Snake at vet

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
I find it interesting how many people are very uncharitable about vets in general. Almost always in a thread that involves discussion of veterinary treatment, some people suggest that they are just after money. Or they are regarded as useless or stupid if they don't know much about reptiles, even when they try to help.

I've had a lot of experience with vets in the past 50 years, reptile and domestic animal specialists, and I've never found one that I think is just after money. A bit off topic, but give 'em a break. True, they can be expensive, but their costs are high, and they don't get the subsidies that human doctors & patients get.

Jamie.

Thank you!

If those people knew the salary their vet gets paid I'd like to bet they would soon stop making remarks about how money hungry they are.
 
Bez & Tatt2 - My criticism of people is not that they have an opinion, my criticism is the way in which it is delivered.

You are correct, not all the information was given, this is precisely my point. The Vet HAS all this information, we on this forum do not. Therefore, common sense would suggest that more weight should generally be held in the opinions of the Vet. I also noticed that a number of people immediately criticised the Vet and their knowledge base before making any enquiries as to WHO this Vet was. The Vets treatment immediately indicated to me that he was familiar with reptiles, others criticised treatment that is suitable for the current issue - this is the embarassing arrogance I was referring to...

My primary criticism here is the complete lack of responsibility that people seem to have for the advice that they give. You are responsible for the information you deal out, if you do not know for certain, ensure that is evident. By stating these opinions as facts all that is achieved is to confuse a situation.

Pythoninfinite & PhilK - I couldn't agree more. I find it satisfying to see keyboard experts with egg on their face in situations such as this. ;)

Jye - You did absolutely the right thing in asking questions of your Vet, in my experience they are happy to answer and explain these things without a problem. It was certainly the most responsible thing you could do as a pet owner in these circumstances. Great job filtering the responses to your original post too - I find the simplest way to start is the way you did, listen to the few who actually ANSWERED your query... ;)
 
Bez & Tatt2 - My criticism of people is not that they have an opinion, my criticism is the way in which it is delivered.

You are correct, not all the information was given, this is precisely my point. The Vet HAS all this information, we on this forum do not. Therefore, common sense would suggest that more weight should generally be held in the opinions of the Vet. I also noticed that a number of people immediately criticised the Vet and their knowledge base before making any enquiries as to WHO this Vet was. The Vets treatment immediately indicated to me that he was familiar with reptiles, others criticised treatment that is suitable for the current issue - this is the embarassing arrogance I was referring to...

My primary criticism here is the complete lack of responsibility that people seem to have for the advice that they give. You are responsible for the information you deal out, if you do not know for certain, ensure that is evident. By stating these opinions as facts all that is achieved is to confuse a situation.

Pythoninfinite & PhilK - I couldn't agree more. I find it satisfying to see keyboard experts with egg on their face in situations such as this. ;)

Jye - You did absolutely the right thing in asking questions of your Vet, in my experience they are happy to answer and explain these things without a problem. It was certainly the most responsible thing you could do as a pet owner in these circumstances. Great job filtering the responses to your original post too - I find the simplest way to start is the way you did, listen to the few who actually ANSWERED your query... ;)

All valid points. Well said.
 
Well, I'm not a vet, considered it once long ago, but decided that, while working with animals would be great, many of the people associated with those animals are the pits frankly, and that would strain my diplomacy valve!

Vets have high costs, lots of ongoing learning, work long hours (often on call 24/7), deal with lots of selfish and unpleasant people, and often work in all weathers in terrible conditions if they do large animals. They deserve a lot more respect and support than they get, especially on forums like this.

Yay for vets!!!

Jamie.
 
I agree pythoninfinite i do voluntary work in a vet clinic, and everything u said in your last post rings true to me
 
im 100% with my vet i took my python 2 another vet cause i cudnt get in2 mine and i was up bout 3 days afta lookin at my snake and it lookd worse then it was when i took it 2 the vet so i rang my oringial vet at 1.30am woke him up and he was fine 2 answer my questions and even offered to drive 50mins 2 come look at my snake they need alot more respect then they get
 
shadow2.jpg
Just a quick update. My snake is home and 100% healthy, no more pink. Thanks everyone for your help.
 
Last edited:
Well, I'm not a vet, considered it once long ago, but decided that, while working with animals would be great, many of the people associated with those animals are the pits frankly, and that would strain my diplomacy valve!

Vets have high costs, lots of ongoing learning, work long hours (often on call 24/7), deal with lots of selfish and unpleasant people, and often work in all weathers in terrible conditions if they do large animals. They deserve a lot more respect and support than they get, especially on forums like this.

Yay for vets!!!

Jamie.
I think I love you.
 
Excellent about the snake!!

I think vets can be great.... but then why have I been openly ripped off so many times by their surgeries?? I would love to have this cleared up so I can go back to idolising vets the way I did when I was a kid...
 
I guess it comes down to what you see as being ripped off. This vet visit cost me $255, they had him 10 days and gave him injections, baths and applied creams. I feel good about the cost but others may see it as excessive when without my allergy he could have been treated at home.
Surely the key is finding a good vet and sticking with them.
 
great to hear that your snake is back at home :)

in response to the vet issue, i guess it is like human doctors: some are better than others. while i don't have a herp vet nearby, i am lucky enough to have a good vet that will do research on reptile related problems before attempting to treat them. you just need to let her know what you are bringing in and what the problem is first. she saved my spotted's life and didn't charge me for follow up visits.

as for how they contain the herps while they are staying there, i'm sure any decent vet would look into the best and most viable way to house them. it could get pretty costly for them if they had to replace any reptiles that have passed away due to their negligence. it can get pretty stressful having someone else look after them though.
 
I guess it comes down to what you see as being ripped off. This vet visit cost me $255, they had him 10 days and gave him injections, baths and applied creams. I feel good about the cost but others may see it as excessive when without my allergy he could have been treated at home.
Surely the key is finding a good vet and sticking with them.

if i had an allergy stopping me from treating any of my pets at home, i would have done the same thing you did, and let's face it, $255 for 10 days, injections, creams and baths? if it were a dog it probably would have been more
 
In my opinion, this is the opposite of a rip-off. I would pay this gladly to see any of my animals fixed up by a professional.

By rip-off, I mean the endless abyss of stories of being charged ridiculous amounts for nothing. I took an lost baby galah to a wildlife hospital after a storm, and when they gave me the opportunity to handraise it instead of a carer because they're not difficult to raise and I have bird experience, and they charged me $110 for the consultation. I took my dog to the vet when he ripped a dew claw, filled a last-minute spot for them, then had to wait 50mins to see the vet. It was literally a 3min consultation for him to tell me not to worry, he's fine, and they charged me $70 for their time, then gave me grief for not taking my wolfhound to puppy school :shock: We took our maltese to the vet's for clipping - they missed a mat in his fur, ran over it with the clippers, he had to get 12 stitches in his belly, and they charged us for that, too.

Are you seeing why I struggle to love them? :D

You're right, find a good vet and stick with them!!!
 
Two weeks at the vet for one of my dogs when she was younger was $3000 just for the hospital stay. You definitely got a deal :)
 
Wow, $3000. I think if they had quoted me anything like that I would have just dealt with the discomfort of the allergy. I knew the approximate cost would be $250 when I left him and was happy that they were spot on when I picked him up.
 
It was fairly serious treatment, couldn't deal with it at home. But that cost didn't include the surgery, and then, she was so unsettled I had to drive 40mins to the vet everyday to take her out on the grass, cuz she wouldn't wee when anyone else did it! Poor little thing.
 
Jye, glad it all worked out okay.

All statements are given from the info we are supplyed.
That's exactly right, you can only judge based on what information you receive, and therein lies the problem. When people go off half cocked on assumptions based on scant information. Somone who has a full grasp on all the possible reasons behind a symptom (in this instance the pink belly) would know that there is more than one cause and therefore more information is needed before adding a conclusion, especially when you consider the consequences which could eventuate. I don't believe it's wise to take advice from the net as the gospel truth everytime, and I'm always surprised when people are so quick to take on board what they're being told with little or no idea of how qualified the person who is giving the advice may be. Thakfully in this case Jye realised the vet was right, and their issue was not with the diagnosis.
 
Kristy_07 - vets have a business. They need to charge consult fees and whatnot so just because the matter is easy to fix it doesn't mean you don't have to pay.

Take for example my last 5 or 6 visits to the doctor.. each time I have diagnosed myself before I got there and said "I have tonsillitis please prescribe me this antibiotic", they feel my throat briefly and write my prescription and I pay them $70.. how is it different?

My dad got surgery on skin cancer and they kept missing bits - he has had 4 subsequent surgeries and the hospital charged him full price for each one, even though it was their fault he had to come back - how is that different from your dog they had to stitch up?

See what I mean? Vets have very high costs that need to be covered, and don't forget there isn't any medicare for animals.

EDIT: you might also want to think about the tradesman who came to our house to fill in a door and did such a shocking job we had to get him back (at full price) to fix it, or the mechanic who after 3 full priced services still hasn't fixed my dad's steering wheel, or the locksmith who we called to fix a brand name lock and when he got to our place said "sorry I don't do this brand name" even though we told him over the phone, he then gave us his large bill as it was a Sunday... unfortunately this is a very common theme in life.

Sorry for ranting but I think vets are very often unfairly accused.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top