Category: Ask A Vet
Applications Open For 2024 Association of Reptiles and Amphibian Veterinarians Grant
Each proposal submitted will be evaluated on scientific value, conservation relevance, and feasibility of proposal. ARAV members will be given priorit [...]
Tail Amputation: Care After Surgery
A majority of amputations only need the tip or back quarter of the tail removed. [...]
Reptile Medications
Whenever reptiles get sick, in addition to correcting husbandry and ensuring environmental parameters and diet are correct, they often need medication [...]
What To Do If Bit By A Rattlesnake
Treatment of Pitviper Envenomation in the Rural Southwestern U.S. runs June 23-24, 2023. [...]
UC Davis Exotic Vets Remove Bladder Stone From 80-Year-Old Desert Tortoise
Tortie, a California desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) who has grown up with the same family for more than 60 years recently underwent successful s [...]
Reptile Cloacal Prolapse
With how many major body systems are involved with the cloaca, it makes cloacal prolapses very difficult to assess fully, as cloacal prolapses are oft [...]
4 Tips for Choosing the Best Food for Your Pet
Knowledge is the key when it comes to choosing food for your pet. [...]
Can A Retic With Inclusion Body Disease Still Strike?
Inclusion body disease is known to strike pythons and boas. [...]
The Vet Report: Salmonella In Reptiles
In the 1970s, red-eared sliders were so popular in the pet trade that they were actually raised in human sewage ponds —hence the source of the Salmone [...]
The Vet Report: Contrary To Popular Belief, Snakes Can Hear
“Well, Mr. Jones, I have to disagree with you. Snakes do have internal ears, and they can hear.” [...]
The Vet Report: Puka, The Sea Turtle With A Hole
When Puka came to the Turtle Hospital, the director at first wanted to euthanize her. My first thought was that I had to agree. A hole in a sea turtle [...]
Metabolic Bone Disease In Reptiles
MBD is not actually a single disease entity, it is a collection of medical disorders affecting the integrity and function of bones. [...]
Reptile Medicine Behind Bars At The Monroe County Sheriff’s Animal Farm
The Monroe County Jail in Florida is home to a variety of animals, cared for by inmates. [...]
The Vet Report: Reptile Vomiting and Regurgitation
The two most common causes of vomiting or regurgitation in snakes are low-environmental temperature and handling the animal too soon after eating. [...]
The Vet Report: Don’t Diagnose Your Herps Via The Internet. Find A Good Reptile Vet
Long-distance medicine is a reality, but it requires trained individuals on both ends of the cyber connection to collect all the data and formulate a [...]
Mites in Reptiles
Mites can be both a nuisance and a costly problem in any reptile collection. [...]
Dr. Douglas Mader Bids Farewell: Thank You REPTILES Readers
After 23 years answering over 350 questions in over 250 columns and writing numerous columns, Dr. Douglas Mader bids farewell. [...]
The Vet Report: Environmental Enrichment for Reptiles
Environmental enrichment will improve the health of captive reptiles. [...]
The Vet Report: Burns in Reptiles
Thermal burns in reptiles are one of the most common injuries seen by herp veterinarians.The exact reason why reptiles seem so prone to burns is not u [...]
The Vet Report: A List of Common Internal Parasites in Reptiles
A parasite is any animal that lives on or within a second animal, and for the most part, parasites live in harmony with their hosts in the wild. They [...]
A Crocodilian Christmas
Years ago, I always liked to take the emergency shift during holidays so that my associate doctors could spend time with their families. At the time m [...]
The Vet Report: Working On Hot Herps
I am frequently asked if I will perform veterinary work on “hot,” or venomous, species. The answer is yes. The “hot stuff” is [...]
The Vet Report: Routine Blood Testing In Reptiles Is Encouraged
"Bad laboratory data are worse than no laboratory data at all." Considering the variety of species of herp patients that I see, I think [...]
