Vets

Me and hubby are arguing over vets. He doesn't think it's necessary I do.

We and our kids are handling these snakes, would you NOT seriously want to make sure they don't have mites or parasites that could pass to us or them?

Second blood work. I'm nor sure I totally agree with the blood work, however they are the doctor and experts, not me.

What suggestions do you have to win the argument or am I wrong?

I believe it is necessary to have a good herp vet on hand for emergencies, fecal floats, & yearly exams. :)

Have a vet do a fecal float on your animals. That should tell you if they have any internal nasties.

Personally, i don't take my snakes in for yearly check ups. I take preventative measures for keeping nasty things out of my collection (pre-treating for mites, quarantine, washing hands when handling other or wild animals etc).

I think the only thing your snake can give you is salmonella. That only comes from not washing your hands, and kissing. However, it is important to have a vet on hand. Respiratory infection is not dangerous to you, but it can take a snake down quickly if not treated. The only way to tell for internal parasites is a fecal exam from a vet.

So no blood work then???

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Originally Posted by ChristinaP

So no blood work then???

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Blood work on snakes like this is not common procedure. Did you acquire a wild-caught animal and that is why you're so concerned? If you have a captive bred baby, parasites are very rare.

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

I think the only thing your snake can give you is salmonella. That only comes from not washing your hands, and kissing. However, it is important to have a vet on hand. Respiratory infection is not dangerous to you, but it can take a snake down quickly if not treated. The only way to tell for internal parasites is a fecal exam from a vet.

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Actually, it depends on the bacteria causing the RI. Some (such as Klebsiella Pneumonia) can be transmitted from reptile to human & vice versa.

How is that transmitted?

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Originally Posted by cinderbird

Blood work on snakes like this is not common procedure. Did you acquire a wild-caught animal and that is why you're so concerned? If you have a captive bred baby, parasites are very rare.

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The vet tech I spoke with said they would do blood work to check for underlying problems. That's why I was asking, what "normal" is and what "fishing for money" is......LOL