Incompetent vet

[scott5017]

One of very few? That is an understatement, it might even be the only place to offer such a thing. And it most certainly is recent, general vet training for reptiles and exotics is a few weeks at best, hopefully though in years to come as the hobby expands there will be better training and better facilities to cater for our pets, but right now it stinks.

[d_virginiana]

One of very few? That is an understatement, it might even be the only place to offer such a thing. And it most certainly is recent, general vet training for reptiles and exotics is a few weeks at best, hopefully though in years to come as the hobby expands there will be better training and better facilities to cater for our pets, but right now it stinks.

I know there aren't many, but never thought about it being the only one since I grew up nearby. Haven't done a lot of research on where others are though. I live five minutes from the state's only reptile-specialty clinic, as well as a reptile-equipped vet school, so I don't have to do a lot of looking around
The guy that heads up the exotics-only practice that I posted a link to earlier is one of the educators at the vet school here. I believe that he personally got a lot of those classes started on the veterinary campus.
They also work very closely with reptile rescues in the area, so we actually have several more reptile-knowledgeable facilities that can get access to specialized treatment, and many of the volunteers are reptile owners and vet or pre-vet students at the university.


About general vets though... I think the worst thing is when they aren't willing to admit they don't know what they're doing with herps. They can be really helpful if the owner goes in pretty much knowing what's wrong, or if the owner doesn't feel pressured into accepting treatment for the animal, but they can do a lot of damage if they aren't up front about their experience working with reptiles.

[d_virginiana]

I would think that in the case of a broken spine, it'd be something you'd notice immediately, or possibly even hear. It just doesn't seem that the snake would have no noticeable behavior differences when it was handed back to you at the office (or put back in its container or whatever) and then only show those things once it got home...

This is another thing I've noticed about even some of the most competent general vets when it comes to reptiles... They will listen to the keeper unless the keeper is making no sense. When I brought my turtle in saying that it had an eye infection and I needed a topical opthalmic antibiotic, my vet listened to me rather than run a battery of tests without knowing how the stress would effect the animal, or what the results would be for an animal they weren't designed for. Luckily, I was right and Turtle is happy and healthy now. If I had been mistaken, and the eye problem was due to an injury, a fungus, or anything else really, then the antibiotics wouldn't have helped, and could have even caused more harm than good.

Telling the vet would be good, just so they know in the future, but unless the spine was actually broken it really just boils down to the fact that you asked someone who was not educated in reptiles to perform medical treatment on your reptile. It sucks that that is often the only option for reptile keepers, but it's the truth.

[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.