Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey i took spike to the vet today and he had 3 parasites tape worm, round worm and nematode (whatever that is) he got his meds and has to go back in a week. he said he may have been wild cought and had them before the person i got him from bought him. he also said that i was feeding him all wrong. he said he should have pinkys,cricks,and worms, and a little veggies. he said bird seed was no good for them and to cut it out all together. pinkys? anyone feed them? im not sure who to beleive the doc or everything ive ever learned. please help.
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brandy

My recommendation is to ditch the vet asap and find someone familiar with uromastyx.

Brandy-

Please find a new vet immediately. His advice on uro diet leads me to believe that he should not be seeing uros at all. Uros are primarily plant eaters (mostly dark, leafy greens, some veggies, and a little bit of fruit), bird seed is fine, insect matter is ok occasionally, and pinkies are pretty much a NEVER.

I do hope the parasite problem is resolved well, though. That will help Spike out a lot! Good luck!
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Torey
Salem, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.1 Uromastyx Maliensis (Tank and Turtle)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.0 Sunset Dwarf Gourami (Sideshow)
0.0.1 False Spotted Corydoras (Spot)
0.0.2 Metae Corydoras (Frank and Jesse)
0.0.2 Dwarf Sucking Oto (Tootsie and Dum-Dum)
0.0.1 Apple Snail
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Brandy,
I am in Miami Florida and my herp vet for my iguana and uro complemented me on what I feed my animals... collard greens mustard greens etc. NEVER did he say feed them living animals. He even printed out a form with what to feed them. It stated vegis, greens and little fruit. Every once in awhile a cricket or mealworm. PLEASE for the sake of your babies find a REAL herp vet so the health of yours will be good. Good luck
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The addiction can be dangerous

OK, so I agree with all the previous posts, that is a definite vet to ditch. If you are in a kind mood you may want to print out some good caresheets regarding Uros and drop them off at his office, just as a point of education. Though I suppose this could make him *seem* knowledgeable to the next person he sees.

Has anyone else tried to PICTURE a Uromastyx eating a pinky? First of all, I don't think they would even try it, but how would they do it to begin with? No teeth to speak of, just the cartilage ridge, and no double hinged jaw, like a snake has... Maybe pinkies are smaller than I rememver them. I am guessing this vet just assumed Spike was either a different type of lizard, or assumed his diet would be the same as a monitor, but just through OBSERVATION he really should have been able to tell the Uro had different food requirements... I wonder if I could photoshop a mouse eating Uro...

Truly Astounded,
Elizabeth

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1.0 Uro Archimedes
0.0 Fish
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
0.1 Newfoundland Jasmine
0.1 Feline Winter
Indiana & Wisconsin

>>OK, so I agree with all the previous posts, that is a definite vet to ditch. If you are in a kind mood you may want to print out some good caresheets regarding Uros and drop them off at his office, just as a point of education. Though I suppose this could make him *seem* knowledgeable to the next person he sees.
>>

>>
>>Truly Astounded,
>>Elizabeth
>>

My local vet who deals with herps said almost the same thing to me when he called me back with the results of the first fecal I brought in for my uro. He said I should be feeding crickets, pinkies and that in the wild they ate eggs! My first reaction was that he was unfamiliar with the species (obviously) and that he probably was looking up the wrong species.

Luckily he is a nice enough guy he was willing to listen to me and look at some current care sheets and research and agreed he was wrong. I now use him for routine checkups and lab work but we always work together checking results and agreeing on treatment (luckily my uro has been very healthy) It is very convienient to use him as he is only 2 miles from my house, but I have checked out an alternate reptile specialist and talked with her to make sure she IS familiar with the species and will use her as a second opinion or primary vet in case of a major problem.

This makes me wonder if there are some outdated texts out there listing uros before we new more of the husbandry of them than we do now. Don't forget there was a lot less known about these guys only 10-20 years ago.
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Mike Wilson
mwilson@fuu.net

I hear that florida has some of the best reptile vets...is this true? Anyways I used to have this one vet that I had only used because the good one was unavailable at the time, and he obviously didn't really know much about uromastyx (he kept thinking the salty discharge was a respiratory infection...I did too at first, but that was right when I adopted her and only knew how to care for them and not their traits and what not...I'd assume a vet would know)...but he still knew that they are almost entirely herbivores. It just makes me question how well he can detect other possible problems for reptiles. Also, what kind of meds did your vet give for your uro's parasites. Was it ivermectin? (which would be done by the vet, injected with a syringe) It doesn't sound like it was, but that's also a good way to tell a good reptile vet from a bad one. Most good reptile vets don't dare think about using Ivermectin (also known as "Ivomec" on reptiles, because it can sometimes be fatal, and is almost always fatal to turtles and tortoises.

Find a new vet promptly. It seems reptile vets are few and far between, even now that the hobby is becoming so much more popular. It is for that reason that I considered going to college to study veterinary practice and possibly go with that career, specializing in reptiles, but I'm just too squeemish and my other calling (musician/music teacher) is what I'll really go for. I just wish there were more vets that took the time to truely understand reptiles and their treatment. Feeding a uro the diet your vet suggested will be a quick way to get kidney failure.

Good luck with the uro though.

yes florida has good reptile vets. There are 2 good ones in Miami. I use So Kendall Animal Clinic because I know he has been around for over 20 years. There is another one in Miami area that only treats birds and reptiles.
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The addiction can be dangerous