Nico Schoemaker graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht 1994, which was directly followed by an internship in Companion Animal Medicine and a residency in Avian Medicine and Surgery at the Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals at Utrecht University. His residency led to certification as an avian specialist in the Netherlands, Europe (Dip. ECAMS) and the USA (Dipl. ABVP –Avian). In 2003 he defended his PhD entitled: Hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets. Since April 2009 he became a founder diplomate of the small mammal specialty of the ECZM. He is still employed at the Division of Zoological Medicine at the University of Utrecht.