First Vet Visit

Hi guys. I have a 4 year old beardy I adopted about a month ago. I am taking him for his first vet visit on Wed. He is doing well but want to have a wellness exam and a fecal done. Can you think of some other things I should ask the vet and or have checked? Thanks!

themamaj":2cshxyvj said:

Hi guys. I have a 4 year old beardy I adopted about a month ago. I am taking him for his first vet visit on Wed. He is doing well but want to have a wellness exam and a fecal done. Can you think of some other things I should ask the vet and or have checked? Thanks!

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If the fecal looks good, I wouldn't ask anything. It wouldn't hurt to ask for maybe a few blood samples of protein/calcium/phosphorus levels though, although do it if you want, it obvously cost more, so whatever you can afford for your beardie

Great you going for a vet check, is it a vet that deals in exotics? If they are when doing the general health check they will check for common issues such as metabolic bone disease, weight and any other visible signs of illness. Will check the mouth, eyes and should give the belly a good feel. The fecal is good as will show up any parasites so both of those are a good start and if they experienced with reptiles they can talk a lot from a physical exam. I know when we adopted our juvenile he was very underweight and dehydrated so the gave him a fluid/vitamin shot. If anything concerns the vet or shows up in the fecal then can do more.

I know you said you have only recently got them but is there anything in the behaviour so far that's s worry?

I would certainly get a full blood work panel done on a 4 year old, if for nothing other than establishing baseline results. But the blood work will rule out any active Infections, blood calcium levels (MBD), Uric Acid levels (gout), kidney and liver disease, etc. You can rule out or discover a million different underlying illnesses and diseases from blood work.

My only concern is poops are still runnier than I think they should be so do want to screen for parasites. They started out runny which I would expect from stress of move but then he will have sort of a normal one then have two runny ones. I wanted to wait a bit before I took him so he could settle from change in environment and I could learn his normal behaviors, evaluate his eating and activity.

Yes we do have a very good exotic in town and she treats a lot of dragons. I thought about a blood panel because of his age but guess will have to see how expensive it would be. His urates are very large so I think his kidney function is good. I give him short baths every day and longer on some days. Eyes, ears and mouth all look clear to me and he seems to have good muscle mass. I exercise him out of the cage a couple of times a day and he gets some outside time with me on sunny days. His appetite seems great on bugs, pretty good on salads but more picky there. I add calcium to his salads every day and in addition do the herptivite about 3x a week. One thing I am not sure on is how many bugs to feed him per day or week. I want to make sure he is getting enough but not over do it. Any recommendations on insect schedule? I try to have dubias as primary but also have crickets, superworms, phoenix worms and occasionally hornworms on hand.

Happy to report Chomper had a great report from first vet visit. He is very healthy and good weight. We tried to get a fecal but the stinker would not cooperate lol. He got an in office bath. They said oh he will for sure poop now. Nope just sat there enjoying his spa treatment. They tried meal worms and even stimulating cholea and nothing. Completely stubborn though he enjoyed his worm treat. We are going to treat him for parasites just because of how common they are. He did good taking his first dose of meds and I will take a poop sample back after finishes med. Vet seemed very pleased with him. She suggested doing a blood panel when he comes back for 5 year visit for screening but doing great.