I am currently a vet student at colorado state university. I have worked with some very impressive vets, both in zoos and in private practice, on some very cool reptile cases that no average keeper would have even begun to comprehend.

Several important things to consider about veterinary meidcine and reptiles...

There is no certification process for herps veterinarians. So no one can prove that they have any idea what they are talking about. You have to determine for yourself if a general DVM actually knows anything about reptiles or not.

Ask about their experience workling with herps. They should be happy to discuss it with you. Ask if they have done internships, worked at zoos, and what school they went to. Ask if they have reptile pets of their own. The best herp vet schools are University of Florida and Kansas State. (Although plenty of great herp vets come from other programs too.)

Most vets learned medicine first and about reptiles later so they come at things from a different perspective. If you can find a vet who was a herpetologist first you are golden.

Good exotics vets are few and far between and getting to one if you don't live in a major urban area can be problematic. Check the AARV website. If you are really stuck call your local zoo and they may be able to help you even if their staff vet doesn't do private practice

A few cool things I have seen done with reptiles in the past few months... skin grafts after rodent attack, MRI of sea turtles with pnumonia, surgery to save eggbound tortoise, numerous foreign body removals from iguanas that ate carabiners to frogs and geckos with substrate impactions... the list goes on and on.

The bottom line is that YES vets are good for a lot more than fecals and perscriptions. Most wild animals remain fairly healthy IF they are kept properly. Like I said in a post below. Most reptiles present to vets for HUSBANDRY related problems not actual deseases. But herps can get sick and when they do they are just as deserving of quality medical care as any of our furrier pets.

Cheers

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