General Care Discussion :: vet

[erinemcgreevy]

I took Monster to the vet today and they were great! If anyone lives in NYC and ever needs a vet I highly reccomend them. The Center For Avian & Exotic Medicine 212-501-8750. We saw Dr. Pesek and she has turts herself.

[emma]

That's great! What did she say about your turtle?

[erinemcgreevy]

Well of course she said he was very cute! He received a vitamin B shot and a calcium shot to jump start his appetite. She said that he was very tiny and that something must have stunted his growth, hence the shots. He was so brave, I on the other hand had to leave the room during the shot. She said his eyes looked good but gave me some drops because he is favoring his left eye. She is also going to call in a week to check-up on him. I'm sure I was overreacting by taking him to the vet but I feel better and I'm sure that he will too.

[marisa]

It sounds like Monster's in good hands.

[megcornell]

What did the vet say the vitamin B shot was for?

Anytime vets want to administer vitamin shots I get a little weary because it's so easy to overdose, and most deficiencies can be treated with dietary supplements.

[marisa]

Vit B isn't like Vit A, which is stored in the body, can accumulate and ultimately be toxic. I doubt one Vit B shot would hurt your turtle.

[megcornell]

What's the purpose of the vitamin B though?

[marisa]

I can only assume that since the turtle was considered to be quite small (and perhaps nutritionally deficient?) that the vet gave him a shot to help "build him up" (perhaps an inaccurate choice of words, but that's all I can think of at the moment) or as a precaution. Vit B complex can be given if the diet has been inadequate or if an animal hasn't been eating adequately.

[erinemcgreevy]

She said that the vitamin B should help to increase his appetite. He only weighs 8g which is incredibly tiny. He is more active and seems to be feeling better, I also haven't seen him having any trouble with his eye.

[shannon_nicole]

wow your vet sounds awesome.
the reptile vet here isn't that great..
he doesn't seem to know a lot about turtles OR snakes (which I have both..) and he doesn't offer info and whatnot. All he did was give me a care sheet that looked like it was typed by a 4th grader and was very hard to read and not helpful at all.

I think it's because he doesn't focus on reptiles, he also treats birds and ferrets and guinea pigs and whatnot. But I keep going there when my pets need to go because there's no other options.

[grey goose]

It's good that you took him to the vet. The first visit is always the most expensive. Now that Monster is in the system, visits and checkups will be much less.

[steve]

I wish that were true for my current vet! It's $70 for any type of visit... though the previous vet I had did charge less for repeated visits.

[TurtleObsession28]

u guys r lucky, my parents wont send mine to the vet bc, there like, kyle u bought them for like $10 ea, and u wanna pay like 6times more to get them treated!!! ya right, i wish i was older

[emma]

Haha, I wish that too sometimes..

[Amg81083]

Youre lucky you can find a vet!! I live an hour from Nashville and I have yet to find a vet that deals with herps. Even the ones listed on the vet page on here don't specailize in them, they'll just see them if theres a problem!