Visit to the vet?

christinaland128

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I've had my Torts for nearly a year now and they appear very healthy and are growing nicely. I was thinking of bringing them to the vet to get evaluated. Can I request lab work to see if they have any toxins?or parasites? I know some parasites are normal. Is there a thread somewhere about WHAT I should be looking for, or requesting at the vet? Here's the vet: http://www.parkway-animal-hospital.com

Thanks! :)
 

Yvonne G

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It is sometimes a good idea to have a 'well-baby check-up'. This gets your tortoise's stats into the record so any changes can be noted on subsequent visits. Some people do it. I don't. I never go to a vet unless something is wrong that I can't handle.

If you go to the vet the #1 thing to avoid (in my opinion) is vitamin injections. A lot of vets think a tortoise needs an injection of vitamin A,D,E. This just isn't so. And too much of the time the injection is an overdose of vitamin A, causing the tortoise's skin to slough off.
 

stojanovski92113

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Christina, I've been going to Parkway since 2008. However, in my honest opinion, you only want Dr. Bankstahl to evaluate your torts. Unless they got some more knowledgable and experienced vets recently in tortoises. They have been great to me there however. But if you are going only for a fecal exam, you are going to a great place :)
 

christinaland128

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Christina, I've been going to Parkway since 2008. However, in my honest opinion, you only want Dr. Bankstahl to evaluate your torts. Unless they got some more knowledgable and experienced vets recently in tortoises. They have been great to me there however. But if you are going only for a fecal exam, you are going to a great place :)
Yeah I took my aquatics to him years ago and I think he's fantastic. My reds are doing fantastic I'm just being a paranoid Momma. :D
 

stojanovski92113

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I don't take mine to the vet either. They are not like dogs or cats that need yearly vaccines. If nothing is wrong, leave it alone. There are too many vets that don't have a clue about tortoises and will do more harm then good.
And...that's what happen to my baby sulcata :( I had no clue & neither did they! I really wish I was on the forum prior to but it was already to late!! I miss my little baby so much!!
 

stojanovski92113

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Yeah I took my aquatics to him years ago and I think he's fantastic. My reds are doing fantastic I'm just being a paranoid Momma. :D
I hear ya...I was going there all the time!! But then I started getting these other vets and after my baby sulcata incident & with my other tortoise foaming at the mouth...I only will see Bankstahl. If I can't see him, then I'm looking elsewhere. But he's not easy to see anymore.
 

Carol S

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When I got my very first tortoise I asked around and found a fantastic vet (Dr. Greek in Yorba Linda) to know where to go if my tortoise got sick.
 

crimson_lotus

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You don't have to take them to a vet for a stool sample. I did one for mine while she had a respiratory infection, and my vet told me she had parasites. When she elaborated as to what type, and I did some research. These "parasites" were normal, she just had slightly more than they liked. I ended up doing nothing. The parasite medicine for something so menial was not worth it.

Just make sure they're looking for the right things. Sounds like you have an experienced doctor there, so you might not have the issue I had.
 

Yvonne G

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Oh yes...I've heard great things about Dr. Greek. In fact one of the members of the Cen-Val Chapter of CTTC drives all the way from Fresno to Yorba Linda to see him with her tortoises when they need a vet.
 

wellington

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My vets won't do a fecal without bringing in the tortoise, at least the first time. It's 95 and up just to walk through the door. I don't mind spending the money, but when it's needed. I feed my tortoises pumpkin, guts, seeds, the whole thing grind up, to help with any worms. It's a natural dewormer, so I take advantage of that a couple times in the fall and I dry out some of the seeds to use in the spring along with the pumpkin I put in the freezer for them.
 

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