Author: Miss Vivi

Posted on by

We have already done more dissections this year than ever before

We have already done more dissections this year than ever before, especially Year 10 and senior biology (this is our very first Year 12 cohort) and it has been SO much easier than before by using Dissection Connection. It used to take (waste) hours of work time, as well as my own time, trying to source and collect suitable specimens and have them available when the teachers wanted them. There were often delays followed by disappointment if the specimens weren’t all that useful.
Now I get the teachers to give me a full list so I can order the whole term’s worth at the start of the term. They arrive promptly, frozen solid and in excellent condition, so I can just leave them in the freezer ready for action at any time a teacher decides to use them…it’s brilliant!  The only thing I needed to think about was making sure we have enough freezer space. I’m not being paid to advertise or anything but I certainly recommend them if you don’t already have a good supplier.
Signed…Happy Customer 🙂

PS An added bonus here on the Sunny Coast is the “delivery with a smile” from Peter. I’ve never actually been around to meet him when he delivers but the office ladies say he brightens their day…and they are always surprisingly enthusiastic when I tell them to expect delivery of some animal body parts that day!

– Sue Lobegeiger, Unity College Caloundra

Posted on by

Do you do rats?

If I had a testis for every time I got a phone call or an email asking if I can supply rats we’d never be out of stock.

Raising and euthanasing whole animals has never been my thing and thinking about all the paperwork involved with licenses and permits and animal ethics approvals just about puts me into a bureaucratic coma.

Consequently the short answer is – “No, we’ don’t supply rats, sorry.” Miss Vivi is, however, very happy to recommend Southern Biological in Victoria and Pisces Enterprises in Brisbane as suppliers of rats for dissection. They both come highly recommended by lab technicians we personally know and love – and trust to know where to go for the good stuff.

Another question I get asked is “Do you know where to get toads?” and invariably my reply is “Do you know any 13 year old boys?”

A little bird tells me, though, that the demand for rats for science in Australia is so great that everyone is having trouble getting enough. So there is a lovely little niche sitting there just waiting to be filled by someone who is willing to have a go at it. Sounds like a job for a labbie to me.

UPDATE MAR 2014:  We now supply cane toads ethically euthanased via CO2 asphyxiation in accordance with the latest method endorsed by Biosecurity Queensland.  Dissection Connection no longer endorses the use of rats or mice sourced from the pet food industry as no ethical or health standards are applied to the practices of the breeders or suppliers.

Miss Vivi