How-To Vet Visit

Hi All :) I rescued a severely (in my opinion) neglected BP one week ago. To see her back story and a picture: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...e!#post2132116

My question is two-fold. Would you guys recommend a trip to the vet? She's apparently never been seen by one. And if so, how do I transport her? I wasn't sure if I need to worry about her getting cold and so on.

Thank you in advance!

The transport part is actually something I need to know too....

Thanks for asking this :) :gj:

You can if it makes you feel better and if you chose to do so it is important to chose the right vet by picking a competent herp vet.

In the event you chose to do so I would recommend a fecal.

The key word here is really competent herp vet, some vets have a tendency to do things and prescribe thing that are not needed just in case and because someone brings them an snake for a check up and you definitely want to avoid that.

For the transport part the most secure and stress free way is to use a snake bag or pillow case (depending on the weather when I transport snakes I place the pillow case in a small styrofoam cooler to protect them from the cold when in and our of the car)

I recently moved with my ball python which included a four hour drive. What I did was put her in an inside out pillowcase that I had thoroughly inspected prior to placing her in. I inspected the seams to insure that that were no weak spots in the stitching she may have nosed her way out of. I tied the end of the pillowcase into a knot to keep her from escaping. I then placed the pillowcase inside the tub I have for her for cleaning days. Not sure on what size the tub I used was, but it is more than large enough for her as she only fills up about 1/4 of the tub. I used a bungee cord to secure the lid of the tub as a secondary safety precaution (maybe a bit overkill, but better she arrives in the tub than me searching my car for an escapee).

I then placed the tub on the floor of my car. I tried to pick a part of the car floor that wouldn't get a lot of sunshine through the windows. I made the drive in the late afternoon so it was pretty warm out. I set my a/c to keep the car at about 76-78 degrees, with the fan blowing out the dash vents (not the floor vents). I didn't want cold air blowing directly on the tub.

After arriving at the destination, I set the tank up and let it get back up to temps. I then let her go in the tank. After acclimatizing again, I offered a meal two days later and she took it with no hesitation. Mind you I have owned her since December and she has never refused a meal.

Hope this information helps. I'm sure there are more experienced keepers who may chime in with other tips and tricks.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

You can if it makes you feel better and if you chose to do so it is important to chose the right vet by picking a competent herp vet.

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Thank you!!

As for choosing the right vet, is this a matter of research on my part or is there a site of recommended herp vets?

Kensa: (sorry, I don't know how to multi-quote, lol) Thank you so much for this! This helps a lot.

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Originally Posted by LooptyLoo

Thank you!!

As for choosing the right vet, is this a matter of research on my part or is there a site of recommended herp vets?

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http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/ this will allow you to find a certified herp vet in your area. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/ this will allow you to find a certified herp vet in your area. :gj:

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Thank you! :D

One thing to consider if you put the tub on the car floor, if you have a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive don't put the tub on the "hump" running down the center of the car as it does get fairly warm.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

One thing to consider if you put the tub on the car floor, if you have a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive don't put the tub on the "hump" running down the center of the car as it does get fairly warm.

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Thank you! I will definitely keep this in mind!

I don't want to stress her if a vet visit isn't necessary. I keep going back and forth. And the nearest herp vet is 20-30 minutes away. I think I'm needing some, "If it were my snake, I would take her/not take her."

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...d-Exotics-Vets

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Originally Posted by martin82531

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...d-Exotics-Vets

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Perfect! Thank you!

Also another thing I forgot to mention is to not leave the snake in the car unattended for any length of time. A car with all the windows closed sitting in the sunshine can heat up in a hurry. But if your vet is only 20-30 minutes away, it shouldn't be too much of an ordeal for your pet.

And the advice about the transmission hump is also a great point.

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Originally Posted by Kensa

Also another thing I forgot to mention is to not leave the snake in the car unattended for any length of time. A car with all the windows closed sitting in the sunshine can heat up in a hurry. But if your vet is only 20-30 minutes away, it shouldn't be too much of an ordeal for your pet.

And the advice about the transmission hump is also a great point.

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Thank you again! I'll be sure to not leave her unattended. And thank you for the reassurance about the distance not being too bad :)

Lots of really good advice.:gj:

I can't stress the importance of finding a good competent experienced vet.

My wife is a veterinarian and in her practice there is are two reptile specialists one medical and one surgical. And from time to time she tells me horror stories of an owner who was referred to their office by another vet who fubared the poor critter.
It would be ideal to have a vet that is comfortable with both medicine and surgery. While most of the medical conditions a reptile presents can be managed without much difficulty, once you get into the surgical and anesthetic aspects of reptile medicine it can get tricky. So make sure you ask the vet if they aren't comfortable with a situation that they will refer you to someone who is. Some vets will not refer to a specialist until the problem gets out of hand.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Wizard

Lots of really good advice.:gj:

I can't stress the importance of finding a good competent experienced vet.

My wife is a veterinarian and in her practice there is are two reptile specialists one medical and one surgical. And from time to time she tells me horror stories of an owner who was referred to their office by another vet who fubared the poor critter.
It would be ideal to have a vet that is comfortable with both medicine and surgery. While most of the medical conditions a reptile presents can be managed without much difficulty, once you get into the surgical and anesthetic aspects of reptile medicine it can get tricky. So make sure you ask the vet if they aren't comfortable with a situation that they will refer you to someone who is. Some vets will not refer to a specialist until the problem gets out of hand.

Good luck!

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Thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely bring this up with the vet.

I'm actually kind of stuck now, as I called the closest vet on the list of herp vets, and the receptionist said that their reptile vet isn't in the office much anymore and that finding an appt time would be difficult. Which makes the next closest herp vet to be 96 miles away. I'm willing to do the drive, but I don't want to put her through that if a vet visit isn't necessary. Or should I go anyway? Ugh, lol.

I wouldn't. If she's not wheezing or otherwise showing signs of a respiratory infection or you don't notice parasites in her feces, I would focus on getting her eating appropriate size prey regularly and get the rest of that stuck shed off of her. It's not worth the stress on her or you.

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Originally Posted by Inarikins

I wouldn't. If she's not wheezing or otherwise showing signs of a respiratory infection or you don't notice parasites in her feces, I would focus on getting her eating appropriate size prey regularly and get the rest of that stuck shed off of her. It's not worth the stress on her or you.

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Thank you! This helps very much :sweeet: I will do just that, then. And of course keep all the advice in mind for when a trip might be necessary.

Thanks everyone!