Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How often do you take them to the vet???
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*Satheara Sin*
Satheara@yahoo.com
Life's a Sin

I have had my first bp for about 2 weeks. I took him to the vet for a check-up a few days after I got him. The vet told me that annual visits were more than adequate unless you notice some problem that needs to be treated or causes you concern.

I don't like spending money for nothing. I have not read your previous post. Now with a dozen balls I wouldn't bring them to a vet, I have the vet come to me for $95 CAD and he gives any prescriptions needed in whatever volume I want (save for the future plus an extra script post dated for the future, meds have a shelf life).

When you educate yourself well you will likely not need a vet until there is a problem that requires a vet (scale rot, mites, mouth rot and the like do not count, they do not require a vet visit to treat once your educated on the topic) and that is most commonly for internal parasites. Flaryl (sp. sorry) is available through any doctor (mine is so happy to see me (i hate to go) that he writes me scripts for this no problem, its just an anti-wormer, almost required if u visit certain countries). Even then beanfarm sells it. No vet required. ALL the information you need is avialable off the internet and the telephone.

Dave

np

I take any new snakes to the vet for a well check after they come out of quarantine (30-60 days depending on where I got them). Other than that I take a fecal sample in to be checked for parasites about twice a year unless I suspect trouble.

I would recommend at least taking a fecal sample in if not the whole snake (preferred). I made the mistake of assuming that a big pet store girl who did well through quarantine and after (gained well over 1,000 grams in 2 years) was clean but when I finally got around to taking in a sample she had two kinds of parasites (may well have been wild caught in spite of eating well by the time I got her). Believe me, treating your entire collection is a pain in the butt so best to be absolutely sure of not having parasites as each animal is added.

A quarantine of as much as 6 months is of course always a good idea to protect against diseases such as IBD (a python will not live that long with it but if it was recently in a mite infected pet store with boas – infection rate might be as high as 50% - a new ball python addition could bring it home). However, you need to have a fecal exam done to check for parasites. Some just shotgun treat for everything and that works too but if you don't already have the meds, equipment, and know-how see your vet. Apparently tapeworms aren't detectable in every exam so it's unfortunate that Droncit is the most expensive of the big three (Flagyl and Panacur are the other two). I am even spraying a little Ivomectin on for good measure while I'm at it.

I was just curious cos my first ball EVER is arriving tomorrow morn.
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*Satheara Sin*
Satheara@yahoo.com
Life's a Sin

Bet it isn't your last, they are contagious. Start your collection off right, healthy and parasite free and keep it that way.