Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey i just wanted to make sure everyone understands that i agree completely with recommending a vet, but when someone askes for help and says in their post that they can't afford a vet, having a buncha ppl respiond scolding them for keeping a pet and not taking it to the vet, and just saying take it to a vet is not going to helpt aht person at all...
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my animals
1.0.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
0.1 white's dumpy treefrog (un-named)
0.0.1 red eared slider (carl)
0.0.1 fire belly toad (escaped..)
1.0 lop eared wabbit (oreo)
0.0.2 pink toed tarantula (mambo mambo, and un-named)
0.0.1 green iguana (iguanadonatello)
the rest of the animals in the hizouse
1.0 westie puppy (gabriel)
1.0 plain ol' outdoor alley cat (joey)
0.1 indoor rag doll kitty (tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs

Maybe your just looking for attention but I don't see anything different in this complaint than the last. Fact of the matter is most of the people who can't afford to take their animals to a vet are kids. If you can pay for a vet than why is the list of animals you own as follows:?
1.0.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
0.1 white's dumpy treefrog (un-named)
0.0.1 red eared slider (carl)
0.0.1 fire belly toad (escaped..)
1.0 lop eared wabbit (oreo)
0.0.2 pink toed tarantula (mambo mambo, and un-named)
0.0.1 green iguana (iguanadonatello)
the rest of the animals in the hizouse
1.0 westie puppy (gabriel)
1.0 plain ol' outdoor alley cat (joey)
0.1 indoor rag doll kitty (tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs

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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

what the crap, that made no sense, sounded like you were trying to tell me i need to be abel to afford to take my animals to the vet, b/c i have so many, if any of them need vet care they will get it, i'm about to sell my computer so i can take puff to the vet about her tail not shedding properly
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my animals
1.0.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
0.1 white's dumpy treefrog (un-named)
0.0.1 red eared slider (carl)
0.0.1 fire belly toad (escaped..)
1.0 lop eared wabbit (oreo)
0.0.2 pink toed tarantula (mambo mambo, and un-named)
0.0.1 green iguana (iguanadonatello)
the rest of the animals in the hizouse
1.0 westie puppy (gabriel)
1.0 plain ol' outdoor alley cat (joey)
0.1 indoor rag doll kitty (tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs

Ive been trying to stay quiet in this whole dang issue, but geez...number one, let it go, we dont want to get people riled up on here after they have calmed down a little, and number two (NOT STARTING anything i hope) saying that they need a vet DOES help most people, because as novice herpers go the people that dont do lots of research dont really think that lizards should go to a vet really. And when we say that they need to go to a vet, the people realize that the problem/issue with the dragon may be more serious than they originnally thought. And to back up rujoneson, maybe it wasnt aimed at you perticularly, but if you can afford all those pets, you sure as HELL better be able to afford a vet bill or two.

Im done, and i hope this issue is as well.

Have a good day, all

David
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Email

Like Dagangsta, I understand not being able to afford a vet bill. I have never taken any of my herps to a vet. I do not have a job, I do not even have a house, my herps are my main hobby and I do everything I can for them, but I am cheap, to put it plainly. I'm sorry, and I know this is going to get a lot of bloodpressures up, but it's true. This doesn't mean I am negligent in any way, it just means I don't have the money for anything(my parents do) and I appreciate them just buying me these herps. To ask them to take every one of them to the vet, or any that I may suspect to be ill(which, me being paranoid, is a lot), would probably get my animals sent out of my house. I also have 2 roach colonies...when I suspect one of my roaches of being in bad health, I don't take it to the vet... On The Other Hand.....if one of my beardies or uromastyx got sick and I felt that a vet could help, I wouldn't hesitate to take it to a vet, but animals that cost me 10 dollars and I dont even have a name for...I will do EVERYTHING I can for them, but I can't afford to take them to the vet. PS... So where do you draw the line with vet care, crix and roaches are obviously not something you take to a vet, but what about a millipede, a scorpion, a tarantula, a hamster, a house gecko, a green anole.... where do you draw the line?? thanx

I dont see how people can supposedly 'love' their animals and watch them perish when they are sick because they dont want to spend money on them. Cmon now. I would rather NOT EAT for a week than to watch one of my animals die.
Why would this be ok for anywone???? These animals are ALIVE and have FEELINGS just like us! They DEPEND on their keepers for proper care and MEDICAL TREATMENT when it is necessary!!
I am sorry but i cannot STAND it when people sit by, say they dont want to spend the money on the proper care, habitat, lighting, supplements, or frigging VET BILLS!!!! I have seen this so many times working in the various petstores that i have. The bottom line is that it IS NOT FAIR to the animal!!
How would you like it if you were IMPACTED or INFESTED or afflicted with PNEMONIA and stuck in a room that you could not leave??!!! How would you feel if you were SUFFERING and all you could get was WELL WISHINGS and HAPPY THOUGHTS???
Those that we tame are our own responsibilities. That is the final bottom line. THAT is why people are ridiculed when they say that they do not have the money for a vet. THAT is why people should not keep the animals they do not have the money to care for.
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"raised by a cup of coffee"

1.0 ball python- Azazel
1.0 columbian boa- Brooklyn
1.0 red blood python-Hiss
1.0 peach phase thayeri-Sancho
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 partial stripe ghost corn- Raven
1.0 Sunglow motley corn-Ernie
1.1 hognose- Pricilla and Odd
0.1 russian tortoise- Manja
0.1 collared lizard-O-ren
0.1.1 leos- Boji and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.0 BTS- Griffon
0.1 Iggy- Sunny
0.0.2 Red american toadlets with 0.0.7 legs total (er, i have one w/3....)
0.0.1 gray tree frog toadlet
0.0.6 land snails
0.0.2 millipedes of unknown species from TN
0.0.1 spotted slug
5.3 bettas
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
2.3 ratties Rizzo, Bounce, Bree, Blitzkreig, and Zelda

Careful, all that emotion may cause your post to catch the mysterious vanishing disease that's been floating around.

I agree that if a person wants an animal but knows they won't be able to keep up the responsibilities for it, they should leave it for someone else to buy who will. They are living things and they depend on us for proper care, if you know you can't provide that, getting one anyways is not fair to the animal.

I'll tell you where I draw the line. Roaches and crickets are FOOD for my lizards, they are not pets. They are going to die anyways, so no I'm not going to take one to a vet to save it. I do have a pet tarantula, it is my pet and my responsibility to keep ALIVE, so you bet if it needed care only a vet could provide, it would get it!

Dagangsta, look what you started. For shame.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
1.0 pictus gecko (Nicodemus)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
0.0.1 tarantula (Calcifer)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

i agree that i wouldnt watch my animals suffer. then again i take real good care of my animals so riotgirl, i do spend money on the proper caging, supplements, lighting, etc. I dont just buy my animals and stick them in a cage and hope they will be cool to watch or anything. I am extrememly paranoid and research for hours on end for each of my animals about the minutest details. But I must say that if my tarantula hasnt been eating much and is getting thin or my tree frog starts pooping diarhea that i would rather get advice on how to fix it for free from animal experts on kingsnake and try my best with that then go to a herp vet(which is still a Very primitive practice) and watch them try to cure some ailment they have never encountered. Herp vets have such a wide range of animals that they have to know EVERYthing about, and I dont think they could do much more than diagnose and try to cure at the most, which is what i would try to do without the vet. Herps are very complex and I think that if one is really sick, most of the time there isnt going to be much a vet can do for it. How many times have you all taken your herp to a vet for a problem and gotten help you couldnt have gotten elsewhere(which i am sure is a lot, but im just curious to know, despite my opinion) anyways thanks...hope everyone doesnt start getting immature and offensive

1 White's Tree frog - Mr Froggy
1 Tokay Gecko - Jeb
3 Crested Geckos
1 Velvet Gecko
2 Pictus Geckos
2 Bearded Dragons - Jude and Oswald
2 Mali Uromastyx - Mali and Zoltan
1 Giant Millipede
1 Rose Hair Tarantula
Lobster and Hissing Roaches
1 Mini Schnauzer - Cosmo

No, it's cool. Things get heated but we're all here for the same reason, even though we don't always agree.

It is true that good veterinary care for reptiles is difficult to come by. I have a friend who recently graduated from vet school, and he was saying how there really is no school that teaches much about reptiles at all. Reptile vets have to seek the knowledge themselves after graduation. Shame too, considering how popular reptiles are these days. Still, most vets have a better understanding of anatomy and medicine than most of us, and a lot of it can be applied to reptiles even if they aren't specifically trained for it.

Good reptile vets are out there if you know where to look, and sometimes there are things that only a good vet or extremely knowledgable keeper can help. Such as severed limb and extreme blood loss (like the case that started all this.) Your average pet owner simply doesn't have the understanding of anatomy and medicine to handle that sort of thing, in which case almost any vet would be better than none at all.

"How many times have you all taken your herp to a vet for a problem and gotten help you couldnt have gotten elsewhere"

None, actually. The only problem my lizards have had to visit the vet for was a case of parasites (one lizard actually), which my vet was able to diagnose and treat accordingly. Something I never would have been able to do. If any of them were ever severly injured, I am positive he could help them better than I or advice I got on the internet could.

Anyways, it is a case by case thing, I think. True many problems can easily be addressed by getting help from other kerpers. Then there are going to be certain situations and emergencies that can only be safely handled and treated by someone with medical and surgical training. As responsible owners we need to be prepared for such situations, lest we let our pet suffer. In the case of a tarantula or very small lizards and such, if treatment can't even be given by a professional, at least they could ease the animal's pain with euthanasia, rather than let it suffer.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
1.0 pictus gecko (Nicodemus)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
0.0.1 tarantula (Calcifer)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

i'm glad you don't get so offended like a lot of other people on this chat. It's hard to deal with people like that, and soon it turns into something personal and it doesn't have anything to do with the animals any more. Good to know there are people like you on these boards. Thanx, brian
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1.0 White's Tree Frog - Mr. Froggy ( 2004)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko - Jeb (2000)
2.0.1 Crested Geckos - Layne and Jerry and Alice (2004
1.1 Pictus Geckos - John and Yoko (2004)
1.0 Velvet Gecko - Scott (2004)
1.0 Tarantula - Mickey (2002)
2.0 Bearded Dragons - Jude and Oswald(thought jude was a fem and name stuck) (2000)
1.1 Mali Uromastyx - Mali and Zoltan (2001)
0.0.1 Millipede - Demri ( 2000)
1.0 Mini Schnauzer - Cosmo (1998)
Hissing and Lobster Roaches - Food

Recently I had one of my favorite bearded get sick on me. I not only took it to the vet, I left work early to do so. I was told he had an upper respiratory infection. I Shelled out $108 for the vet visit and the antibiotics. The kicker is he landed up dying later that night. If you ask me if I would take that risk and shell out the money again I would say yes, in a heart beat. I believe that these animals have every right to be treated if they become ill. If you became ill, you would hope to God someone found a way to get you to a doctor. If you take this animals life in your hands, its your responsibility to do the right thing, regardless of the cost.....

Here is a pic of my lil guy.

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1.0.0 Sandfire x red/gold Beardie (Whitey Ford)
1.0.0 Red/Gold Beardie (Foster)
0.1.0 Red Flame/Hypo Red Beardie (Rosie)
0.1.0 Yellow/German Giant Beardie (Helga)
1.2.0 Pastel beardeis (Tarantino, Mia, Alabama)
1.1.0 Senegal Chameleons (Francois & Fifi)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleons (Eros)
1.2.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)
0.1.0 Brown Basilisk (Leroy, I know shes a girl!)
0.0.1 Marbled Gecko (Chalmers)
0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Rescued Beardie missing limb (Lefty)
0.0.1 Rescued Ball Python (Murray)

wow, you have 2 senegal chameleons?? how did you pull that off?
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1.0 White's Tree Frog - Mr. Froggy ( 2004)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko - Jeb (2000)
2.0.1 Crested Geckos - Layne and Jerry and Alice (2004
1.1 Pictus Geckos - John and Yoko (2004)
1.0 Velvet Gecko - Scott (2004)
1.0 Tarantula - Mickey (2002)
2.0 Bearded Dragons - Jude and Oswald(thought jude was a fem and name stuck) (2000)
1.1 Mali Uromastyx - Mali and Zoltan (2001)
0.0.1 Millipede - Demri ( 2000)
1.0 Mini Schnauzer - Cosmo (1998)
Hissing and Lobster Roaches - Food

Im not sure what you mean by how I managed to have Senegal's. My Senegal's are LTC. They have both been in my care for 7 months and are fat, and doing great. They adapted really well. As soon as I got the clear on parasites they did great. I think that's the key. IM hoping to breed em in the spring (fingers crossed). I havent met too many people that have senegals that have lived past a few months, let alone bred them. i guess we will see.
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1.0.0 Sandfire x red/gold Beardie (Whitey Ford)
1.0.0 Red/Gold Beardie (Foster)
0.1.0 Red Flame/Hypo Red Beardie (Rosie)
0.1.0 Yellow/German Giant Beardie (Helga)
1.2.0 Pastel beardeis (Tarantino, Mia, Alabama)
1.1.0 Senegal Chameleons (Francois & Fifi)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleons (Eros)
1.2.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)
0.1.0 Brown Basilisk (Leroy, I know shes a girl!)
0.0.1 Marbled Gecko (Chalmers)
0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Rescued Beardie missing limb (Lefty)
0.0.1 Rescued Ball Python (Murray)