Greetings Everyone!
It's been many moons since I last replied (moving and moving again then being super busy as kept me away from the computer and numerous posts I used to do (tear, I know, it's sad).
Anyway, after reading some posts on various species here and seeing a pretty common phrase thrown out there saying something to the effect of "all vets/doctors are money/power hungry", I thought I'd throw my 2 cents out here.
Some of you know me, some do not. I've been taking in exotics in my rescue for 16 years now. I focus on research, rehabilitation, adoption and education and the vast majority of what I've taken in are iguanas. Suffice it to say, I've seen my fair share of husbandry-related health issues as well as healthy igs that have issues arise just as anything in life can.
In my journey to learn more technical information regarding the health of our exotics, I decided I want to persue more into the field of medicine (probably just being a certified veterinary technician and lab nut). So, I've worked in 3 clinics in my history as a vet techie thus far and I can say, I have met VARIOUS doctor personalities. That being said, YES there are good vets and bad vets (same with people doctors). Finding the good from the bad can be a challenge I know. :/
Issues that I've seen come about with regarding taking an exotic pet (ie reptiles, rabbits, birds, etc) in to see a veterinarian are mostly that people are under this misperception that taking a pet who only cost them initially $20 in for a $50-60 new pet exam is stupid and that the vet is trying to just make money off them is staggering. With all due respect, on this issue, I've never seen the justification in someone's reasoning why a $10-20 animal has any less respect to be taken in when they need help than one that cost way more than the exam could ever hope to be. Most of my kiddos are rescues and cost me NOTHING except more vet bills to make them healthy again and they get seen. We get countless people calling with various issues like a sick ball python, sick/injured green iguana or even corn snakes that once they ask "how much does an exam cost?" and we tell them, I usually get the old "oh, um I'll call back to make the appt" and of course, they never do. What they don't give us usually the time to explain is, the reasoning behind that particular price is that we set aside twice the amount of time for a new exotic as a new puppy or kitten since we have a LOT more to go over (such as type of cage, lighting, heating, humidity, diet, behavior, etc) all to go over with the new owner before we can make ANY assessment as to why the reptile (or other exotic) is behaving or appearing to be "off" or sick. So knowing you are paying for this extra time it takes plus expert care to ensure the life and quality of your pet's wellbeing, it only makes sense to me to bring them in.
I think it's the mentality that since most pet reptiles and exotics in general cost very little comparatively to the vet bills, people tend to sway to the idea that it's not worth it and they can always get another reptile if it dies rather than having the animal seen and treated.
The other issue I've seen on here like vets recommending surgery vs antibiotics...again, there are good vets, and bad vets.
There are also vets that WILL tell you "here are your options, we can do surgery or we can try a course of antibiotics in the meantime to see if that works before going the more invasive route of surgery" which is what the wonderful doctors I work with will do. A good vet will summerize ALL of your options, explaining the pros/cons of each and every option (such as that some antibiotics are often way more harsh than they'd like to try vs. another type) and not just say "oh he needs surgery, end of story". If a vet does not explore all options and just leaps into one theory alone, then that would be when you seek a 2nd opinion for a qualified herp/avian/exotics vet.
Bottom line, even though I've rambled quite a bit (been up WAY too late so bare with me), before making the statement that vets/doctors are bad, do your reserach, find a qualified exotics vet and ask around from people who bring their exotics in.
Anyway, there's my 2 cents. Please bare in mind I'm not the type to go around in anger mode or anything and this is NOT that type of post. Just stating what I've seen, worked with and can definitely relate to. 
Hugs!
Amanda Rose
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