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Posted by gila7150 on December 13, 2002 at 18:56:47:
In Reply to: Opinions: Cost of snake vs veterinary treatment posted by Raven01 on December 13, 2002 at 12:38:51:
I fully agree with you. It has always bothered me how some people view inexpensive reptiles as disposable pets. I worked as a vet tech in the early 90's during the "iguana craze". We saw tons of iguanas with MBD due to poor husbandry. The vast majority of people refused to spend the money for treatment because they could buy a new iguana for $15. I've never really understood why the cost of an animal should determine how much money should be spent on it's medical care. These are pets, not a business. What's strange is those same people will adopt a dog or cat from the pound for free and will spend hundreds to have it spayed, declawed, vaccinated, etc.
On the other hand, I think it's a good thing to be able to perform basic medical procedures yourself (especially when you have a large collection). However, if the problem requires more than just a simple intervention I bring my animals to a qualified vet. I think the reason there are so few qualified reptile vets is because a large percentage of reptile owners view their animals as "disposable" and refuse to spend money on them. Therefore, only the vets who have a very strong interest in herpetology are going to invest their money and time to learn more about reptile medicine.
Chris
