Fecal drop-off...issues

[saden99]

So I decided to call some Vets around here to ask if they take Fecal drop-offs from Reptiles to examine for parasites and finally got a hold of one place around here that deals with exotics and Reptiles. They told me that, by law they cannot make a diagnosis of parasites if they just take a fecal unless they see the animal and do an exam. Don't get me wrong...I want an exam, but Rupert is a little over a month old and does not like strangers at all. I don't want a Vet visit to stress him/her out just to run a fecal...

What is strange is the woman said they can take the fecal and examine, but they can't make a diagnosis and prescribe any treatment which I thought was odd. They can't even tell me he/she has parasites if he/she does? I want to bring Rupert in when he/she is about 5-6 months and probably much more comfortable being handled and taken out of the normal habitat, but right now I have a feeling a Vet visit will mean a re-visit to something like re-location stress. Not to mention that it seems odd that I might be shelling out $100 every time I want a fecal done which will be somewhat often in the future when Rupert starts brumation and what not.


I live in Georgia by the way...~20 miles NW of Atlanta. This place is about 20 minutes away on a good day of traffic.

 

[ziggy23]

Some vets have a policy of wanting to examine them the first time before a fecal if they've never been there before, but I haven't heard of it being a law. I could see it being a possible liability issue, perhaps they're not technically a patient until they've been seen.

My vet has that policy, but after that they don't need to be seen for a fecal unless it's positive.

 

[saden99]

Yah...they're saying it's the LAW that they have to do an exam before they can run a fecal test (or in this case I would bring Rupert in for an exam with a fecal sample ready for them to test).


Does anyone have any tips for bringing Rupert in for an exam? 4 inches (not counting the tail), eating well...good health from what I can tell. This would just be the first fecal that I want to make routine. The vet visit itself wouldn't be routine at all. A new box, a car ride for 20-30 minutes and then some person with gloves and a mask touching him/her for the exam...that'd be stressful to me if I were that small.

 

[Gail]

Get a chemical handwarmer from a hardware store. Once you are ready to go to the vet, activate the warmer and wrap it in a towel. You can set you dragon on that inside a small box.
If she is eating well and growing, you can wait to have a fecal until she is a bit bigger.