Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anyone know why a vet would shine a light in a snakes eye? I had to bring in a snake for a check up to begin a relationship with a vet who was willing to supply me with meds. The checkup was basically 3 things. First they ran thier thumb down the snakes belley. Next opened its mouth. The shined the light in its eye??? That cost me about 75 bucks....but the assistance I get and thier willingness to save me cash by assisting me on the phone and selling me meds to administer myself was well worth it. However this light in the eye thing...any idea what they were looking for? I should have asked but, be prepared for some accusations when you take reptiles to a vet. Most feel they're not properly cared for by us keepers. They told me my snake was healthy as can be....and told me they expected it to be in rough shape after speaking with me on the phone. I told them ALL my snakes were like this one and they lightened up,....but remember most snakes brought into a vets office are from pet shops and are indeed in lousy condition. Knock on wood, things in my collection are in tip top shape. The problems I was worried about were not a big deal but it is much better to be safe than sorry. Tom Stevens

Tom, I have no idea why they would do that. I've taken a few snakes for occasional problems to our local Veterinary school here at MSU. To be quite honest, and not boastful at all, I feel I know more than the majority of vets out there, except the ones who specialize in herps. Everytime I go in there they also make me feel like I'm on the witness stand, asking all kinds of questions, and some of them aren't even relevent to the snakes health and well-being. I feel if they'd just give me the meds I could diagnose the problem without their help...lol. Weird they should look in the eyes though.

I hear ya Matt. My first vet got on my nerves so fast I had to get angry in my defense before he let up. Now he constantly commends me and says I am above average as far as the effort I put forth for my snakes and all that is good, great even but I showed him up not one but 3 times and moved on to a better herp vet. I still use him if I need meds[which has not been needed for a while thankfully] and appreciate that but I found a great reptile vet. The new one is 7 hours away [round trip] but was well worth it. He quizzed my general knowledge of things as far as diagnosis and treatment and really enjoyed helping me and did not even charge me full price since I travelled so far. He is the type of vet we all need to locate for emergencies. I often hear people say there's no good vet close to me......well then find a good one not so close and deal with it ya know? LOL
Tom Stevens

I've never had that happen Tom.No matter how nice they are alot of them don't give me a great deal of confidence.

I personaly really dislike the waiting room deal where the ladies behind the counter ask out loud "What is your snakes name?" and the surprised scowls when you try to explain it doesn't have one. I love my animals but that experience really gives me an anti-peta moment.

.....which is similar to the wet behind the ear,minimum wage, I know it all because I read a few tfh books pet shop employee who quizzes you on what you have and gives you unsolicited advice even though you have animals older than him.

argh!!!..................Oh well, Peace.

Thanks for making me laugh out loud LOL , I needed that. I have seen many labels on cages changed after I properly identified snakes in my local pet stores. But we all know they're all Red Tailed Boas and Iguanas make great pets LOL Tom Stevens

I have 2 vets here that specialize in reptiles and are real good. 1 is Dr. Funk and the other is Dr. Johnson. The snake name thing always cracks me up , some of mine have names. the ones that don't i say snake 1 or2 or 3 and so on lol. and the non snake people in there always ask me is it poisonous and i reply no its not venomous. LOL Paul

Partially due to others on this forum encouraging me to take my new, juvenile kingsnake to the Vet when he had mild diarrhea problems ("Ameron! Why take a chance!!", I took my snake to the Vet. (I should not have listened, waited 24 hours, and saved $73!!!)

As I thought, the Vet knew even less than I did about snakes, but at least she did not pull out a book and start reading, like one did years ago.

Same examination as you had, same brief glance in the eyes. The only SIGNIFICANT service was a stool sample to allegedly check for parasites. (Can they really spot parasites if present? Prove it.)

Lesson Learned: In most instances, Reptile Vets do NOT yet have the experience that most users have. Follow basic, common sense husbandry, do your own reserach, and you will rarely need to see a Vet. If you do, you will likely spend much money for little or no service.

Hope that this changes in coming years...

I always tell people to buy a microscope and learn to the do fecal exam yourself. One of the reasons I changed vets was because I found cocidia in a sample he missed. The only catch is I need the vet to get me the flotation solution....I could not score it without him. You may have been out the money you feel was wasted, but you did the right thing. Now you're that much more aware of things and sometimes wasted cash leaves that sting that makes you say to yourself never again will I let myself get into that situation. I once spent 120 bucks on 4 fecal floats. I got results and learned something but later bought a microscope and other supplies for 150 bucks and tested dozens of snakes. You got to start somewhere. Tom Stevens

I am too intimidated to go that route.Proper weights and doses etc. not sure I'm up to it, but I think your right.

"Well something's lost, but something's gained in living ev'ry day."

Joni Mitchell
From Both Sides Now
1969

I appreciate hearing everybodys ideas. It may make us better keepers.

That is a tough call for me sometimes. Balancing the checkbook and wanting to be a responsible keeper.I used to deal with an older vet who had done surgery on some eggbound animals for me over the years and charged very little. a few years back I took an eggbound animal in and the older vet had retired and the new vet charged $500.00 that really hurt. fortunately if you keep your animals clean and quarantine, problems are rare.

The reason he shined a light in your snakes eye was to look at the fundus. Your doctor does the same thing to you when you go in for a physical. Your eye doctor also checks your fundus for general eye health but also for other health problems. It's an excellent way to determine general health. It's also what gives you the red eye in pictures. What they look for is the way the vain pattern in distributed throughout the viewed area (cornea).

BTW Tom the microscope is an excellent tool. I use mine all the time too to check stool samples and if my male snakes are fertile. I also have an old postal scale that I use every day to weight my snakes or how much my mice weight.

I would agree in general though that we herpers know more about our snakes than most vets

I had no idea. I am glad I did not say something like what the hell are you doing???? LOL I am sure that's what the expression on my face said when they were shinging the light. Tom Stevens