Check up check list for your pet.

[Snake-Supplies]

I'm saying if I had missed it.

 

[beeman]

You do realise that a vet is NOT going to be able to tell you if your critter has any of the real nasties, This can only be done post-mortem!
I agree 100% with Jamie, the vet will gladly relieve you of you money for basicly nothing!
Its is unfortunate that new keepers think they are doing a good thing by taking
a healthy reptile in for a "checkup"

 

[Snake-Supplies]

This post was not meant to be a debate.

If you don't wanna take your snake to the vet cause you don't wanna lose $50, or get things double checked... don't.

I thought the post could be helpful, if you don't like it... don't read it, by not reading and replying... it will get lost in the other thousands of posts.

I fixed up the whole vet thing for all those "experienced"

 

[hornet]

its not just about it being a complete waste of money, its a danger to the animals health. Why would anyone risk the health of their animals "just to be on the safe side"

 

[Pythoninfinite]

This post was not meant to be a debate.

If you don't wanna take your snake to the vet cause you don't wanna lose $50, or get things double checked... don't.

I thought the post could be helpful, if you don't like it... don't read it, by not reading and replying... it will get lost in the other thousands of posts.

I fixed up the whole vet thing for all those "experienced"

I don't think there's any need to get all antsy JA, just because people have said that an annual vet visit is unnecessary and possibly unsafe. I'm not only making a judgement call for myself or those with similar experience - it's important for even newcomers to the hobby to know that some things are simply not necessary, and may even be harmful. It's the same with routine worming and sterilizing branches etc... an entrenched belief that snakes will come to grief if they come into contact with the real world.

It's very possible to stress secretive animals like snakes by over-managing them in their daily lives... just relax and enjoy them for what they are. Apart from food, water, shelter and an appropriately managed environment, they need very little else from us.

Jamie

 

[Snakeluvver2]

I have been in the game for 8 months.

....then maybe listen to someone who has been into herps longer than we have been alive.

The vets won't find anything that is serious or subtle unless you tell them about it.
Your original post actually told you to look for bumps and lumps so if you don't find anything I doubt anyone else will on a just a basic "check up"

Great thread though.

 

[Jessica]

Great thread!! i totally agree that it should be a sticky, i learnt alot.. haha i am thinking i may go check out my snake now

 

[J-A-X]

Great thread JA, as you have said, you are new to all things snakey, so if you're happy to get a yearly vet check then go for it, getting a 2nd opinion never hurts. You may think your animal is perfectly healthy, the next person who sees it may think it is over / underweight. the cost of the check up is worth the piece of mind to know that you are doing the right thing when starting out.

As you have probably already found out, there will always be someone to argue the point. If you (or anyone else) think its worthwhile then go for it.

I think a lot of newcomers will benefit from what you have written. Well done

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Over/underweight... what does that mean for a snake? Is it a problem anyway? Just to be clear, I wasn't 'arguing the point' about anything, I was attempting to point out that a yearly check-up on an apparently healthy snake is a waste of time and money. The other stuff is fine, and certainly I appreciate the intent of JA in making his thread... good on him for that.

Nor was I having a shot at vets - they take what comes, and they need incomes like everyone else.

J

 

[Dipcdame]

Joshua, if you scan through a lot of the threads here, there are those who are slammed by some here for doing the wrong thing by their animals, not looking after them/neglecting them. Then there are those who get slammed for being too concerned about their animals, and doing too much, you are in the latter category. It's a cross that must be borne, but you do what you feel is right, that's the important thing. As long as the animal is healthy, what the heck??????

As for taking a reptile to a vets, the chance of it picking anything up in there aren't THAT high, after all, the animals in a box I would assume, not having the run of the waiting room, would have very little chance of catching anything. Besides, what CAN a reptile get from a cat or dog, who are the majority of animals in waiting rooms!!!!!

 

[Banjo]

Thanks Joshua, your post is very interesting, well done IMO.

 

[Snake-Supplies]

Thanks everyone for reading it, I hope you all got something out of it.
I understand that everyone is trying to help and what not... I just didn't expect it to be a debate.

Everyone has their own opinion on thing's and hey, that's great, but when I feel that people are saying you're wrong, you should not do that (without a reason I feel is adequate) I feel a little well... pissed off.
I think it would be like someone, "your a bad father/mother"
I'm young, I do not claim to know everything.

All I was saying basically, I feel that a second opinion wouldn't hurt, until I am CERTAIN I can do it and be comfortable with my own "results"


Thanks to all of you for your input, also if there is anything else you think I should add, or fix up, tell me...
it's not my post, it everyones post, so I would love your input.

Josh

 

[Zoltag]

Over/underweight... what does that mean for a snake? Is it a problem anyway?

My vet certainly seems to believe that being overweight is not good for snakes and when I have taken animals I thought were generally fine in for specific issues, he has told me that they are overweight and I need to cut their food intake, otherwise I will start running into health issues with them. I understand this is because of the way snakes store fat on their bodies (underneath the muscles, rather than underneath the skin).

As for whether or not underweight is bad for a snake, thats such a ridiculous question I dont think it really deserves a response.

Thanks everyone for reading it, I hope you all got something out of it.
I understand that everyone is trying to help and what not... I just didn't expect it to be a debate.

Everyone has their own opinion on thing's and hey, that's great, but when I feel that people are saying you're wrong, you should not do that (without a reason I feel is adequate) I feel a little well... pissed off.
I think it would be like someone, "your a bad father/mother"
I'm young, I do not claim to know everything.

All I was saying basically, I feel that a second opinion wouldn't hurt, until I am CERTAIN I can do it and be comfortable with my own "results"


Thanks to all of you for your input, also if there is anything else you think I should add, or fix up, tell me...
it's not my post, it everyones post, so I would love your input.

Josh

Josh, I certainly believe that there are much worse things you could do than to take your animals in to the vet for an annual checkup. An alternative approach would be to make friends with an experienced keeper and have them over to your place once in a while to have a look, which may actually be more beneficial, as they would get to see the animals along with the enclosures you are using.

 

[junglecarpet]

Fantastic idea for a thread

 

[Snake-Supplies]

Thanks

 

[rae6mon]

This is a great thread and most of it could apply to lizards as well. As far as vet checks go i think they are as important as us going to the doctor even just for a check up. There is another option that i know my vet does and that is fecal samples only for $10. So it isn't always necessary to take your animal to the vet and still get an idea of their internal health.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

The underweight/overweight thing is not a ridiculous question at all... Snakes are built to weather varying conditions in the wild - seasonal variations themselves, and seasonal availability of food - some summers will be good, some very poor. The weight of a snake is highly variable at any given time through the course of its life. Obviously obesity is to be avoided (even someone with my lack of common sense knows that), but if a snake is heavier or thinner than average at different times in its life will not make a jot of difference to its long-term health.

A thing about fecal samples taken from captive bred snakes which are fed on fresh-killed or frozen/thawed food items... the snakes won't have worms unless the rodents or other food items have access to worm eggs which have come from an infested snake, i.e. rats & mice which have access to the faeces of a snake which has worms and is passing worm eggs. Even wild-caught snakes will gradually lose their normal worm load if fed on clean rodents, because the intermediate stage is not available for the snake to ingest eggs. Protozoan parasites or bacterial infections are a different story - but if your snake has these it would be showing symptoms, so you would probably be at the vet for that anyway.

Josh and I spent some time in conversation yesterday, and we understand each others intentions here perfectly. I absolutely commend him for this thread, it is a great idea and will be a very useful tool for starters in the game. The vet thing is simply a matter opinion (lots of respondents 'think' it's a good idea...), and of course if it makes a keeper more comfortable, go for it. But... it would be interesting to conduct a poll to see how many 'surprise' (symptomless) illnesses have been discovered by vets doing these checkups. My bet is that the number would be very low indeed.

Jamie

Jamie.

 

[Snake-Supplies]

Indeed we did.

 

[J-A-X]

LOL, I think you have found yourself a mentor Josh. Now you two have fun won't you. Nice to see a postive come out of a thread that got a little heated.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Heated? Me? Never...

J