Routine vet checkups if your BPs are NOT ill, how do u do it?

[JAGpenguin]

Hi there. When I bought my first BP, i thought,"How hard would it be to bring her to the vet once a year regardless of illness?"
But now I already have 2 and still aiming for 2 more. Also, after my first mite problem i became very cautious when it comes to bringing myself let alone my BPs to places that have reptiles, especially potentially sick or mite-infested ones at the vet, not to mention the stress on the snakes during the trip. All I can think about is cross-contamination and stress.
Honestly for me, i dont mind costs, and i do know the ONE vet that all the celebrities and millionaires bring their reptiles to. My hometown is the big capital city of the country, think the economy and finance of Wallstreet, entertainment of Hollywood, politics of Washington, and tourism of Vegas ALL in in one city (fine dining, five-star hotels, tall buildings, starbucks at every corner, you know the kind) and yet the living costs are still much lower than when I was in college in Wisconsin years ago.
I also wonder how breeders with dozens if not hundreds of snakes do this from a practicality standpoint.
So for ppl here with multiple BPs, how do you do routine vet check ups for your seemingly healthy BPs? Do you bring them all like once a year? Or maybe just bring the fecal samples without the actual snakes if they are not ill? Or do nothing at all?

[cuddlykhajiit]

Breeders usually just know what to look for. I personally don't bring in my 4 snakes unless I think something is wrong, even then I talk to my reptile community first.

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[Hugsplox]

I don't take mine unless I see something of concern. Now I do keep pretty detailed records of feeding, weight, sheds, etc so if something starts looking off I have records I can look back on. I also do a physical inspection of my snakes when I handle them, just to make sure there's no stuck shed and to check for any lumps/bumps or any obvious injuries or sign of disease.

Now I don't hesitate to take a snake in if I think something is wrong, and I've done it before and came home with a healthy snake and a pointless vet bill but also with peace of mind. It's really up to you as a keeper and your level of knowledge when it comes to your snakes and what's normal for them. Not just knowledge about the species, but also your knowledge of your individual animals.

[JAGpenguin]

Thanks for the replies guys, one more question tho. Would you consider the fear of getting snake mites from a vet visit realistic or OCD?

[cuddlykhajiit]

Thanks for the replies guys, one more question tho. Would you consider the fear of getting snake mites from a vet visit realistic or OCD?

Hit and miss but rest assured that they generally do a good clean up after. You're always welcome to ask if they've treated any recently.

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[Hugsplox]

Thanks for the replies guys, one more question tho. Would you consider the fear of getting snake mites from a vet visit realistic or OCD?

I don't think it's an unreasonable concern, but in my experience it's unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely. Just know that a good herp vet is taking a lot of precautions with how the handle animals to prevent the spread of disease and parasites.

[Bogertophis]

Thanks for the replies guys, one more question tho. Would you consider the fear of getting snake mites from a vet visit realistic or OCD?

I don't take my snakes in for vet check-ups either unless they're symptomatic- even then, the vets around here have trouble seeing the issue. I'd be more concerned about microbes than mites while there. I actually enjoy seeing the staff change their minds about snakes though (always for the better, btw).

[Ascended]

I would not take my snake for regular check ups if not unwell.
I only would take my snakes to a vet if I couldn't identify the problem and deal with it myself.
Even then, I am not confident in most vets knowledge of reptiles, and would use them to send off blood or fecal samples for analysis rather that ask them to take a look and make a diagnosys.
But I guess it depends on your experience level.

Regarding mites, not too worried, They are easily treated and there should be no physical contact with them in a vets. But vets are like hospitals with air bourn microbes and such. We are much more likely to get an infection in hospital than at home. So going to hospital for me is a last resort. The benefits have to outweigh the risks.

[Bogertophis]

Definitely see a vet to do fecal exams, to carefully remove old & layered stuck eye-caps, or prescribe the correct antibiotic for infections after lab work, or to help with egg-binding, those sorts of things. But if the issue is potentially related to husbandry, that's where the vets often fall short- it's rare to find one with much actual experience in keeping snakes & observing what is normal vs. what is not- for example, the skills & fine-tuning needed to get BPs to eat, for example.

Vets are trained & focus on medical & surgical interventions, & in my experience, they tend to see issues in terms of something their skills can address, when sometimes there's a much simpler husbandry solution, though one that takes experience & time to explain- vets, like other doctors, don't have "all day"- they're busy & snakes & other herps often give very subtle signs, & since they don't cry/whine when in pain like most creatures, nor do they exhibit much else for a vet go by, your well-intentioned vet may have a hard time "reading" your pets outward symptoms because they're typically seeing them briefly. Depending on your vet, they may not even believe that snakes "have much upstairs" so they may underestimate the subtle symptoms you try to describe (moods-attitudes) or the possible reasons for them.

Think about the last time you saw your doctor for a check up & then think about how different it is for a vet to see a snake. They can't go by their temperature nor by their blood pressure. Even weighing them isn't much help- under stress, many snakes "inflate" & appear to have better body weight than they actually do, & there are so many species- it's hard to quantify the norms. Their faces don't reveal emotions like pain & stress, & if their body language does, it's probably just because they're frightened to be there in the first place. And there's no point discussing their activities & interpersonal relationships, eh? Let's face it, snakes make terrible "patients", lol, but we can become better observers, & by giving our pets good food & good living conditions with the right temperatures (etc) & a low-stress environment, most snakes stay quite healthy because good care helps their natural immune system fight off most things.

[nikkubus]

I don't do well check ups on reptiles, but I know the signs to watch out for and keep a lot of records. The exception is something that is wild caught or "farm raised" captive hatch, getting a fecal is a good precaution right off the bat. A lot of people treat WC as a precaution but I don't like to expose them to toxic medicines if I don't have to, especially not even knowing if it's the appropriate medicine for whatever wild parasites they might have. I'd rather know what it is and pick the appropriate medication that is most effective.