Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought a snake a week ago that had a slight RI and I decided to take it to my vet. Well a week ago the vet put him on antibiotics and did a culture. I come back this week and the vet says I have to pre-pay for three more cultures, a fecal, bloodwork, and deworming for him to give me the rest of the snakes antibiotics. The culture came back positive for a bad bacteria so of course I had to shell out the bucks or make my snake have to wait and go to another vet which is prety far away for a decent herp vet. I brought normal balls to him with the same problem and he just said keep them warm and gave me the meds. I just can't belive he refused to treat my snake unless I paid for excessive testing. To me it just seems a little much just to get baytril and treat the snake.

Hmmm, Makes me think there might be something else wrong and the vet ain't talkin'. But then I'm a suspicious kinda guy when they want mo' money. I probably would have asked him if all that was really necessary. JMO

Quig

I did ask him if it all had to be done and he got all defensive and said if I wanted him to treat my snake that I had to let him do it right. Usually he is an awesome vet but I guess he got tired of me bringing in 20 smaples at a time in to get fecals and thats it. I think my vet may have dicovered the value of my snakes and wants a piece of the pie. Anybody know where to get dewormer and baytril without $300 dollar vet visits?

You can get ivermectin, flagyl, panacur all at a well stocked farm store such as Farm & Fleet, or you can order them for more money from places like Bean Farm. As for antibiotics like Baytril, save them for life and death situations, RIs usually clear up with proper heating and dryer conditions, unless they are pretty severe, then I would recommend going the vet anyway.

...it does sound pretty unethical what he did...a vet should treat based on what you request and can afford...reculture?...shouldn't be needed with a RTI, let alone 3 more...fecal?...maybe later...AFTER the treatment for the RTI is completed...To with-hold antibiotics unless you purchase additional services is unethical...you might want to consider contacting your State Veterinary Board and Better Business Bureau...especially if you feel you were overcharged, which in some ways appears to be so...sjm

The vet said that he would take cultures until one came up clear. As for the fecal he said to give him it a month after the snake was being treated, but I paid for it today. Each culture and sensitivity was $73 and fecal was $18. He also charged me an exam fee of $46, which he normally doesn't charge on a follow up but did this time, and baytril was $15 each injection I think. Parasite treatment I think was $24, and this is the second one and he hasn't even had a fecal done yet.

...for a fecal is highly irregular...the extra exam fee is gouging...

...the fact that you paid to have a series of screening fecals done in the past (a management "tool" not unusual at all in herd health medicine) is no justification for gouging and unethical practices in the present...$15/shot of Baytril is gouging...the extra C/S is unnecessary...positive response to the correct treatment is sufficient to make further clinical decisions...

...my rec: it may just be worth your while to travel to a new source of veterinary care...

SJM