do BP’s need vet checkups?

do ball pythons need to visit the vet for wellness checkups? or do they only need to go if they’re sick? my bot ais healthy but i’m not sure if i should establish care at the vet..... thoughts?

ps my noodle is “helping” me type this so i’m sorry for typos

Wellness visits aren't a necessity with snakes. If you feel the need to take him to an exotic vet and spend that kind of money then no one here will stop you, but there's really no need for it. It is however, necessary to know where your closest exotic vet is (not all vets care for all animals) and to have funds set aside if you should ever need to take your snake in for anything.

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Originally Posted by Toad37

Wellness visits aren't a necessity with snakes. If you feel the need to take him to an exotic vet and spend that kind of money then no one here will stop you, but there's really no need for it. It is however, necessary to know where your closest exotic vet is (not all vets care for all animals) and to have funds set aside if you should ever need to take your snake in for anything.

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Agreed top to bottom.

There's no need for annual wellness checks or anything like that, but if you would feel comfortable bringing the snake there's clearly nothing wrong with that.

But, like mentioned above, do some homework and find a qualified vet that sees reptiles regularly. Many vets "will" see reptiles, but know very little about them.

This is a good link to help you find one in your area
https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

And it's important to make sure you have an emergency vet fund stashed away, accidents happen.

I couldn't find that link to post it. Thanks!

I agree, no need to do a "wellness check". In fact, going to the vet unnecessarily might even raise the chance of your snake CATCHING something while there. Just saying...;)

It's no different than people...we can catch things at the doctor's office too, despite their best professional efforts. So unless you just feel the need to meet & evaluate the vet before you truly them, I wouldn't worry about doing this. Even reptile-experienced vets have a hard time seeing subtle signs of illness in our stoic snakes. But if you think something is amiss, let's say in your snake's mouth when they yawned, but you're afraid to open their mouth to double-check it, that might be a reason to go. So it depends on what you're comfortable with too.

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Originally Posted by Toad37

I couldn't find that link to post it. Thanks!

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I got your back jack!
-MM4L-