I don't want to turn this into a vet bashing thread. We all know that all vets are not created equal especially when it comes to snakes, so all I will say is that I am not real thrilled with my most recent vet interaction and leave it at that. I do have access to a competent snake vet but he is an hours drive away and can be accessed when really needed.

What is going through my mind is how much could I possibly do on my own when it comes to preventative care and testing. The few times I have taken a snake to the vet, basically all that is done is that samples are sent to the lab. The majority of the time I know more about the animal than the vet does. In my home we are perfectly capable of taking samples and preparing them for the lab (I have a dentist "in house" so medical stuff is not completely alien to us even if it is not directly related to reptiles). I am also wondering how much testing I could actually do myself. I know there is equipment required for many tests that it would just not be practical to have in the home, but I would be willing to buy equipment within reason (I am obviously not going to buy an electron scanning microscope LOL). We have some simple equipment now and have acquired and are studying reptile pathology textbooks.

Has anyone here attempted to go down this road? Is it worth it or am I going to hit too many roadblocks?