vets

[SailleSkinklover]

[quote="JWSR"]Hi bluecheezytree and welcome to the forum!


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.

What suppliers had the pinworm crickets? I would like to know who to avoid, and/or who is reliable and safe, as I feed crickets to my new gecko and I haven't brought him to the vet yet. Also, where can I get silkworms quickly?
Thanks! Saille

[JWSR]

Hi Saille,

The three I was using at the time were millbrookcrickets.com, premiumcrickets.com, and wormman.com. I don't recall which two at he time contained the eggs. It just wasn't worth it for me to buy from any of them. If you feed crickets, it's just a matter of time in my opinion. I just avoid them as feeders period. You'll do better with superworms, and for the best nutrition, silkworms.

I get my silkworms here................

https://coastalsilkworms.com/catalog/index.php

With you being in Washington, you'd be better off getting them from who I used to purchase from. They also have the supers..............

http://www.mulberryfarms.com/super2.htm

But beware, I quit Mulberry Farms because I was having a high die-off rate with their silkworms. I still buy my supers from them though. The silkies from Coastal are great quality, but that's a long hot trip to you in the hot summer.

[SailleSkinklover]

Oh wow, thank you so much for those links!!! Here's another question, (sorry to keep bugging, no pun intended! ) Has anybody ever tried those Goliath Hornworms for their blueys? I wonder what their calcium content is? I think I'm going to try some snails too.

[Zach]

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.

Hmm, that'd be terrific!

Thanks for the encouragement, Kyle -- I actually forgot all about that page and had to look up the actual http address it had been so long...

Let's do it!

[AneesasMuse]

I just wanted to add that Dr. Harkewicz in Berkeley, CA is an AWESOME Exotics Vet! He's within reasonable driving distance of the entire Bay Area, IMO.


http://www.berkeleydogandcat.com/site/view/65853_DrKenHarkewicz.pml


And great post, JWSR! Thanks for the info and the links!

[JWSR]

Saille,

When my BD was younger and really putting away the meat, I used to buy the hornworms for him. He went nuts for them! It seems their bright green color stimulates feeding, at least for Hannibal. They are very high in calcium and very low in fat.

Below is copied and pasted from Top Hat Crickets, who also sell horns.....

A tomato/tobacco hornworm is the larvae form of the Sphinx or Hawk moths.
Hornworms should be kept at room temperature. Shelf life: about 1 week.
Hornworms double in size every 2 to 3 days until reaching an adult weight of around 10 grams.
Adult hornworms average 3" to 4" in length.
Hornworms are plump and colorful with no exoskeleton or chitin for easy digestion.
Hornworms have the highest calcium content of any feeder on the market. (46.4mg/100g calcium, 3.07% fat). Great for brumating reptiles.
These hornworms are captive bred. Never, Never feed wild caught hornworms to any pet. Wild hornworms carry a toxin from eating tomato plants which will likely kill your animal.
The hornworm habitat must be stored lid side down. The habitat must be propped up slightly to allow air to circulate thru the lid. The lid should be removed daily to clean the feces. Daily cleaning of the lid will virtually eliminate any smell from your hornworms.

Check this page..............

http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/ .....................and this one.......

http://www.mulberryfarms.com/horn2.htm

The only thing, however, is their extraordinary rate of growth! I would buy a pod of about 12 worms about 1 1/2" long, and in about a week they were too big for him to take. I would end up turning them out into the back yard for the birds. A lot of money wasted when you have only one animal that eats them. If you're feeding multiple animals, I'd say defininitely buy some. I used to get mine from Mulberry Farms.

[JWSR]

Thanks Aneesa. Right now I'm compiling a list of all herp vets for Zach, state by state, that are members of the "Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians." And guess what; Dr. Kenneth Harkewicz in Berkeley is a listed member. These are the Doctors you want for your reptiles!

[SailleSkinklover]

My awesome Vet is Dr Adolf Maas, located in Bothell WA. He used to be in Indiana, but he moved back to the NW a while ago. This guy is really good, and his staff is great as well. He should be listed in the herpvet website.

[KyleWeiss]

Dr. Kathy Connelly
Community Animal Hospital
4871 Summit Ridge Road
Reno, Nevada 89523

http://www.cahreno.com/site/view/55724_Home.pml

I owe my chinchilla's life to her, and confidently keep reptiles with her around.

I'm not sure if she is a part of the "reptile elite," but these are the hospital credentials for exotics:

http://www.cahreno.com/site/view/55925_Exotics.pml

KW

[kvega92]

I am orginally from the Pennsylvania area and I worked in Bethlehem if you have any problems finding a vet send me a PM.

[Hijinks]

A co-worker of mine recommended "whoever is on staff" at the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. I looked at herp vet sites and found very few in northern Jersey, so this may be a decent option.

http://www.amcny.org/

Her email:

It's a serious animal hospital, with very good exotic animal specialists. The last exotic specialist I used there was Dr. Laurie Hess, but I'm not sure she's still there. But I would definitely recommend whoever they have on staff. I warn you, the waiting room can be really depressing, 'cause it's usually full of very sick or dying dogs, and it ain't cheap, but it is the only place I will take my snakes anymore. I've tried other small vet clinics that say they handle reptiles, and they have never been useful.

There is another up and coming "high end" animal hospital in NYC, but I looked at their site and I'm not sure that they do exotics (yet). NYT did an article. I like how it's in the "fashion" section.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/fashi ... 0&emc=eta1[/quote]

[bluecheezytree]

huh, thanks everybody for the posts. i really apreciate it.thx.