I took Bella to the vet.....

[guntersxr]

im not posting to get under anyones skin or upset any one, but why do you put more faith in random people on the net who may or may not know what the hell theyre talking about than you do in a veterinary doctor who spent 4 years in medical school? if the doctor said its necessary......its necessary. im just amazed at some of the folks saying that the doctor visit was unnecessary.

[RichsBallPythons]

im not posting to get under anyones skin or upset any one, but why do you put more faith in random people on the net who may or may not know what the hell theyre talking about than you do in a veterinary doctor who spent 4 years in medical school? if the doctor said its necessary......its necessary. im just amazed at some of the folks saying that the doctor visit was unnecessary.

Go figure, was waiting for a doctor advocate to pop in. Not every vet is knowledgeable with reptiles. Theres more bad than good who are more willing ot make a quick buck rather run tests to find the problem.


And yes the Shots for Fortaz is completely unnecessary. The B-12 shot does no harm what so ever and flagyl wont harm snake either.

Before you come criticizing some very reputable people think twice before posting.

[Kaorte]

im not posting to get under anyones skin or upset any one, but why do you put more faith in random people on the net who may or may not know what the hell theyre talking about than you do in a veterinary doctor who spent 4 years in medical school? if the doctor said its necessary......its necessary. im just amazed at some of the folks saying that the doctor visit was unnecessary.

There are quite a few cases of knowledgeable vets when it comes to reptiles. There aren't even that many that will see reptiles and only a handful of those actually know what they are talking about.

A few months ago there was actually a person on this site who took their snake to the vet to remove some eye caps and the vet caused the snake to go blind.

Now who do you trust?

[cinderbird]

There are quite a few cases of knowledgeable vets when it comes to reptiles. There aren't even that many that will see reptiles and only a handful of those actually know what they are talking about.

A few months ago there was actually a person on this site who took their snake to the vet to remove some eye caps and the vet caused the snake to go blind.

Now who do you trust?

ah i remember that. sad

[guntersxr]

Go figure, was waiting for a doctor advocate to pop in. Not every vet is knowledgeable with reptiles. Theres more bad than good who are more willing ot make a quick buck rather run tests to find the problem.


And yes the Shots for Fortaz is completely unnecessary. The B-12 shot does no harm what so ever and flagyl wont harm snake either.

Before you come criticizing some very reputable people think twice before posting.

sounds like something a know it all would say. it also sounds like you live in a world where post count gives you more credibility than a degree in veterinary medicine. think twice before posting? give me a break.

[RichsBallPythons]

sounds like something a know it all would say. it also sounds like you live in a world where post count gives you more credibility than a degree in veterinary medicine. think twice before posting? give me a break.

yes you guessed it, Now go crawl back in your hole and stop trolling threads causing problems

[Kaorte]

yes you guessed it, Now go crawl back in your hole and stop trolling threads causing problems

hey now...He is asking reasonable questions.

[dr del]

Hi,

sounds like something a know it all would say. it also sounds like you live in a world where post count gives you more credibility than a degree in veterinary medicine. think twice before posting? give me a break.

That's a little unfair.

We have seen many cases where the vets did not actually have all that much experience with exotics or that species in particular.

Vets recieve a very limited amount of training on exotics during their basic training and therefore it falls to them to do more training or research on their own after qualifying.

As a consequence there are some truly amazing vets out there who have a passion and deep understanding of the subjects but a vast majority more who really do not know enough to be treating some problems.

Given that it makes sense to try and work out which kind of vet you are taking your animals to before you have a serious problem - and if your vet is recommending a course of treatment that is, at best, unhelpful and, at worst, downright dangerous, do not follow their advice and instead try and find a vet with a better understanding of the subject.

Bear in mind a doctor only has to learn one species - vets cannot learn all of them so either tend to remain general or specialise. Either by sticking with the normal pet species, domestic farm animals, horses etc or by picking something a little less common and putting in the work.


dr del

[cinderbird]

sounds like something a know it all would say. it also sounds like you live in a world where post count gives you more credibility than a degree in veterinary medicine. think twice before posting? give me a break.

The difference between reptile medicine and say, mammal medicine (cats and dogs and horses and such) is that there is actually money spent on researching diseases and developing new techniques to treat this or that in a lot of mammals. I have a sick cat right now who has gone to 2 vets because i didn't like the first or how he treated my fragile kitty. The second vet has 30 years experience working with cats and dogs and cares deeply and is knowledgeable about my animal and is working hard with me to figure out what is wrong with him.

With mammals, going to the vet first and asking questions later is standard practice. Because reptiles aren't as common as a pet, vets don't know a whole lot about them. Thats not to say their degrees are worthless (absolutely not) but book learning and hands on learning are NOT the same thing. Most vets spend a few weeks learning about "basic reptile ailments" and then move onto the next thing. They don't spend time learning about different species and their specific issues.

Anyone who has worked with ball pythons, even for just a few years, knows they go off feed and sometimes for weeks, months or even years. It is how they are. Sometimes there can be an underlying cause but you'll see secondary issues start approaching (weight loss, lethargy, symptoms related to mouth or belly rot, respiratory infection, etc). and then someone will go to a vet to seek diagnostic aid and advice.

For me, I'm lucky to have a vet within a drivable distance (few hours) that if i have a sick animal i can go there, not everyone is that fortunate. Small town vets often know little to nothing about treating reptiles. It isn't a far stretch to go to someone with the knowledge and experience that may have faced a similar problem for help.

I mean, take a look at this thread: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=grace+surgery This is an example where vets weren't a whole lot of help, a lot of people would have euthanized that animal rather than try to help it. Should everyone do that? No, for the average novice keeper, a vet is the first place they go, we're just saying that the vets don't always have the answers.

[guntersxr]

hey now...He is asking reasonable questions.

thank you. im not here to cause problems at all. i asked a VERY valid question and you took extreme offense and atacked me, twice now. if the dr she took her pet to has 25 years experience in treating reptiles them i imagine she got the most educated opinion possible. but there are people who like to pretend theyre smarter or more educated than a doctor and thats hardly the truth.