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Vet trips

bloop

bloop

New member
Disclaimer: I do not own a snake (yet) nor do I currently have any animal that is in distress or sick. This is why I have started a thread under husbandry instead of the illness help thread.

I was wondering about how snake owners go about taking their snake to the vet, be it for an emergency, illness, injury, or just an annual visit to check up on the snake's overall health

Do you take the snake in a separate travel tank or snake bag when you take the animal in?
I was told that you don't need to take hatchlings in as they arent like puppies and kittens and dont get booster shots, but at what age should you take a snake in for a check up if at all?
 
bloop said:
Disclaimer: I do not own a snake (yet) . . . .
Click to expand...

We need to fix that! ;)

I don't usually take snakes to the vet for exams, but I have dropped off samples for fecal exams on snakes of unknown origin (in addition to strict quarantine). If parasites are found, the vet calls, and I take the snake in for treatment.

I have had to take them in for suspected respiratory infections, so that cultures can be collected, and meds prescribed.

As far as transport, you do need to keep them warm. I put the snake in a shipping bag, and put it in a styrofoam insulated box with a soda bottle filled with warm water. I bury the bottle under packing material so the snake isn't in direct contact with it. You can use a commercial heat pack, but I don't like to waste them for a vet trip, when the water bottle works fine. My vet also has an exam room set up with a warm heat pad prior to my arrival, so the snake is not chilled during the exam.

Hope this helps, and it's good that you're doing your homework first!

Kathy
 
I've only ever taken my snakes to the vet if they've become ill. When I go, I take them in a separate travel container with some of the substrate from their enclosure. The latter part isn't necessary, but in my opinion, having something in the travel container that smells like them causes less stress. Of course, going to the vet is always going to be stressful on any animal, but we can take steps to minimize that.

Whenever I've moved to a new place, I've always called around to local vets to see which ones take exotics, or which ones have expertise with snakes specifically. The most important thing to remember is NOT ALL EXOTIC SPECIALISTS ARE CREATED EQUAL! I'm sure there's someone in your area who could recommend a vet based on personal experience. I always like to use word of mouth, or read reviews from the reptile community before I take an animal in. An inexperienced vet can cause very detrimental effects to your animal if they don't know a) what they're looking at, b) how to properly diagnose, and c) the appropriate medications to treat whatever might be ailing your animal.

As with everything in this hobby, do your research, and you'll be fine. :)
 
I put the snake in a bag with a couple paper towels, or a deli with CareFresh. I put that in a Sterilite container- usually the snake's feeding container. If the temps are out of he snake's comfort range, I put the snake in a soft-sided cooler with a temperature control device such as a frozen pack.
 
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