How important is a good vet?

[drxl34]

Hey everyone! I would like your input on the importance of good veterinarians. I am leaning towards vet school and want to set up a practice focused on exotics. I need to know the market forthis though. Can you guys please fill out these questions?

1) how far are you willing to travel for a good vet for your reptiles (or any small animal pet)?

2) how much would you willingly pay for a small animal check up?

3) do you consider exotics such as reptiles less important/ less willing to take to a vet than a dog or cat?

4) would you more likely purchase an animal from your vet/ from someone your vet recommends?

5) any other comments appreciated

EDIT: sorry for the typos I am on my cell phone

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

First and foremost, I feel that it behooves a responsible pet owner to establish a relationship with a "good" vet prior to emergencies or sicknesses, as well as a game plan for any medical issues. It makes things much easier when your dog suddenly starts vomiting from eating something strange in the yard, or your reptile is breathing funny, etc.

Before I answer the following questions, I'll preface by saying that while I certainly do not know everything about reptiles, I have acquired a fair bit in the 20 yrs of herp keeping. I know that the vast majority of medical issues with herps are generally caused by errors in husbandry. I already have a good relationship with two exotic vets in my area, and I have a small supply of medications at my disposal (and the knowledge to administer them) if needed, so it does not require a drive to the vet office for every single little thing. I am also a realist, and feel that I can reasonably determine the severity of most "maladies" and the liklihood of survival. IN other words, I can and will justify not taking the animal to the vet to seek medical attention if I feel that survival is slim, and even with successful treatment, the animal will not have a reasonably "happy" (I know, thats rather subjective) or stress-free existence. I understand others may feel differently, but oh well...

1) how far are you willing to travel for a good vet for your reptiles (or any small animal pet)?

If medical treatment is likely to be successful, probably around 3 hours.

2) how much would you willingly pay for a small animal check up?

For a check-up? Like, just the "exotic animal examination fee"? If they're good and know what the heck they're talking about and I feel they really know reptiles, I wouldn't mind paying $60-70, although few charge that much.

3) do you consider exotics such as reptiles less important/ less willing to take to a vet than a dog or cat?

I don't think that reptiles are any less important, or any less deserving of medical treatment. The issue lies with mostly with ignorance, with both reptile keepers and most vets. The typical new reptile owner may think herps are disposable pets, similar to fish that most people assume merely do not live long lives and are simply to be replaced when they perish. On the flip side, veterinarians might spend less than a week learning about reptile medicine during their 8+ years of training. I would wager to say whatever they learn in that short period is probably not comprehensive or complete, and by the time they actually graduate and have started working in their own clinic, some of it may be outdated. And as I alluded to before, unless the vet is a "herper at heart," there is a lot of about reptile care and health that is lost to them; just knowing what types of drugs are safe for reptiles isn't enough. Like I said, many cases of reptile "illnesses" are usually a result of husbandry error. Look at "regular" vets. Most of them are successful because they love dogs and cats, and many of them are dog and cat owners themselves.

4) would you more likely purchase an animal from your vet/ from someone your vet recommends?

Hard to say; probably, if they're a "herper" like me.

5) any other comments appreciated

I think I about summed up my thoughts. Reptiles and vets can be a tricky thing. In some cases, if you take your herp to the wrong vet who ends up not knowing a darn thing about reptiles (a few horror stories have popped up on other threads recently), it may have been better just to stay home! But like I said in the beginning, it behooves you to find a GOOD vet BEFORE you have an emergency and have medical plans in place so you're not panicking and getting flustered whenever something does happen.

 

[drxl34]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

Thank you for your in depth response! I want to be able to bond with my future patients so they feel comfortable with just calling me up whenever. I'll probably have to treat other animals as well to make a decent lving but I can't wait to help others with their herp friends

 

[Tom]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

I don't think I could have worded that better than the Student. Agreed on all counts.

Here are the answers to your questions in my words:
1. An hour or so, in most cases.
2. I don't think I would do a "check up" for no good reason. I either bought a healthy animal, or I would already know what the problem was and how to fix it. My main use for vets is diagnostics and as a medicine dispensary for medicines that I can't get OTC.
3. No. Not in any way.
4. No. Not likely, unless the vet was a known reptile enthusiast like me and had the kind of connections that I have. I would certainly take advice from our own Dr. Westin or my other vet friend who is supposed to be taking me to the Hamm Germany reptile show sometime in the next year. But most vets are still promoting the "dry" routine for babies and think that protein causes pyramiding...
5. This is all a case by case basis. I would not spend $300 dollars to remove a tumor from a two and a half year old beloved pet rat. I would gladly spend $3000 dollars to diagnose, treat and save a breeding group of a rare and endangered species like platynota or galops. As the wise man who posted before me stated, most cases of reptile illness are caused by husbandry errors and can be corrected by correcting the husbandry. All I need a vet for in most cases is diagnosing an issue, such as parasites or pathogens, and prescribing the right drugs to cure it.

 

[Kerryann]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

My opinion..


1) how far are you willing to travel for a good vet for your reptiles (or any small animal pet)?
As far as it takes. I am lucky though. My dogs have a standard vet that is like 3 miles from our house. My lab's neurologist is about 5 miles from our house. The exotics vet is about 5 miles from our house also.

2) how much would you willingly pay for a small animal check up?
I don't try to pay more than I have to but I figured that the exotic vet would cost a little more than my standard vet, but in fact he is slightly cheaper. After having to see a dog neurologist I am numb to the standard and exotic vet costs honestly.

3) do you consider exotics such as reptiles less important/ less willing to take to a vet than a dog or cat?
NO.. why would I? I have taken these animals into my home and therefore am responsible for their well being which is the same for my dogs.

4) would you more likely purchase an animal from your vet/ from someone your vet recommends?
Yes, but my husband and I have moved past purchasing animals. I will admit I bought both my lab and schnauzer but now we feel that it is important to give homeless animals homes.

 

[NudistApple]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

I don't own any reptiles, so I'm going to answer this for my other exotic species.

1) how far are you willing to travel for a good vet for your reptiles (or any small animal pet)?
About 1.5 hours. Realistically, most exotic animals do not require vaccinations, so I only go for emergencies, and in such, it's not a great idea for your vet to be super far away.

2) how much would you willingly pay for a small animal check up?
I will pay 50$ without argument, but have paid up to 80$ in a pinch. I don't believe that it is an ethical practice for vets to charge more, or less for one species than another. Emergency appointments are another matter, but again, the emergency fee should be the same regardless of the animal in question.

3) do you consider exotics such as reptiles less important/ less willing to take to a vet than a dog or cat?
Nope, just the opposite actually. I trust my dogs and cats to be able to handle a little bit more than my rats/guinea pigs/parrotlets, and I recognize that there is really no time to waste once a small animal is showing signs of illness.

4) would you more likely purchase an animal from your vet/ from someone your vet recommends?
I would not be at all likely to. I rarely purchase animals in general, as I am strong believer in adoption, and when I do, I do all of my own extensive research.

5) any other comments appreciated
I do agree with studentofthereptile that most reptile related visits are going to be the result of poor husbandry, but accidents and emergencies happen, so it is important that people have access to a knowledgeable vet for all of their animals. I want to know that my vet (or doctor) is frequently taking part in continuing-education courses, or conferences. If they aren't, I'm not interested.

Also, I was on the exotic veterinary track for a while myself (I've hopped on over to Environmental Science with a focus in Wildlife Conservation) and I just want you to realize that you don't stand to make a lot of money at this, not if you are being a good person, and a great vet. You can expect to have well over 100,000 dollars in debt by the time you graduate vet school. Honestly I could care less about making money (provided I have enough to care for myself and my animals), but I could not swallow the debt, not ever, and especially not when I am so young.

---

"This is all a case by case basis. I would not spend $300 dollars to remove a tumor from a two and a half year old beloved pet rat..."

Well, speaking of case by case bases, I definitely would spend 300$ having a tumor removed from one of my rats, provided she or he was otherwise healthy & not showing signs of "slowing down". It's unrealistic to assume that they will live beyond 2-3 years, but I'm not willing to take that chance away from them if their surgery prospects look good. I've had large tumors removed from over 2 year old rats before (at +300$ a pop), and they did amazingly and thrived for many more months. I've chosen not to have them removed from comparatively young rats, because they had compromised breathing or lung scarring from myco flare-ups.

There are so many variables to that sort of thing.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

It is certainly a touchy subject, especially when one is often judged harshly for choosing NOT to take their reptile to a vet. But the simple truth is that in many cases, we generally know more about what is going on than most vets claim to. Again, I'm not trying to say there are no good reptile vets out there, nor am I encouraging anyone to NEVER take your herp to a vet for any reason. Just to quite simply, do your homework before hand. This includes researching proper husbandry and care before acquiring the animal, something arguably more important than trying to find a vet.

 

[Madkins007]

RE: How impprtant is a good vet?

I need to preface these comments by saying that we actually do have a couple good herp vets in town, but I have never actually been to any them. And yet, I firmly believe in the role of a good vet in all animal care.

1. Distance? Being spoiled by having some in town, less than an hour.

2. Check up costs? This would sort of depend on what was being offered in the check up. For a young tort, I think I would like to see a blood test for calcium, etc., parasite testing, etc. For an older animal I would like to see a scan for stones, bound eggs, etc. Nonetheless, I am also a cheapskate so would probably not want to do more than $75-100 for a thorough initial exam, and much less for annual follow-ups.

Note: Although I don't do them myself, I do think there is a real value to regular check-ups for all species, even if only to let the vet get familiar with the animal more.

3. Value? I hate to admit this, but I generally assign value to pets based on initial costs and a sort of internal scale. Dogs are at the top, then cats, then the more expensive/sensitive other animals, then downwards roughly by 'street value'. To put it another way, I'd spend more at the vet for my red-footeds than I would for a red-ear slider, and more for my cat than for a pet rat. But if I could only afford treatment for either the cat or tortoises, it would probably be the cat. Sorry guys!

4. Purchasing animals? I think it is sort of a conflict of interest to sell or recommend breeders- but that may just be a knee-jerk reaction. It certainly would put you in a tricky spot if something went wrong with the animal.

5. I kind of wish my vet (and my doctor) showed more interest in me (and my pets) between visits. I have often thought that it would be fairly simple for them to create a semi-personalized newsletter/email that came out roughly monthly or so to let me know about what is going around, interesting sites and new ideas, etc., then give me the opportunity to reply about any health questions I may have- with the understanding that it may trigger a request for an appointment to get the issue looked at, or may trigger a reply from the clinic's nurse.