NEGLECTFUL VETS-BEWARE!!

[Kazyrock]

I have recently taken my year old beardie, Marty to the vet clinic because of his loss of intrest in food. (it's all cleared up now) The vet specialized in small animals such as snakes, lizards, geckos and hamsters. Firstly, she tried sexing Marty the wrong way, which sent his arms and legs flailing. He never does this and is very calm otherwise. She said Marty was a girl, which I, a 14 year old girl proved wrong a few weeks later. Next, she said that he needed a MUCH bigger enclosure. (he's in a 40 gallon) I don't believe this because he has about 4 or 5 inches of his tail missing and right now is 15 inches and almost full grown. she asked me how much 40 gallons was. The last problem was she told me the humidity should be 50% all the time. She tried to get us to pay for a bunch of fecal exams and didn't help me at all with his loss of appetite. She is pretty much the only reptile vet around and I have to drive to the next city to get there! I guess what I am trying to say here is that make sure you don't trust everything your vet says... :roll:

 

[Taterbug]

I've had pretty bad luck with vets too. Sorry to hear your visit went poorly.

How did she try to sex him?

Just to let you know, there are some disagreements in the hobby regarding husbandry. Some keepers do feel that a 40 is too small. I have seen 4x2x2 as a recommended size more than a few times. 50% seems high and is pretty hard to do in the winter, but 30-40% humidity is probably a healthy level for dragons.

As for the fecals, there isn't too much diagnostically the vet can do when it comes to a physical exam. Unless your dragon had something wrong with his teeth, for example it would be hard to determine why he lacks an appetite. Fecal checks are a go-to diagnostic for reptiles, as parasites are a very common problem. They are also less expensive and less stressful than a blood draw. Different tests look for different things, one of the vets I go to has 3 or 4 checks and a full work up can be up to 100$ or more just in fecal tests.

Do you know if she personally keeps dragons? Often folks who keep the animals they treat are more familiar with them and common behaviors. I tend to grill my vet on the whys and what nexts since personally I don't see the point in a test that won't reveal something treatable.

 

[Kazyrock]

I've had pretty bad luck with vets too. Sorry to hear your visit went poorly.

How did she try to sex him?

Just to let you know, there are some disagreements in the hobby regarding husbandry. Some keepers do feel that a 40 is too small. I have seen 4x2x2 as a recommended size more than a few times. 50% seems high and is pretty hard to do in the winter, but 30-40% humidity is probably a healthy level for dragons.

As for the fecals, there isn't too much diagnostically the vet can do when it comes to a physical exam. Unless your dragon had something wrong with his teeth, for example it would be hard to determine why he lacks an appetite. Fecal checks are a go-to diagnostic for reptiles, as parasites are a very common problem. They are also less expensive and less stressful than a blood draw. Different tests look for different things, one of the vets I go to has 3 or 4 checks and a full work up can be up to 100$ or more just in fecal tests.

Do you know if she personally keeps dragons? Often folks who keep the animals they treat are more familiar with them and common behaviors. I tend to grill my vet on the whys and what nexts since personally I don't see the point in a test that won't reveal something treatable.

She put him on his back!! I know why he was flailing because he couldn't breathe!

 

[timisimaginary]

even reptile vets can't know every detail about every reptile they treat. each individual type of reptile has it's own specific care requirements and unique characteristics, and even different species within the same kind of reptile, such as different species of chameleons, can have vastly different details about what is best for them. vets are a resource, but should never be the only one. books and websites like this one are important for keepers to be as informed as possible about the specific breed(s) of reptile they keep. it's up to us to fill in the gaps of a reptile vet's generalized knowledge with the specific knowledge related to our own pets.

if you don't trust your vet, then it's best to seek out another til you find one you can trust. if that's not an option, then only rely on that vet for the things you can't provide yourself, such as various diagnostic tests, surgical procedures, etc. also, don't be afraid to disagree with a vet, a good vet will be willing to listen and learn from their clients and will welcome the additional knowledge and insight they can glean from the owners they serve. good vets know they don't know everything, especially when it comes to exotic pets that they don't see or treat very often. just be prepared to back up anything you tell them, with books, internet articles (scientific articles will get the most respect), etc. if a vet is too stubborn or not willing to listen to you when you have a disagreement with something they've told you, that's a vet you probably want to move on from.