet (might be a thing in my second year) but maybe its because of the college im in?
the most gruesome thing i've had to do is probably....having to cut a live cricket? or feed a dead mice to a snake xd

Always here if you have any more questions!


Thanks you’re honestly so helpful!
Sorry I have more questions 😂
1. Do you have to handle insects and stuff?
2. What is the course work on like topics?
3. In college do you get help if you need it or are you left to be independent (my school said you’re left all on your own to do coursework at a college rather than a sixth form)
4. Do you think it would be more beneficial if I did the animal course or A levels do you think?
5. Was it easy to make friends? (I’m abit shy)
6. Also have you done work placement yet? If you have how was it and where was your favourite place? Sorry for so many xx
Ask as much as you want haha

1. Yesssh but not too often, they wont force you though! im not too big on insecty things either lmao trust me when i say that, the first time i had to hold astick insect i literally screamed and almost threw it back into its lil tank (it was okay thankfully) but if i had to guess, it would only happen during practical sessions and rarely at that since practical sessions are normally feeding and cleaning (here at least xd)

2. idk if i read your question right but imma go with it anyway, course work in general is generally the assignments your given and the work for all that is mostly covered in lessons with certain topics attached to it, if you want me to go into detail then let me know (i honestly dont mind haha)

3. You get help 90% of the time, throughout the course if you dont understand something you can always ask and im almost 100% sure that they'll do anything they can to help you! even if its the simplest things, so no its not all independent work, thats uni xd
the other 10% of the time is normally assignment time, during which you're technically 'not' allowed to ask for feedback for what youve done so far, but if there are certain things you dont understand like 'the type of diet idk a racoon has?' or something generalised like that then they will help you with that as well ^^
(I've literally got the sweetest lecturers though, we threw a baby shower yesterday! not that this is related but still xd)

4. gosh, this was exactly what i was asking others when making the decision...the best advice i can give you is do something that you want/love doing! i went to an awful school yet a levels were still a big decision to make, a levels would be more beneficial for university and things like that and youd have higher chances of getting into uni with a levels but uni would almost be a must if you did a levels since you didn't specialise in a single subject and study it for years, unlike btec college courses, since you get a qualification in a single subject...so you can kinda go into employment straight away, but uni is also an option...there are pros and cons to both so when deciding its best that you find out every single thing about each option and which one seems more interesting and worth it to you!
A levels never really seemed like my thing so my choice was almost immediate...but if i had to answer a question on 'whether i regret my decision?' i'd probably say no ^^

5. YOU ARE NOT ALONEEE! i was an absolute introvert when i first came to animal care...but almost 5 minutes in i had a friend! my college made out class do ice breakers and things, i know it was awkward and strange but you'd be surpised how much they help you! i remember doing them at the start of the year and i hatedddd it, but turns out im finishing my year now and thinking back on how i met the people that im really good friends with..and it was through those ice breakers ^, you meet people for life, it may sound cliche but animal care and my both year classes were the best there could be, everyone was friends with eachother and no one was ever alone ^ (unless they wanted to be haha)

6. i have ^^ i did the same placement for level 2 and the first year of level 3, it was at a little kid animal centre kind of thing, it was kind of like a farm too but it was made for the kids and there was a nursery right next to it, i literally have the best employer ever! shes the sweetest person and although i need to change placements next year i dont want to... work placements vary depending on the type of place it is but i've met so many friendlt people through my placement and i plan to keep volunteering despite college ^^ i also got offered a summer job working with both animals and kids so its all going well!

I'll answer any other questions if you have any haha, i speak from experience so i know what its like to be deciding on your future and things!
hope this helped :smile:

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