I wanted to start a thread to share our experience with a reptile specialist because i found it to be SO different from a visit with a "regular" vet. I brought my mud turtle to Dr. Greg Rich, who is listed on TFO veterinarian list. His business is Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital in Metairie, Louisiana. My regular vet had also said that if either of my turtles needed any kind of medical attention, that's who she would refer to.
The "Patient Information Sheet" had questions I've never seen on any other vet's questionnaire. In addition to the usual 'What is the species of our pet, age etc.' the questions included:
What was the source of the animal?
What is the substrate? How often is it changed?
What are the dimensions of the cage/enclosure? How long has the animal lived in this enclosure?
What is the humidity of the cage/enclosure?
What is the water source? How often is it changed?
What is the UV source? How often is the bulb changed?
What is the calcium source?
What do you feed? How much does the animal eat at a feeding? How often do you feed?
...there were other questions, too, I just can't remember them all. But these impressed me because they are so much in line with the things WE think of here on TFO as important to good husbandry.
They did not take my turtle from me, but brought me to the exam room, and obviously expected me to stay for the exam. I like that a lot.
When we saw Dr. Rich, he first studied her carapace and plastron closely- pressing gently and also checking that the hinges on her plastron move.
He looked at her eyes and nostrils. He had a special gadget that he used to gently open her mouth.
Since one of the symptoms that brought us to see him was that she was swimming lopsided, he wanted to see for himself. They got a tub of water to float her in, and sure enough, you could see that her right shoulder area was significantly lower in the water than the rest of her. He said a turtle swimming lopsided could mean an infection in the lungs but it could also just be normal for that turtle; a blood test that they do in the office would answer that question.
He said there's a vein that runs all around the edge of their carapace, so that's where he drew the blood from- using one of the tiniest syringes and needles I've ever seen.
If she had an infection, he said the options would be either come in for antibiotic injection every 3 days or for her to stay a week and get daily injections. But he wanted to wait for the test results before making a recommendation.
The white blood cells, which fight infection, in aquatic turtles are considered high enough to indicate an infection if they are at 21,000 to 23,000. My turtle's white blood cell count came back at 30,000. He said the types of blood cells that were increased indicates that the inflammation/infection is chronic- that is, it's been going on for a good while and didn't just start last week. He also said that with such a high white blood cell count, getting antibiotics every 3 days was not enough, and recommended that she stay in the hospital and get daily antibiotic injections as well as tube feeding. He had an itemized list of what the cost for a week in their hospital with that type of care would be and I was pleasantly surprised- it wasn't nearly what I was expecting.
They will phone us daily with an update and will call any time there's a change. It's 9:30 in the morning and they've already called me. The lady who called me is clearly one directly involved in my turtle's care. They are dry-docking her and soaking her at least daily. She said my turtle seems to be tolerating the treatment well and is very active. She still floats lop-sided, but that's to be expected so early on.
I am very pleased with the service and very impressed with Dr. Rich.
The "Patient Information Sheet" had questions I've never seen on any other vet's questionnaire. In addition to the usual 'What is the species of our pet, age etc.' the questions included:
What was the source of the animal?
What is the substrate? How often is it changed?
What are the dimensions of the cage/enclosure? How long has the animal lived in this enclosure?
What is the humidity of the cage/enclosure?
What is the water source? How often is it changed?
What is the UV source? How often is the bulb changed?
What is the calcium source?
What do you feed? How much does the animal eat at a feeding? How often do you feed?
...there were other questions, too, I just can't remember them all. But these impressed me because they are so much in line with the things WE think of here on TFO as important to good husbandry.
They did not take my turtle from me, but brought me to the exam room, and obviously expected me to stay for the exam. I like that a lot.
When we saw Dr. Rich, he first studied her carapace and plastron closely- pressing gently and also checking that the hinges on her plastron move.
He looked at her eyes and nostrils. He had a special gadget that he used to gently open her mouth.
Since one of the symptoms that brought us to see him was that she was swimming lopsided, he wanted to see for himself. They got a tub of water to float her in, and sure enough, you could see that her right shoulder area was significantly lower in the water than the rest of her. He said a turtle swimming lopsided could mean an infection in the lungs but it could also just be normal for that turtle; a blood test that they do in the office would answer that question.
He said there's a vein that runs all around the edge of their carapace, so that's where he drew the blood from- using one of the tiniest syringes and needles I've ever seen.
If she had an infection, he said the options would be either come in for antibiotic injection every 3 days or for her to stay a week and get daily injections. But he wanted to wait for the test results before making a recommendation.
The white blood cells, which fight infection, in aquatic turtles are considered high enough to indicate an infection if they are at 21,000 to 23,000. My turtle's white blood cell count came back at 30,000. He said the types of blood cells that were increased indicates that the inflammation/infection is chronic- that is, it's been going on for a good while and didn't just start last week. He also said that with such a high white blood cell count, getting antibiotics every 3 days was not enough, and recommended that she stay in the hospital and get daily antibiotic injections as well as tube feeding. He had an itemized list of what the cost for a week in their hospital with that type of care would be and I was pleasantly surprised- it wasn't nearly what I was expecting.
They will phone us daily with an update and will call any time there's a change. It's 9:30 in the morning and they've already called me. The lady who called me is clearly one directly involved in my turtle's care. They are dry-docking her and soaking her at least daily. She said my turtle seems to be tolerating the treatment well and is very active. She still floats lop-sided, but that's to be expected so early on.
I am very pleased with the service and very impressed with Dr. Rich.
Last edited:
