Prognosis: Very Healthy

[Schlyne]

Issa went to the vet today for a general exam and to be sexed.

The vet said he was very healthy He weighed in at 140 grams, (he last ate on Tuesday). However, there was some confusion on the part of the receptionist who I talked to. Dr Holmes doesn't do probing without anesthesia. I was told I could either leave the snake overnight, or make an appointment for later. I decided it could wait. Issa is barely 3 months old and I don't know for sure if I'll breed balls in the future.

In the meantime, his name is Issa.

The vet also recommended that a fecal will be done, which will happen as soon as I find his next present. (Hopefully that one won't be dried out, like the last one. Silly boy, left it underneath the heat lamp.)

There are people who probe and don't do anethesia, right? I mean it's probably "the safest way to go", but it just sounds expensive to me. Anyway, it can wait for a while.

[mlededee]

yeah, i don't understand why the snake would need to be anesthetized. i'd never heard that some vets even did that before probing until just this week. why would that be neccesary?

congrats on the clean bill of health though. that's always good news!

[RobertCoombs]

I think they way they are going about the probeing is way off... whewww I think the idea is to have the snake totally relaxed and have no issues with damage( human or snake) not to mention they get to charge you 20-80$ for the drugs
But this is actually not safe for the snake ... there is a very good chance the snake could die from being put under IMO not worth the risk for something as simple as sexing...

[Schlyne]

I didn't really clarify what I was saying. I meant that in terms of probing problems it's the best. I don't like the idea of knocking a snake out just for being probed. I was talking to Jim Nesci at the Tinley show, and he was talking about Bubba (the 7 foot or so alligator that was sitting on stage). He was talking about how the gator wasn't drugged and how it could stop its heart and stuff. Anesthia is tricky enough on mammals, reptiles would have to be harder.

[Smulkin]

Yeah that's a bit weird - would a vet do something that drastic for fear of being bitten? I've not heard of that before either :S

[Marla]

Congrats on the clean bill of health. I'm sure you can get a local breeder, herp society member, or other vet to do the probing without the risks involved in anaesthesia.

[Blink]

I've had one of my snakes popped (when it was a new born) and the other probed, at the same Reptile Show.
They weren't put to sleep, with no problems what so ever.

[Schlyne]

I can always call another vet and see if somebody else will do it (I think the area has 2 or 3 herp vets, but I think the others are on staff at animal hospitals).

I'll look around, and get somebody do to it eventually.

[elevatethis]

Snakes shouldn't feel a thing if the person probing has the right size probe and knows what they are doing. We've probed 10 ft boas at the shop I work at and they dont seem to mind a bit...

[Schlyne]

Yeah, as I stated in a different post, I'm going to try and find a different reptile vet, I didn't like that one very much. I don't feel that she wasn't qualified or anything, I just didn't like the way the place was run. Also, it's slightly more than halfway across town, and I think there are some other vets that are closer.

Someday I will go up to Lee Watson's Swap meet, I'm sure I could find somebody who could probe Issa there, or I could acutally join and go to the Chicago Herp Society.