I know more than the vet???? No-way...

[rjks325]

I live in a wonderfully small TX town. There is one herp vet for the surrounding 6 counties... :eek: Yeah, so he's a reeeallly nice guy, but during the initial checkup; he gave me some very questionable info. I just took his advice with a grain of salt; smiled and nodded. This is what he told me:

-- Invest in UV light with a wide surface/the wider; the better (Say what, now?)

-- Make a cage out of chicken wire, place Simon in there, and stick him outside to bask for at least an hour or two every day (Right, let me jet right off to Home Depot.)

-- He didn't mention anything about hides. When I asked about them, he said they weren't necessary and were more for decoration of the cage, but if I wanted to make him feel secure than go ahead and buy one... (Yikes...)

-- He told me NOT to feed Simon on a weekly basis. Rather, I should wait until he was extremely active & seemingly "begging" for food... (I was cringing by this time...)

The rest of his advice was pretty spot on, but I asked him where he got his knowledge from. He said that he didn't have many resources, but he went to a few conferences and he owned a few snakes himself.

Isn't that crazy?????

[rabernet]

Yikes! Even my vet acknowledges that I probably know more about my snakes than he does on husbandry, but I trust him for they physiological well being of my snakes.


However, I have gotten a referral from the staff veterinarian at Atlanta Zoo and another local herper, member of our Herp Society recommended the same vet, independantly, so I will most likely use him next time and compare the two.

Although, I do like the first vet, he rarely charges me an office visit, because he enjoys the snakes so much! He's a boa man though, and teases me about being the ball lady!

[Jason9301]

so from what your saying is you would be better off buying a book and trying to solve issues yourself then listen to that guy who has been to a FEW "conferences"

[Nate]

wow.... :eek:

[rjks325]

Yikes! Even my vet acknowledges that I probably know more about my snakes than he does on husbandry, but I trust him for they physiological well being of my snakes.


However, I have gotten a referral from the staff veterinarian at Atlanta Zoo and another local herper, member of our Herp Society recommended the same vet, independantly, so I will most likely use him next time and compare the two.

Although, I do like the first vet, he rarely charges me an office visit, because he enjoys the snakes so much! He's a boa man though, and teases me about being the ball lady!

Oh yeah, this guy talked my ear off. He really likes snakes and thinks their fascinating, but yeesh!!! LOL Ooo, I haven't been to our local zoo, but I should see if they've got a snake house and check out their vet. Thanks for the idea!

[rjks325]

so from what your saying is you would be better off buying a book and trying to solve issues yourself then listen to that guy who has been to a FEW "conferences"

Buying a book and/or perusing this forum! I've found MUCHO information just by picking the minds of all the experienced herpers on this site. Maybe a few years down the line, I'll be able to help somebody out too. I keep telling myself that Simon is going to be my one and only BP, but I have a feeling that I might end up w/ 2 or 3.....

[Nate]

OK...this raises a question...

Do you trust a certified veterinarian? or do you trust someone who has been in the ball python business since in evolved? I choose option B, but what if you're in a confrontation with a certified veterinarian and he's telling you all this bogus crap "no hides, UV lights "...us "little guys" can't sit there and tell a VET how uneducated he is! sure you can say "well i know breeders that told me to do this" and what's his advice gonna be? "sure, do you believe everything you read?"

give this guy Adam's phone number and let him explain the needs of a ball python.

[Kizerk]

the chicken wire cage was kinda shocking

[TheAudOne]

2 or 3??? Dozen you mean right? lol.
That is pretty sad about the Vet. imagine all the people who dont know any better and listen to him...I bet you could stop by all the patients homes and find there snakes hanging around out side in there little wire cages lol....sad.

[HIGHMAINTENANCE]

I believe it - remember my vet thought my BP was trying to breed me!! :eek: