General Care Discussion :: Trip to the VET

[d0eb0y]

No,,nothing is wrong with Norman. Lately ive just been getting urges to get her to a herp vet somewhere here in Boston just to have her records on file and to see how she is doing lately. Had her for almost a year and so far no problems at all. Shes very active, happy and eating well.
Just wanna do the right thing ya know and im sure a checkup will be a good thing. But my question is...when taking her to the vet,,what is a good way for transport. How long can she be out of water? etc..

Any and all info here would be a BIG plus.
ty.

[Rocky YBS]

how big is she, they say that turts can survive out of the water for allmost 9hours!
i would put him in a plastic tub big enough for her to move about in.
bring a wet cloth and a bottle of water to keep him moist.
if the vet is less than 7hours away, he should be o.k lol.
good luck!
there is nothing wrong with a check-up, it just shows that you are a caring turtle parent.

[megcornell]

Turtles can be out of water for about 8 hours, so a trip to the vet is no problem. When I traveled with my turtle in the past, I used a small plastic "herp" case to carry her. I put a towel in the bottom and one on top for her to burrow into. Depending on the temperature you can moisten the bottom towel to keep her damp, when I traveled in the summer I did that. Just be careful of drafts.

[Rocky YBS]

megcornell is right, you do have to watch out for drafts.

[DavidY]

Hmmm, I know a visit to the vet is very stressful for my animals. If you don't see anything wrong and your turtle is healthy and growing, you may want to hold off on that visit. A good way to keep an eye on their health is to weigh her once a month. At that young of an age, she should be adding weight noticeably. But even as an adult, any dramatic weight loss is a sure sign something may be wrong.

The Angell Memorial Hospital in Jamaica Plain is a good place to go for emergencies or other serious problems with exotic animals. But for more routine things you might be better off finding a smaller private practice closer to you that deals with turtles and where you can get better personal attention.