Vet Visits

[Orbela]

Ammo (my Sulcata) is about to turn 1 year in May. When is it okay to take to the vet if they are not sick. Should I even bother? Is this even a concern for Sulcatas?

 

[Big Charlie]

I wouldn't. Most vets don't know enough about tortoises and could do more harm than good. The vet visit will be stressful for your tortoise.

 

[Orbela]

I wouldn't. Most vets don't know enough about tortoises and could do more harm than good. The vet visit will be stressful for your tortoise.

Got it thank you

 

[wellington]

I agree. Only when it's sick should you take it in, if it's something that can't be corrected by you.

 

[Tom]

Ammo (my Sulcata) is about to turn 1 year in May. When is it okay to take to the vet if they are not sick. Should I even bother? Is this even a concern for Sulcatas?

I agree with big Charlie, but there is another consideration. If your tortoise ever has a medical issue and you have to cold call a vet for the first time, it can complicate things. It wouldn't be a bad idea to research the vets in your area and find one with reptile and tortoise experience. You can make an "office visit" for an introductory exam so that you and your tortoise get to know the vet a little and so your info is on file already. The trouble is that most vets are going to give you old, incorrect care advice, and many of them will want to administer "vitamin" injections. These should be declined. They are unnecessary sometime harmful. When I hear a vet wants to do a vitamin injection, it tells me they don't know much about tortoises or tortoise care. Vets seem like such a credible source of tortoise care info, but in reality, most of them are not. There is not one semester on tortoise care in all of vet school, and if there was, the value of such a semester would depend entirely on who was teaching it and what they taught.

In general tortoises will not have health problems if cared for correctly. They don't need regular check-ups of vaccines like a dog or cat. Its up to you if you want to get to know your local vet before you need their services or not.

 

[orv]

All that I've felt necessary for each of our CDTs is to have an established vet locally who is familiar with non-critical tortoise care and have a referral for an expert down in San Diego. Our local vet has had me bring in stool samples to test for parasites and that's seemed sufficient. We keep our tortoises away from other animals, ie dogs and feed and care for them as learned here on these forums.

 

[Orbela]

Thank you all for the great advice!