Should I take my new juvenile to the vet for checkup?

[BriGecko]

Hello. I'm lucky that the Dallas area seems to have a good number of reptile vets. I just got my first bearded dragon 3 days ago. Should I have him checked for pinworms, adenovirus, etc, in a few weeks, or should I only take him if he shows signs of illness? The breeder seemed like a very reputable one.

Not sure what the accepted procedure is for bearded dragons. When I take in a cat or dog, a general health/new-pet checkup at the vet is non-negotiable.

 

[AHBD]

You might want to wait until he's settled in for a month or two, eating + growing well. And I strongly advise that you seek out only a vet that has lots of experience with beardies, otherwise they can do more harm than good.

 

[BriGecko]

Okay. So in a month or so, I'll call around and ask specifically for beardie experience before setting up an appointment. Anyone believe it's absolutely necessary? Maybe I can bring in a fecal but not the actual dragon...

 

[BriGecko]

Thank you, AHBD =)

 

[kingofnobbys]

Will be very stressful for the beardie to travel to a vet and the experience will also be very stressful for it too.

Why not monitor your juvenile beardies growth and behaviours (eating , pooing etc) over the next few months.

If it is not growing or is off food , take a sample of it's poo to a vet and ask for tests on it.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

If he brought in a sample that had a high count of something that needed to be treated, I would be very surprised if he would be given medicine without the vet first physically examining the dragon. There are lawsuit issues.

If you go to someone who specializes in treating exotics it should not be that stressful to the dragon.

But I agree that as long as the dragon is thriving wait until the relocation stress has settled and the dragon has grown some before going to the vet.

 

[BriGecko]

Ok, that sounds like the best route. Did not consider the legal issues. He has been eating and pooing often, and seems very healthy... I'll wait until he has grown some and settled in. Will watch his behavior for red flags, too.

Thanks for answering!

 

[Taterbug]

It is in fact illegal for a vet to diagnose and treat any animal without an established client relationship and physical exam. They can loose their license so reputable vets won't do this. (They can't do it over the Internet either so beware of Internet medical advice).

I get my critters regular checkups, how "mandatory" that is depends on you I guess. Some keepers get baseline bloodwork and such (when they are big enough) and vets typically recommend anual parasite screens.

I have not had stress issues with my dragon (he hams it up for the vets) and even the snakes are over it in a day.

Personally I think an initial visit is a good hing to establish a relationship with the vet (or determine if you do not like them) when your pet is not in a bad way and your options are more limited. I've been to four vets with my reptiles before finding one I really like/trust and had some bad emergency experiences.