Vet Appointment

[Rue]

Today was Rue's vet appt! We took a mini road trip to the vet. Long story short. Rue's a healthy horse! Haha all kidding aside, we haven't done any tests. We did just the run of the mill annual exam! She checked his throat, his nose, his eyes, his skin, okay okay you get the idea. She checked little Rue from head to toe! The things that stuck out to me,

• She sexed him; He is in fact a he! Phew.
• He currently weighs 244kg
• Fully hydrated, perfect weight[meatloaf shape]
• Nice color, she said he is indeed a red tail. For those of you that have followed Rue's story since day 1 on the forum. Little rue was sold as a python ha! Feels so good to have the vet back up your guys/gals diagnosis of rue. Dun. Dun. Dun. Y'all were right {but i knew that already}
• Rue has lines in his scales. You betcha I asked the vet about them. As soon as little rue will let me take a picture of exactly what I'm talking about, ill share. Anyway, Rue. She said it could be one of two things. 1) Dehydration in his past. She explained that when boas get dehydrated they pretty much "shrivel up like a little prune" or look like "a plant that really needs to be watered" [her exact words] The vet stated Rue is hydrated right now BUT at one point he could have been very dehydrated to the point where he was a prune. If this is the case though she said after a few sheds, it should get better & better! Poor rue! 2) He was kept in a tank/cage that was to small that forced him to be coiled enough to where the lines are there for good........ To give you some what of a picture, lines that run up and down. The lines are only one scale in width and run from belly to belly 360 degrees. The scales stick straight out, some fold over
• He has a small amount of "flem"in his throat. I told her about when i first bought him and he sounded very wheezy, which got better and better. By the two week mark i couldn't hear him wheezy anymore. She said this must be the last little bit of that, but wants to keep an eye on it (gah. means another road trip to that vet hehe) She also advised me to lower his humidity. 50-60% for now. [His tank is usually 60-80%]
• She advised me to get rats from glacier rodents.
• She put him on his back to test the reflex (slips my mind at the moment) he reacted good.
• She also told me, Rue, sadly isn't the first snake to be seen there from this particular store with minor issues.
• Complimented rue for how patient and curious he was {he loves being held}

I explained in full detail where i bought him, how old i was told he is, what his husbandry is like. Trust me, she grilled me [for good reason though hehe a vet that actually cares woohoo] I opted to not do any tests right now, but in the future i do plan to. Next month, the stool sample. In june, the chemical and blood work {hey don't judge, its spendy}

When i left the vet I called the reptile store owner because i don't know any of his medical history, and clearly the vet didn't either. I called her to see if she knew anything about his health history or had any records. The conversation is as follow; after all the greeting & hello's

Me: I was just curious if you had any medical records or info on anything for rue, i took him to the vet today an- (cuts me off)

Owner: i HIGHLY advise against that, the vet is just going to try and pump as much money out of you as possible!!

Me: See the thing is, i haven't done any tests thats not the issue. Rue has lines on his sides an- (cut off again)

Owner: Which is normal!! HES A SNAKE! Its from coiling.

Me: She said it could be from something more serious in his past, i was just curious if you had any medical records or knew anything about the owners before you

Owner: No one keeps medical records on snakes. Its a snake. You mist it, feed it, make sure it has water. Thats all. I mean its pretty hard to have a snake in poor condition.

Me: no i defiantly understand what you're saying. So you don't have any info on rues past?

Owner: No, nobody keeps records. I don't even know of anyone that takes there snakes to a vet.

Me: Okay, okay, i understand. Thank you. *I hung up*

BUT WAIT SHE ENDED UP CALLING ME (conversation is as follows)

Owner: Hey sam, i just wanted to apologize about before. I know i can come on pretty strong. My frustration isn't with you, its with the vet. If i was you, i wouldn't trust a vet that says the lines are abnormal. Its really hard to find a boa that doesn't have the lines, its normal.

Me: uhh..huhh...

Owner: I had rue from June 2014 until you bought him in march (2015) before that my neighbor had him. She bought him off of craigslist. So as far as medical wise I have no idea, i just know i've never had a problem with him.

Me: Okay, well thank you

Owner: I know he's a healthy snake, anyone can come into my shop and look at my snakes...

Me: I was only asking about the lines, its hard to figure out what happened when, i didn't have him at the time. Thats all. Other than that she does believe he's healthy.

Owner: Okay, well you might want to think about the vet bills, the blood tests aren't going to show you anything. The stool only shows you worms an- (i cut her off)

Me: thank you, i understand.

Owner: Well, good luck. *hangs up*

As i noted above the tests will come, with time. Anyone else have any similar stories? Advice? Thoughts? Please! Don't be shy! I took rue to a local exotic vet whose 4.5 out of 5 stars and let me tell you i was not disappointed!!!

Oh yeah, here are a couple of pictures from today!