First vet check up?

[lifesagame]

I did a search but the vet check threw back so many results I gave up! Anyway, I thought I’d ask, is there a recommended age for a first vet check? Norbert seems happy with me now and I feel confident enough to take him to the vet without him getting too stressed as it seems he’s settled in well. I’m definitely getting a fecal done, probably online as it seems most people in the uk have recommended a site and they’re the ones a lot of vets use anyway, but want a general check up too and to get to see how the vets are with BTS.

Also how often do you guys get them checked? Is a yearly checkup something you do with a BTS? I’ve waited till he seems happy enough and thought I’d ask and see if there’s a recommended age or just sooner is better. I was planning a yearly check up for Norbert and summer seems the best time to have it with the weather and possible future brumation.

[Angel_BTS]

Hi! I’m not sure if there is a recommended age for a BTS to have his/her first vet visit, but I took my youngest BTS to the vet when she was about 2 months old. I don’t go to the vet routinely, I only go if I know that there is something work with my BTS’s that I cannot fix at home.
In saying this, I think that doing yearly check-ups is a really good idea to get a general check for Norbert. I agree with you, summer time is the best time to go to the vet with a reptile - otherwise it’s heat packs galore!

[splashy07]

I'd say if you purchased an import and there seems to be something not right go right away. I have not needed veterinary services in over 20 years. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Unless you have a true exotics vet at your disposal I wouldn't trust the cat and dog doctors. Have heard way too many horror stories there. Go when necessary, but I wouldn't for any other reason. If all is well leave it alone.

[lifesagame]

Thanks So not necessarily a species to do a yearly checkup for then? He's a northern from here in the UK and he's looking great so I'm not worried. It's just when I had my beardie I was told to do one regularly so he had yearly checkups to start with and the vet was good with him, but then beardies are a more common reptile pet here so she may not have worked with BTS before.

The one vet specialises in exotics and reptiles and seems like a good vet with quite a few reptile patients, going by what I've seen when I've been in the waiting room, but would only have gone there for check ups rather than something life threatening. The surgery itself isn't set up for looking after reptiles with heating requirements anyway.

We do have an exotics vet surgery not too far away who specialise in reptiles. I haven't been to them but they were my emergencies vet for him, if that makes sense, as they're further away than the other and it used to be harder to get routine appointments.

[splashy07]

I simply wouldn't stress the animal for no reason. I kept and bred bearded dragons for over 20 years and only one trip to my exotic vet for an egg-bound female, and for a hundred bucks was told to wait it out, eventually she did drop the eggs.
I see no reason to go if no issues are present. I must say that Northerns rarely get sick, mine never. I've seen some pretty neglected ones in my day too, and they bounced back without a hitch. Most problems with (domestic bred) reptiles are temperature, diet, or husbandry related. WC is a totally different issue, parasites can be present and previous care could be nil.

[Janella]

I couldn't agree more with Splashy. No need to add any more stress.

[kingofnobbys]

I'm of the view that there is no need to stress a pet by taking to a vet if it appears healthy …. if it's injured or sick , that's the time to get it the vet.


My personal experience with reptile vets here is they are very hit and miss. I don't have a great deal of faith in my local reptile vets either (after their misdiagnosing Puff's aneurism) , and the vet nearest to me I have not heard much good stuff about ( friends have lost their pets when he's "intervened" and made them worse , so despite his being only 10 mins away , and my vet is 40 mins away , I WILL NOT USE HIM).


So far for me over the last 10 years see below.

Water Skinks:
My first two water skinks (Lucky (a juvenile attacked by a cat) and Wriggles (adult accidently injured by the lawnmowing guy) were treated by a vet.
Lucky died from a sudden SI flare up - necropsy revealed a large abscess that had ruptured -- related to the cat attack.
Wriggles lived with us as a pet for 4 years and died peacefully in her sleep of old age (likely cancer) at about 8 years old.
Fluffy was rescued in November last year (another skink accidentially injured by lawnmower guy) , she's about 4 years old and has known me since she was a baby.
The first 2 rescues I involved the local reptile vet because they were injured and I didn't have the knowhow , Fluffy I treated and rehabilitated without vet involvement.

Bluetongue Skinks:
George (my male eastern BTS) needed to see a vet because he broke his left arm somehow (as a rambunctious juvenile) , he's never seen a vet since the cast was removed, he's now nearly 9 yrs old.
Mildred his sister has never seen a vet.

Dragons:
My Puff (the bearded dragon) needed to see a vet because he had what I thought was an aneurism s on the back of his head , misdiagnosed as an abscess, $800 for surgery , and he never made through IC / recovery overnight at the vet's surgery.
Rex his sister died suddenly and unexpectedly at 5 yrs old , never made it the vet.
Toothless died suddenly at 2 years old , from obvious first signs of something wrong to death (2hrs), never got to the vet.
Peppa his sister is 780g and 25" long and so far so good , she's 3 years old soon and never been sick (or even knows how to blackbeard).

Always seems these emergencies happen to me on long weekends / public holidays when no vets are open.

My experience has been skinks are pretty well bullet proof. Dragons seem to be harder to keep healthy despite doing everything right.

[Suzle87]

kingofnobbys ...do you have a picture of your skink with a cast? the image in my head is the cutest/oddest thing ever.

[lifesagame]

Thanks for all the replies, I won’t take him for checkups then I’ll still register him at the reptile vet as it makes the whole thing easier if I ever actually need to see them but will just stick with the online fecal tests otherwise. Good to know skinks tend to stay healthy. I ended up not taking my beardie after the first few years when I got a bit more confident with keeping him so will try not to worry too much to start with.

We seem to have a lot of vets around here, about three within ten minutes, but I used to take him to one about half an hour away as most of the others are more towards fluffy pets and farm animal. The reptile vet is about 50 minutes away but with traffic it can often end up being over 2 hours which always put me off using them apart from emergencies.

This cast does sound cute, though I bet the skink didn’t think it at the time, I’m finding it hard to imagine a skink with a cast and how it’d stay on with the tiny legs!

[kingofnobbys]

kingofnobbys ...do you have a picture of your skink with a cast? the image in my head is the cutest/oddest thing ever.

I think so, he looked comical with his left arm poking out at 90 degrees from his chest LOL …. but I think is a photo print from a negative and predates my first digital camera ( ?? )…. not sure where it is . Not seen it for a few years , but not been looking for it either , I might have scanned it to make a digital image but the portable drive I used to keep photos on died .
Keep my images digitally on at least 4 drives now - I learnt it pays to keep important (irreplaceable digital stuff on more than 2 drives ( I've had both the computer HDD & the portable HDD both fail about the same time and wasn't making digital copies often enough (only every few months , I do this monthly now).

If I can find it I'll PM it to you …. if I don't by Monday …. shoot me a PM to remind me as I likely forgot.

[Suzle87]

kingofnobbys ...do you have a picture of your skink with a cast? the image in my head is the cutest/oddest thing ever.

I think so, he looked comical with his left arm poking out at 90 degrees from his chest LOL …. but I think is a photo print from a negative and predates my first digital camera ( ?? )…. not sure where it is . Not seen it for a few years , but not been looking for it either , I might have scanned it to make a digital image but the portable drive I used to keep photos on died .
Keep my images digitally on at least 4 drives now - I learnt it pays to keep important (irreplaceable digital stuff on more than 2 drives ( I've had both the computer HDD & the portable HDD both fail about the same time and wasn't making digital copies often enough (only every few months , I do this monthly now).

If I can find it I'll PM it to you …. if I don't by Monday …. shoot me a PM to remind me as I likely forgot.

That's ace thanks!
I should heed your advice there with backing stuff up, I'm awful with keeping up with it, but you're right, its worth it for important things. Mid-July resolution for me!

[kingofnobbys]

kingofnobbys ...do you have a picture of your skink with a cast? the image in my head is the cutest/oddest thing ever.

I think so, he looked comical with his left arm poking out at 90 degrees from his chest LOL …. but I think is a photo print from a negative and predates my first digital camera ( ?? )…. not sure where it is . Not seen it for a few years , but not been looking for it either , I might have scanned it to make a digital image but the portable drive I used to keep photos on died .
Keep my images digitally on at least 4 drives now - I learnt it pays to keep important (irreplaceable digital stuff on more than 2 drives ( I've had both the computer HDD & the portable HDD both fail about the same time and wasn't making digital copies often enough (only every few months , I do this monthly now).

If I can find it I'll PM it to you …. if I don't by Monday …. shoot me a PM to remind me as I likely forgot.

That's ace thanks!
I should heed your advice there with backing stuff up, I'm awful with keeping up with it, but you're right, its worth it for important things. Mid-July resolution for me!

My earnest recommendation is DON"T JUST RELY ON YOUR BACKUP …. .

[lifesagame]

that sounds like it’d be funny to watch him wandering around with his arm poking out.

I have a large memory stick full of photos and a hard drive and I’m still paranoid about losing my photos. I still have all the CDs full of them from ages ago when I got a new computer and used about 20 to save all the photos from the old one! I’m not sure if they even still work, this is making me want to dig them out and try.