Incompetent vet

[scott5017]

I think it's important to know for sure if they did something incompetent before calling them that and all you really know for sure at this point is that the snake died after seeing the vet. Unless you immediately took it to another place for a necropsy to confirm the cause of death, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. You could blame the vet here, but there's no real proof to confirm it.

I have been dealing with reptiles and specifically snakes for the better part of 20 years and i know what a spinal injury looks and feels like. Yes i understand the spine being broken is not always fatal except if you include crushed ribs and internal bleeding which is the most likely of causes.

Performing a necropsy would only cause me to lose more money and gain nothing that i didnt already know without recouping anything.

I also wonder,without knowing any of my husbandry / background history / competence / pictures or any first hand evidence you can be so sure that im wrong? Seems very arrogant to me.

I didnt come here for debate or argument only to share my frustrations and upset over losing such an animal with people who appreciate these wonderful creatures. Once the animal had died there was nothing that could be done.

[d_virginiana]

I also wonder,without knowing any of my husbandry / background history / competence / pictures or any first hand evidence you can be so sure that im wrong? Seems very arrogant to me.

Your husbandry, competence in care, and background history have nothing to do with whether or not the vet broke the spine. I've been keeping reptiles for about 15 years, as well as doing multiple species rehabs/rescues and happen to have never seen a spinal injury anywhere above the vent. I like to think my husbandry and knowledge of reptiles is pretty good, but unless the spine was kinked, I'm not 100% sure I could correctly identify a spinal injury as opposed to a cyst or infection in the spinal area.

Since you gave us no pictures of the injury, and did not perform a necropsy or have one performed, these are all valid questions. No one is saying you did anything wrong and no one is saying that your diagnosis is correct or incorrect. Based only on the information you've given here, people (many of them with just as much if not more experience with these snakes) are going to offer other plausible suggestions for what may have gone wrong.
Accusing a vet (or anyone) of negligence of that caliber is a pretty heavy accusation. Most people would ask for proof, not just an external examination, before they automatically agreed that that's the reason for the snake's death.


I really am sorry for your loss though, especially losing such an important snake so suddenly.

[chris-uk]

Once the animal had died there was nothing that could be done.

Other than informing the vet of the mistake. Even if you gained no recompense it may prevent the vet from making the same mistake again.