I took my somewhat newly adopted Leopard Tortoise to the vet today for a well visit. I wanted to get an overall checkup as well as build a baseline ith a local vet. I did not want to run into a problem in the future, and then suddenly need to scramble to find someone local.
I strongly suggest any new tortoise owner do the same.
I also suggest arriving at the vet with some prepared documents. I took a few pictures of my torts enclose and included measurements. I also included a list of temperature readings from around the enclosure as well as humidity levels. I made a log of her diet for the last two weeks as well as a log of soaks, bowel movements and vitamin supplements. I brought a fecal sample as well.
I also wrote out a list of questions that I had for the vet. (For me this was important. I was nervous about taking my girl out in 14 degree weather and I knew I would forget something!)
This all worked out very well. For the most part, initial vet visits are often spent answering lots of basic questions. By arriving with the documents I mentioned above, we were able to skip most of the "detail" work. This allowed us to have a good 25 minutes to examine my tortoise and get to know the vet. (She raises Red Foots!). We discussed husbandry and had a great conversation.
Overall, I left feeling VERY comfortable. I am glad that I went. A little prep with the paperwork went a long way. My notes are now in Princess Leia's chart, and I am confident that I now have a local source of veterinary help should the need ever arise.
I can't recommend this highly enough to any and all new tortoise owners.
Rob
I strongly suggest any new tortoise owner do the same.
I also suggest arriving at the vet with some prepared documents. I took a few pictures of my torts enclose and included measurements. I also included a list of temperature readings from around the enclosure as well as humidity levels. I made a log of her diet for the last two weeks as well as a log of soaks, bowel movements and vitamin supplements. I brought a fecal sample as well.
I also wrote out a list of questions that I had for the vet. (For me this was important. I was nervous about taking my girl out in 14 degree weather and I knew I would forget something!)
This all worked out very well. For the most part, initial vet visits are often spent answering lots of basic questions. By arriving with the documents I mentioned above, we were able to skip most of the "detail" work. This allowed us to have a good 25 minutes to examine my tortoise and get to know the vet. (She raises Red Foots!). We discussed husbandry and had a great conversation.
Overall, I left feeling VERY comfortable. I am glad that I went. A little prep with the paperwork went a long way. My notes are now in Princess Leia's chart, and I am confident that I now have a local source of veterinary help should the need ever arise.
I can't recommend this highly enough to any and all new tortoise owners.
Rob
