Veterinarian

[Bird_Brain]

I can't find an exotic vet around here. =( It seems they've all disappeared. hmmmm.

Can anyone help me find an exotic vet where I live so I can have a fecal done when I get my skinker?

I live near Riverside, California. I know there wouldn't be any exotic vets in my actual city.

Have you checked with: http://arlingtonanimalhospital.biz/index.php . I am not sure if they see exotics, but on their "New Patient" forum, it appears they see other exotic animals. Contact info: 4229 Van Buren Blvd. Riverside, CA 92503 Phone: 951.689.0440

Also, not too horribly far: http://www.allanimalsexoticorsmall.com/ . Their contact info is 1560 Hamner Avenue, Norco, CA 92860-2939 (951) 737-1242 ‎

[New2Blues]

Thank you Susann. Kind of funny that Monitorlizard doesnt trust me, even though he has never sent me an sample to exam!

I do offer free fecal exams to members of this forum. If you or your vet dont trust my findings, I have been recently taken pictures of the parasites/parasite eggs and even recently had a member use my photos to his vet for them to verify my findings.

All I ask is to collect a fresh sample and put it into TWO ziploc baggies. It needs to be double bagged otherwise when it goes through the post office, it gets flattened and will leak out of the single bag. So two are highly recommended and appreciated! Once it is double bagged, place into the refrigerator to maintain "freshness". Then send me a PM and I will give you my address. Mail the sample out within a day or two and once I receive it, I will let you know what I find.

I do not find it "weird" at all for some one to ask for fecal samples. They are just trying to help and protect skinks. I would do the same if I knew how.

Only thing about this is putting it into the refrigerator. As long as it's in a baggy I honestly don't mind but I live with siblings and parents who will not agree to me putting lizard feces in the fridge. lol So I don't think I could do that. Is there any other way?

Thanks

[Bird_Brain]

Hey Amy,
Basically the sample needs to be kept cold until you are able to mail it. If you find it in the morning and can put it in the mail the same day, that would probably be fine. As long as it doesnt dry out, any parasite eggs should be "preserved" until it gets here. Even if you collect a fecal sample several days before the exam, majority of the vets will tell you to refrigerate it. Once it dries out, running a fecal exam is worthless. That being said, if it happened to dry out, you are only out the ziploc bags, envelope, and stamp, so it could be worth trying!

[El Lobo]

not really ML, poo is totally legit science. Plus, its a great medium to be well-versed in, as it can tell you almost about an animal's health parasite wise, as anything else. Besides, you should have an actual reason for speaking negatively about someone, not just making wild statements about their trustworthy-ness (word?) to others if you have never even given them a shot. Tsk tsk.

I can suggest that if you are serious about keeping animals and you have an aversion to digging through faeces, you will in time make a vet wealthy. Also, whatever is ailing the animal will be far more advanced by the time it gets to the vet, making it more difficuly and costly to treat.

Faeces examination is probably the most effective non-invasive diagnostic you can have when it comes to any animals in your care.

[critterguy]

crap Brad I sent you a sample in a leetle bag(some gecko poo)...hopefully it didn't explode.

[Bird_Brain]

crap Brad I sent you a sample in a leetle bag(some gecko poo)...hopefully it didn't explode.

So far there has only been two explosions, one I was able to still run, the other dried out too much. Even if I feel it is too dry, I run them anyways. I figure it doesnt hurt! Thanks for the sample

[New2Blues]

Well I will see when the time comes how my family feels about putting lizard feces in the fridge. lol I do want to have a fecal done though. So if you do it for free that's great. =)

Thanks!

[Coomassie]

Wonderful. You will be receiving lots of "samples" LOL via the mail in the spring. My boyfriend is currently shaking his head, looking at the ceiling, and saying "why me?" Me? I"m excited to see what the results are! Should be interesting either way.

Yea, I get that a lot from my husband, not about poop, but I know that feeling...

[emily71]

You must give proper checkup to your pets to avoid grasping them by unwanted diseases.

[Spindown]

because the above sentence makes sense...dang spammers.

[kenn]

I never take them to a vet...


I am a vet