Do you have access to a herp vet?

[Molch]

So a vet was in town and I took my neighbor's dog to have stitches removed and we chatted and when I mentioned that I have newts, the vet asked, "What's a newt?", to which I replied, "an amphibian", and his face lit up and he said "Oh, I see, like an iguana or something?"

Now with all due respect to the illustrious herp-savvy vets posting on here (who may be the only ones on the planet), the reality of veterinarian herp-knowledge may be more like the one above.

If a newt is sick, I'd very much like to be able to take it to a knowledgeable vet, but I'd probably rather treat it myself that take it to someone who may confuse it with an iguana.

I'm posting this poll to find out how many people truly believe they have access to a vet who can be trusted with amphibians.

 

[kiathepooch]

There is apparently an "exotic" vet near me but when I looked them up they only mentioned reptiles.i think there is one about 50 miles away that is herp savvy?
I'm going to my dogs vets tomorrow so I'll double check there but no,I don't believe close by(there are 5 or 6 within 4 miles) there is a vet with any herp knowledge.

 

[Scorpion]

lmao at vet who thought it was like an iguana. That's just sad. For me, I highly doubt I'll find a vet who knows about amphibians anywhere near me, so I haven't looked.

 

[Jennewt]

...when I mentioned that I have newts, the vet asked, "What's a newt?", to which I replied, "an amphibian", and his face lit up and he said "Oh, I see, like an iguana or something?"

Thank you for my laugh of the day!:rofl:

 

[Ed]

One of the things to keep in mind is that even a vet who doesn't have experience working with amphibians is going to be a better resource for effective medications than attempting to use over the counter treatments. One of the things people tend to miss is that there are virtually no medications that were made with amphibians in mind. All of the effective treatments resulted from a vet, going well this works in x (cat, dog, bird, fish) so lets try it on the amphibian. If it works it ends up published in a journal or text book and passed along. Slowly over time, evidence accrues and it becomes a more mainstream treatment.
If the vet is willing to work with you and/or consult with a vet with specialized experience, that is way more valuable than winging it on your own..... After all, those vets got that experience either by trying things out or learning about the things someone else tried and documented......

Ed

 

[Molch]

If the vet is willing to work with you and/or consult with a vet with specialized experience, that is way more valuable than winging it on your own.....

that's a BIG if. I doubt very much that most herp-ignorant vets would put in that time and effort. Worse, they may do it badly and then try some bogus treatment. That's my main worry. I assume I'd be better off doing my own research and consulting, and then telling my herp-confuddled vet, "okay, I'm gonna need so many mg of such and such a medication. Can you prescribe that?"

 

[JacksonR]

Preventative medicine is the what I rely on.lol No vets in my state as far as I know. Just hope the pets don't get sick!

 

[Ed]

Actually you can figure that out by simplying talk to the vet. The problem is that most hobbyists do not have access to accurate methods of diagnostics.. for example how is a hobbyist to determine if fluid retention is due to liver failure, a tumor or a septicemia? Or for example, a caudate shows signs of "red leg" which is actually a symptom and not a diagnosis... how would the hobbyist distinguish between a viral or bacterial infection (or whether a lesion is fungal, bacterial, viral or protozoal in nature). All of those diagnostics are available to vets in general....

It isn't that big of an if... I've dealt with a lot of vets over the years, and unless you have a very good rapport with one, most will have issues with someone coming in and asking for so many milliliters of x or y...... So you actually kill the chance before it occurs.... Of the several vets I've used recently, my opinion carries weight, and I've had some of them actually borrow references from me when it has been cutting edge....

 

[Bellabelloo]

I am extremely lucky in that my vet practice has a herp vet, plus a Veterinary teaching school 15 minutes away. Typically as I have this I have not needed to visit them with a sickly caudate.

 

[Chirple]

I live near (20 minutes) a large university that has a vet school, and they will treat pretty much any animal you can (legally) bring to them.

There's a private practice that I haven't been to that works with exotics, too, that I will check out if I ever need such services (10 minutes). *knock on wood*

 

[Coastal Groovin]

The fact is most vets that work with Reptiles have never worked with an Amphibian. You better come her do your research and go already knowing what to do and what medicines would be good to try. Just like if you went to your family doctor for yourself.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

I have resorted to working with my pugs' vet to treat our reptiles and amphibians if the need arises. Between the two of us, we know enough folks to get advice/sample analysis if we need it, then under his direct supervision, I do the"work".

 

[Jan]

I completely agree with Ed on this - working with a vet for true problems is better than winging it alone. The typical hobbyist has no access to diagnostics, surgical or medical treatment. OTC drugs for example can be used to effectively treat only minor issues. Use your and the vet's combined knowledge to develop a plan if a vet skilled in amphibian care is not available in your locale. The vet may well have contacts who do specialize in exotics and can get a consult.

I've had the good fortune to have only had to use an exotic vet one time. That was in Indianapolis and the exotic vet was very knowledgeable about amphibians...I was impressed. The vet had historically been a vet at a large zoo prior to going into private practice.

Here in Philly, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and hospital is two miles away. They have exotic animal specialists. Thankfully I've had no cause to use the facility so not sure what their amphibian practice is....but I would feel very comfortable going there.

There is an advantage living in large cities when it comes to access to specialty veterinary practices.

 

[Jan]

that's a BIG if. I doubt very much that most herp-ignorant vets would put in that time and effort. Worse, they may do it badly and then try some bogus treatment. That's my main worry. I assume I'd be better off doing my own research and consulting, and then telling my herp-confuddled vet, "okay, I'm gonna need so many mg of such and such a medication. Can you prescribe that?"

I would respectfully disagree with your assessment and think your fears are somewhat exaggerated.

 

[michael]

I've gone to 2 local vets for amphibian work. I needed a health certificate to ship some salamanders. The one vet looked at the salamanders and said they look good. He used a puppy health certificate and charged me about 50.00.

I went to the other vet to get some meds. She was willing to work with me. I told her what I thought the problems was and suggested some meds. She agreed and gave me the meds. She also did some fecal exams for frogs for me. She has moved her practice and I have not relocated her. Their are good hep vets that will sometimes do consults with your local vet. Most local vets don't want to be bothered when they hear frog or salamander.

 

[Molch]

There is an advantage living in large cities when it comes to access to specialty veterinary practices.

I would respectfully disagree with your assessment and think your fears are somewhat exaggerated.

lol, noted

But you said it yourself: you live in a large city, surrounded by civilization. I tell ya, if you ever get to meet our average bush vet, you'd despair too. The only one within 500 miles works out of a tiny dilapidated shack with no running water, and he has neither the interest nor the expertise to research treatment on anything other than dogs. If I went to him with a newt problem, he'd say "Why don't you research it yourself and then tell me what you need". That's how it's done here - It's a third-world country.

 

[Jan]

lol, noted

But you said it yourself: you live in a large city, surrounded by civilization. I tell ya, if you ever get to meet our average bush vet, you'd despair too. The only one within 500 miles works out of a tiny dilapidated shack with no running water, and he has neither the interest nor the expertise to research treatment on anything other than dogs. If I went to him with a newt problem, he'd say "Why don't you research it yourself and then tell me what you need". That's how it's done here - It's a third-world country.

Ouch. Molch, you and I may well represent the 'outliers' on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to access to care.

 

[Molch]

Ouch. Molch, you and I may well represent the 'outliers' on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to access to care.

hehe, probably very true. But that's why I posted this poll: to see where along the spectrum everybody else will fall.

 

[Ed]

Here in Philly, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and hospital is two miles away. They have exotic animal specialists. Thankfully I've had no cause to use the facility so not sure what their amphibian practice is....but I would feel very comfortable going there.

There is an advantage living in large cities when it comes to access to specialty veterinary practices.

Jan,

There are a couple of exotics vets in the region including one that interned at the Philly Zoo as part of thier work with U of P. Unless something changed in the last couple of years, they had stopped seeing exotics since the vet that did that work, went to Cornell to work in thier vet school there.

Ed

 

[ozarkhellbender]

Finding an exotics vet near me is difficult. Finding an exotics vet near my that knows anything about reptiles is even harder. Finding an exotics vet that knows anything about amphibians, you're pushing the realm of possibilities. Finding one that knows anything at all about caudates... Well, you're out of luck. I live in a place where it's almost impossible to find salamanders for sale, let alone find a vet that would know anything about them. I live in the middle of the country, the vets here have experience with livestock, dogs, and cats. If you take a caudate to a vet here, he's going to ask you what it is, then tell you he can't treat it, and send you on your way.