hatchlings and the vet

[shandrea]

I bought a baby hatchling sulcata (one month old) from the repticon on saturday. They said they haven't taken him to the vet yet. I was wondering if it would be a good precautionary move to get him examined by a reptile vet soon. How long should I wait before I take him? Should I do it asap or wait til something goes wrong? What do you recommend and if you have any info on good vets in memphis, tn I would appreciate it... Its hard to find herp vets!!

Thanks

 

[chadk]

I've never taken a tort to the vet. But others probably do regularly.

Whatever you choose to do, be SURE your vet is experience with TORTS. Not just reptiles, or 'exotics' - must have a good track record with torts. I know of vets who have prescribed treatments in torts that ended up killing them.

For baby sulcatas, here is a good read:

http://www.sulcata-station.org/pdf/hatchfail.pdf

 

[chadk]

*duplicate post removed*

 

[Yvonne G]

If you have a good vet who really knows about tortoises, then its a good idea to take the tortoise in for a "well baby" check-up. Just like new mothers do with human babies, this gives the vet a chance to see the tortoise in his healthy state, weigh him and give him a good once-over. This also gives you and the vet a bench mark so that if he loses weight or starts to go down-hill, you'll know it.

Waste of time, though, if your vet doesn't know about and understand tortoises.