Well, the education is expensive, and honestly,when you have certain problems, with an educated and experienced vet in the proper area that you need, it is money very well spent. But as someone who's had reptile for years, There are virtually no vets that won't "see" an animal. And if they rarely see or treat reptiles, or regularly read the most updated research, medical papers and journals regarding reptiles, it is very likely they won't provide much help, and many times, can do more harm than good. The two rainbow boas I mentioned above, I spent close to $1000 on in veterinary bills. Repeated doses of antibiotics, injected, oral and nebulized. Repeated return visits, as the R.I. would clear a little, and return. Until two of the three died. But you know what the problem was? Their enclosure was too hot and dry. The subject of my husbandry, and how I kept them never came up. I would guesstimate that at least 75% of all health problems with captive reptiles are husbandry related. And completely avoidable. They are very sensitive to their environment, and improper environmental conditions will create an array of problems. And any vet educated in reptile care should know this. In retrospect, what should have happened was an initial treatment of antibiotics, and evaluating the enclosure, and what caused the problem to begin with, and then fixing that. It is the equivalent of treating a cat for worms, and then letting it live in a house full of cats with the worms, and wondering why it keeps getting worms.
I'm not knocking vets that treat cats and dogs, as they are the most common pets, and, well, that's where the money's at. But whatever your pet needs medical treatment, and whatever the problem you need treated, make sure the vet you choose is educated in that area. If you had a brain tumor, and needed to try to have it surgically removed, would you want an M.D. who was a few years out of medical school and never spent any time in a specialty residency program? No, (well hopefully not ). You would want someone who had trained in neurosurgery. It's the same with veterinary medicine. The veterinary field appears to be fairly competitive, at least here in the states, and most of them want new patients. And some are completely well intentioned, and genuinely want to learn and help you and your pet. But, I'd rather not have my pet be someone's learning course on a health problem, if I can avoid it.
). You would want someone who had trained in neurosurgery. It's the same with veterinary medicine. The veterinary field appears to be fairly competitive, at least here in the states, and most of them want new patients. And some are completely well intentioned, and genuinely want to learn and help you and your pet. But, I'd rather not have my pet be someone's learning course on a health problem, if I can avoid it.
