Reptile

Reptile Preventative Healthcare Plan Page

Our Preventative Healthcare Plans allow our attending veterinarians to offer a reward program, based on professional services, for completing your exotic pet’s annual preventative exam or applicable screening. Your veterinary team will evaluate your pet’s species-specific requirements, age, medical history, lifestyle, nutritional needs, and condition to create a Health Risk Assessment (HRA)—identifying your pet’s risk for potential diseases. During this evaluation, we can have a family discussion, creating actionable items for best care practices at home or condition monitoring. Our goal? To guard your pet against wear & tear diseases, or infectious diseases and allow us to manage chronic conditions should they occur. We want your exotic pet to live the best life for as long as possible!

Components of The Reptile Preventative Healthcare Plan

  1. Obtain a complete history and perform a thorough annual physical examination—looking for changes in the pet’s body, response to habitat, weight, vitals assessment, behavior, habits, and physical appearance year over year.

  2. Ensure proper metabolic or reproductive health, nutrition, and husbandry.

  3. Perform additional testing only when needed for select diseases based on baseline values, the reptile history and current physical exam findings: fecal study, cytology, Chem/CBC, etc.

  4. Annual Healthcare Planning (Based on Type, Medical History, or Lifestyle)

Pet Reptiles – Healthcare Planning & Care Information

Characteristics: Hygiene, dietary ratios, enclosure types & sizes, soaking, temperature, humidity and lighting needs should all be discussed with your reptile’s veterinarian. Some basic information on husbandry and what your pet reptile’s specific needs are can be found on the LafeberVet Website: Reptile Basic Information Sheets.

Pet Russian Tortoises Can Be At Risk For/Prone to: Herpesvirus, Upper respiratory tract disease or rhinitis caused by Mycoplasma spp., Chlamydophilosis, etc., Pneumonia, Urolithiasis, Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (metabolic bone disease), Renal failure, Hexamita parva (renal or urinary parasite), Eye infections

Pet Bearded Dragons Can Be At Risk For/Prone to: Agamid adenovirus 1, Coccidiosis (Isospora amphibouri), Follicular stasis, Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (metabolic bone disease), Periodontal disease, Renal disease, Aneurism, Fungal Dermatitis (CANV / Yellow fungus), Gastric Neuroendocrine Carcinoma

Pet Snakes Can Be At Risk For/Prone to: Boid inclusion body disease (IBD) virus, Shedding Problems, retained spectacles, Pneumonia, Stomatitis, Egg binding or dystocia, Pustular dermatitis

Pet Panther Chameleons Can Be At Risk For/Prone to: Endoparasitism, Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (metabolic bone disease), Stomatitis, periodontal disease, Egg binding or dystocia, Ophthalmic disease.

Pet Leopard Geckos Can Be At Risk For/Prone to: Cryptosporidiosis, Cystic calculi, Shedding Problems (particularly shed on toes), Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (metabolic bone disease)
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In addition to healthcare: Plan on continuing to re-assess your pet’s ongoing housing needs, including enclosure sizing and hygiene, and the substrate used in the enclosure. Plan for your pet’s exercise, enrichment, and healthy activities which match your reptile’s species and needs. Perform an annual safety evaluation to determine what kinds of handling, inhaled or oral toxins may put your exotic pet at risk. Discuss with your veterinarian the variety of foods, enclosure furnishings, and treats that you offer over an average day/week/month to keep your reptile in shape. Learn about healthy shedding, reproductive or elimination habits to catch a potential problem before it leads to a dangerous event. We encourage you to discuss your pet’s natural needs and normal behaviors, versus unnatural or unhealthy behaviors to get a greater understanding of your reptile’s needs and development.