Do you have access to a herp vet?

Molch said:

lol, noted

But you said it yourself: you live in a large city, surrounded by civilization. I tell ya, if you ever get to meet our average bush vet, you'd despair too. The only one within 500 miles works out of a tiny dilapidated shack with no running water, and he has neither the interest nor the expertise to research treatment on anything other than dogs. If I went to him with a newt problem, he'd say "Why don't you research it yourself and then tell me what you need". That's how it's done here - It's a third-world country.

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That's how it is done here too. However, i bet we are closer to third world than ya'll up there.

Good news is, I have yet to need an actual prescription. On the two occasions I needed an injection of antibiotics for injured rescues, our vet had them in stock. I had to show him the proper injection sites, but it all worked out.

As a vet student, I will say that the experience of our exotic vets here at school with amphibians is varied. The ones that have experience are knowledgeable with the anurans, but they have a tendency to want to treat caudates the same as the anurans. I know one of my professors was baffled by the concept of refrigerating an axolotl. However, the professor turned around on the subject of refrigeration once I explained how well it works, and I find most veterinarians are open to listening. Unfortunately not everyone, not even those who are in the zoological field and see a great deal of herps, knows a lot about caudates specifically. When I graduate in a few months I will do my best with anyone who might live near me

PS I recently did a study on the effects of salt baths at different concentrations and durations on axolotls (essentially determining safety of different treatment recommendations) and when it is published I will post it on the forums!

We had many vets in this area that saw exotics.

Then Dr Dave showed up. Dr Dave is an "exotics vet" with experience with caudates, reptiles and marsupials.

Awesome!

However, other vets started declining exotics on the grounds that Dr Dave would be a better resource. The result: it takes a long time to get an appointment with Dr Dave.

We recently had another experienced vet establish in the area which is great. Still, I miss being able to take my dog, beardie, and axolotls to the same place or on short notice.

I guess I should count myself lucky that I have a herp vet an hour drive away. Not just one who knows a bit about them, rather one who assists the SPCA with rescue, rehab & rehoming species prohibited in BC (Caimans, Burmese Pythons, Reticulated Pythons, etc...). Meanwhile, his passion is amphibians (dendrobates), his andersoni & now the axolotl I gave him :happy:

I've bringing a bearded dragon poo sample to the vet shorty, and I plan on asking if they have any experience with axolotls in case I ever have an emergency. -=78fggggggggnbbbbbb (my cat had that to say about vets)

I had someone who called themselves an exotic vet one town over. I thought "how lucky is this!" but then she basically butchered my rat and now miraculously "no longer accepts exotic animals". But because of that I've found an amazing vet practice 40 minutes away who actually does see all animals, including fish, amphibians, and rare reptiles. They have 4 different vets that work there so if one of them isn't an expert, they have someone who is. Sad that my poor rat had to suffer because a vet didn't want to admit their limitations

I always keep their number so that if I need something I can just give them a call. Last year my dog had ticks, instead of going to an animal clinic I just called the vet and ask him what product to use. He suggested the Advantage flea and tick control and the problem has been solved.