uvb?

[SnkChrmr650]

so i was at the vet last week and was told by her that my baby BP needs to have uvb light in order to thrive properly. im just wondering if anyone has heard this or has any opinions on uvb? everything i have read here and otherwise says they have no need.


i just love this little guy, makes me laugh everytime

[Skiploder]

so i was at the vet last week and was told by her that my baby BP needs to have uvb light in order to thrive properly. im just wondering if anyone has heard this or has any opinions on uvb? everything i have read here and otherwise says they have no need.


i just love this little guy, makes me laugh everytime

They don't need UVB light to thrive.

I'd find another vet....................

[SnkChrmr650]

thats what i have read too! she also told be the worst thing to have is my UTH! thats kinda what started the skepisim on wether she knows her stuff. anyone know a good herp specialist in the raleigh area?

[JLC]

Many vets will tend to lump all reptiles together into one broad category and make the same assumptions about them all. It's true that for MANY reptiles, UVB is essential to thrive. But for many, it is not. Ball Pythons are essentially nocturnal creatures who spend their days asleep in dark dens and come out after sunset. They're not getting UVB in the wild, so they don't need it supplemented in captivity.

I'd look for another vet...but I wouldn't despise one for not being an expert on all reptile species. At least she was willing to try and maybe will be spurred on to learn more someday.

[rockyhorror]

Unfortunately though many times bad advice is way worse than no advice. It doesn't show professionalism to hand out advice, as a doctor no less, and not know what you are talking about. Seems to me that a good vet would either let you know where their expertise lies or recommend someone else.

I could try to go and do heart surgery, but I'm not thinking it would be successful.

[JLC]

Unfortunately though many times bad advice is way worse than no advice. It doesn't show professionalism to hand out advice, as a doctor no less, and not know what you are talking about. Seems to me that a good vet would either let you know where their expertise lies or recommend someone else.

I could try to go and do heart surgery, but I'm not thinking it would be successful.

That's a good point.

[SnkChrmr650]

Im not mad at the vet for giving me advice or not being an expert i just think u should be a little less condesending about it i mean i kinda felt like they were just being rude about certain thing such as the uvb and when i told them i had a uth for her enclosure they told me it was gonna burn my snake then when i explained that i had it on a rheostat now and was getting a t-stat soon she rolled her eyes at me and promptly came back with their caresheet and and article about the benifits of uvb for reptiles (in general). idk i just made me feel like i was an idiot and while im no expert by any stretch of the imagination im not stupid and ive done a bit of research.

P.S. sorry bout the language in the previous post

[aarondm]

Maybe you should print out a BP caresheet and hand it to her and roll your eyes at her Me personally~~ I would rather have no advice than bad advice. Even though it won't hurt a bp to have uvb, what if this vet also thinks that all reptiles need a calcium supplement too. I'm just sayin that a vet (or any other doctor) should make very sure what they're talking about before they hand out information. just my $.02