vets

[bluecheezytree]

I am about to get a baby, and I have a question. Do you take them to vets? if so, what vet sees them? is there a list of some of them located in PA? i would highly aprieciate if someone will post a list of them. (if there is one!!!) im stumped!!!

[JWSR]

Hi bluecheezytree and welcome to the forum!

Yes, they definitely need a vet; and not a general pet vet. You should find a reputable herp certified vet. General veterinarians receive only minimal familiarization training in reptiles, and most good general vets will tell you so, instead of attempting to diagnose and treat your reptile. For instance, if you take your pet to a general pet vet and he or she insists on worming your animal without first doing both, a fecal float and fecal smear, I suggest you leave the office. Endoparasites in reptiles require specific medications, some of which other than Panacure, will really bring your pet down to a very weakened state to do their job. You simply do not worm a reptile like a cat or dog (whether they need it or not.) The physiology of a thermo-regulating reptile and a warm blooded mammal are as different as night and day, especially the digestive tract and gut flora.

You want to provide preventitive care and not wait until your pet is sick before you take it to the vet. Because by that time, if you haven't noticed a large weight loss that has occured, your animal could be in serious trouble. It is widely recommended by herp vets and herpetologists that a wellness check at least once a year, and fecal floats and smears at least twice a year be performed. I do my own fecal floats every three months on all my herps. If they have shown clean (less than 5 eggs/FOV) then I may wait 4 months for the next. I started this regimen after my beardie developed a serious overload of pinworms. I treated him with Panacure and in 4 weeks he was loaded again. So, another 2 week treatment of Panacure. At the time I had three suppliers of crickets. After disecting some crickets and putting their gutload under the microscope, I found Hannibals pinworm problem. The crickets from two of the three suppliers were loaded with pinworm eggs. They were playing intermediate host to the worms. That ended my using crickets as feeders and I immediately switched to silkworms. He's been clean for the last 18 months.

Here's a link to certified herp vets all across the nation. Click your state and see what you've got available.

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

I hate to be long on this issue, but it's one that I think needs more attention. I should have listed it as one of my pet peeves. I just think that if you own an animal, you owe it to it to provide all the care needed to assure it's good health. And that starts with preventative care, and not waiting until it looks sick to do something about it. It's not that difficult or expensive. The real expense will come when the animal needs serious treatment. If you can afford cage decorations, you can afford vet checks. If not, I wouldn't own the animal.

Good luck, and have fun with your new Bluey!
Best Wishes,

[bluecheezytree]

thank you so much for your answer and i will find one easily now! im so glad you helped me!!! thanx!!!

[KyleWeiss]

Excellent post, Jerry. I couldn't agree more. I'm not a reptile expert, but I was smart enough to know (owning many birds throughout my family and life...) that there are different treatments for other-than mammal pets. What I wasn't aware of was parasite eggs on feeder crickets. I'm not a fan of crickets to begin with, this only distances my not using them even more. Stinky little b*stard singing cockroaches.

I'm always the person saying they should have a "vet fund," as a part of a back-up to care for their pet. To heck with decorations, if all you can do is afford the pet and hardly anything else, you shouldn't get the pet quite yet.

You should send Zach a private message about possibly listing links or a resource for national herp vets somewhere on the forum. I've asked him about it before, but changes take some time since he's busy.

In the mean time, feel free to put the link you provided in your own profile and then you can simply refer people to read your profile if they need a vet.

KW

[MartinsPerson]

Awesome post Jerry!! I agree with you 100%. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic herp vet really close to me. She has been invaluable with several of my critters.

[LittleFoot]

A lot of the vets in on the herpvetconnection list for Arizona seemed to have moved on, the list hasn't really been updated in a couple of years. Another good way to find a vet is call all the vets in a 60 mile radius and grill them. I had a vet say he was a tort specialist but couldn't tell the difference between a leopard tortoise and a sulcatta..so I moved on to the next name. The vet I found is wonderful and only about 30 miles away.

[JWSR]

Thanks guys,

Glad I could post a little helpful knowlege.
The "Vet Fund" Kyle, is exactly the way I do it, being on a fixed income.
I wasn't sure how up to date those listings would be, but there are ather lists out there. Just search herp vets. The one I have is about 20 miles from me, in Indiana, not Kentucky.

There's a great book available titled "Understanding Reptile Parasites," by Roger J. Klingenberg D.V.M. I go my copy used for about $7 through Amazon. It will tell you, probably more than you really want to know, about exactly what's living in our beloved herps every day, both good and bad. A very good book to keep handy

All the best,

[Zach]

Fantastic post!

[bluecheezytree]

really was a great post! thanks

[JWSR]

I'm glad you got something out of it, young man! Learn all you can about these fantastic creatures. They'll give you a lifetime of enjoyment as they have me.

[Marie]

The "Vet Fund" is an excellent idea. In my area, a trip to the exotics vet tends to be a little more pricey than a routine dog/cat examine.

[JWSR]

How right you are Marie. Exotics aren't cheap when it comes to treatment. That money is simply never touched, and is there for my regular vet also, for my Yorkie and my cat.

[KyleWeiss]

Fantastic post!

So, whatcha think about having a vet section, maybe on the Forum Index, eh? I mean, we've gone as far as posting a "Hall of Shame," or whatever it is for bad bluey business...

KW

[bluecheezytree]

i agree, that would be a cool section

[bluecheezytree]

kill the crickets! ... ... dead crickets...





but then then they start to fight back! run!!!

[JWSR]

Sounds good to me Kyle.

[Zach]

We've always wanted to turn this page into a Vet source. Browse your mouse over Oregon for an example. I never finished it...

http://bluetongueskinks.net/locales.htm

[JWSR]

That's a cool, quick, look-up idea Zach. If you want to get the list going, I'd be happy to start researching state by state and get the info to you. This won't be a fast thing for me though, but I can get it a little at a time.

[SailleSkinklover]

FYI, for any Western Washingtonian Bluey owners! I found a great Herp and exotics vet up here in Bothell WA, and he ROCKS!
He does birds and herps and has worked in zoos and was very upfront and honest about the probing/popping questions. He is gentle, knowlegable, also very reasonably priced. Please let me know if you guys want his info.
Saille

[KyleWeiss]

Zach you should really finish that. We could have that filled out and useable in no time if we stickied a request thread from all members. If you could mass PM all the members too that'd be another idea.

KW