Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinary Surgeons

It has been my experience that many of the vets listed that I called over the past summer (when one of my newts was ill) did not know much about newts but rather had more knowledge about reptiles. It's a good list to have for references, but it is important to call ahead to see if the vet knows anything about newts and/or salamanders. I learned the hard way when I found myself crossing off name after name at a time when every minute counted.
 
There is also another vet-listing site:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/
This site one allows anyone who has used a particular vet to comment on their experience. It would be nice if both sites had more info specific to amphibians. But I guess we are a tiny minority of the herp hobby.
 
Hello Karen and Jennifer
I truly feel your pain! On a few occasions I wanted to take a newt or salamanders to the Vet and I call about 15 or 20 vets of them and about 4 of them told me to bring in my animal only to tell me that the lady that answer the phone did not know that they did not treat with newts or salamanders! It took me almost a hour to drive to one of dose Vets!
 
snip "important to call ahead to see if the vet knows anything about newts and/or salamanders. I learned the hard way when I found myself crossing off name after name at a time when every minute counted."endsnip

Many/most treatments of amphibians are the same as the treatments for reptiles with some exceptions (such as salt water baths). So a vet doesn't necessarily have to have exact knowledge of newts and/or samalanders to know what to do with them.
For some of the more esoteric issues that can arise, having a copy of Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry yourself will allow many vets to treat the problem even if they have never seen a newt before....

Ed
 
Ed- If the treatments are often similar, shouldn't the vet at least know that?? I'm very serious when I say that when I took my newt to an animal hospital and then to TWO vets, they had almost nothing to say. I found myself offering suggestions and they were pretty much speechless, except to say "I've never really treated one of these before." Wouldn't they learn the similarities between reptile sand amphibian care in med school?
 
Not unless the program had an exotic animal section in which case they would have briefly covered everything from Anurans to primates to marsupials in the same class (usually one semester).

This is why it is often important for the herp keeper to find a vet that is willing to work with them as opposed to one who acts as if they know it all. The way herp medicine (and specifically amphibian medicine) often occurs is that a vet somewhere tries something that was worked out for a fish, mammal or a bird and the result whether good or bad is published and then it spreads into how the treatment is conducted.
This is why it isn't always necessary to have a vet who works or has worked specifically with newts etc as long as they are willing to listen and you have the correct information with citations to back what you are saying. (showing up with some info printed off a web page more often than not isn't going to cut it due to the extreme amount of bad information floating around out there.

Ed
 
I think it is important that people realise the sheer volume and diversity that we vet students are bombarded with and expected to assimilate-and then remember for the rest of our working lives! In Britain (i can say nothing of veterinarians educated in the states-however several British universities have Veterinary faculties which meet standards required for AVMA acredditation) students are taught anatomy, physiology, medicine and surgery primarily of common pets and animals of economic importance first, as these make up the greatest percentage of cases one will see. This covers any species in itself! Unfortunately, as the "interest" in herps is not as great as these other species-and amphibia in particular are not commonly stumbled upon in general practice-so the percentage of the course that covers these animals is small. However, veterinary students are expected to be capable of continual self directed learning-as fully qualified vets we will have to keep ourselves up to date with latest research, treatments and preventions. Many underlying principles of veterinary medicine carry through different species, and so your vet should at least be able to give you some advice whilst he/she reads up on the animal/condition and/or consults a specialist.
I have come across a similar problem with vets and poultry-i breed game fowl for exhibition and few vets know what to do with hens taken out of the commercial flock setting. More often than not, the bulk of knowledge regarding the species will be in the hands of the owner/breeder, but the bulk of knowledge regarding disease, injury and other clinical conditions lies with the veterinarian. It is therefore vital for the welfare of the animals involved that owners and vets develop a relationship which is respectful of both parties superior knowledge in differing areas.
 
Sam, I applaud all vet students. I have many friends who are vets or vet students. The way they put it: cats and dogs make the money. Herps are just a side project.

You're right. Herps are not common pets, and as such are not covered as much as cats/dogs/horses/farm animals/etc. As responsible herpetologists (or pet owners in general), I think WE should know the bulk of what's wrong when something goes wrong.

I had a T. granulosa I recently took to the vet. She had been fat in the abdomen, but it had started creeping up to the chest. I was treating with various concentrations of salt solutions, and it wasn't working. So I was pretty sure it wasn't kidney related. So I took her to the vet. It turned out to be air filling her abdomen. She was put on antibiotics and antiprotozoal medications, and all is well. But the point is that you should know basically what's wrong and basic treatments before going to the vet. EVERY! caudate owner should have a good copy of Amphibian Medicine and Captive Husbandry.
 
Yes, i bought that book recently-it is quite good, but i reccomend combining it with Reptile medicine and surgery by Mader. I thinki the same applies to all pet owners-we should all have a good understanding of what can go wrong with our pets so we know when to take it in tio the vets! But it is even more important with us herptologists...
 
snip "Reptile medicine and surgery by Mader"endsnip

I suggest that anyone considering Mader's book aquire the first as well as the second edition. I have both and the second edition is less user friendly and contains some subjective opinions passed off as fact... The first edition is much more friendly for a herpetoculturist to use andc comaparing the information in the second book to the first can allow one to get past some of the language.



Ed
 
Both can be bought on amazon.com together for $270 (a pretty good price for new).
 
Does Mader's book contain information on medications, as well as surgery? Is the first edition good enough as a resource, without the second edition? The first edition is cheaper, and sounds like it may be more useful.
 
Hi Jennifer,

It does contain some dosing information as it contains the first chapter Dr. Wright wrote on amphibian medicine. The updated dosing is in the current volume but most of the dosages are also in Amphibian Medicine and captive husbandry for all but some of the most recent medicines (like Timentin).

Ed
 
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