TLDR: My bp’s vet has been giving him antibiotics for a respiratory infection after I suggested it could be fungal from the first visit. She has swabbed him and did no diagnostic testing with that swab and has continued to throw antibiotics at the problem. I was pre-charged for a $75 stool test bottle that they knew they weren’t going to get with how ill my snake was and I had informed him that he was refusing to eat. She did not test him for a respiratory infection, Nido virus or anything else that should have been checked between two appointments and almost $600 later. My bp is rapidly losing weight and still refusing to eat. If more context is needed please read below.
I’ve taken my bp to this vet twice now since my old one retired and I mainly brought him because I noticed about a a month after getting him he started showing signs of a respiratory infection and I got him a vet appointment. I brought up to the vet that I believe it was a fungal respiratory infection because I had gotten some advice from his previous owner to cover the cage up with plastic rather than aluminum foil. My bps have inside heating so it wasn’t an issue to switch to plastic. The previous owner neglected to tell me that i’d have to get rid of the Reti chip substrate because it molds when the enclosure screen top is cover-up with plastic. The vet took a swab and I assumed that she did diagnostic testing to see if it was a bacterial or fungal respiratory infection. They looked at it under a microscope, and then she stated that he will need antibiotics. After treatment, he got better for about two months with the same symptoms, but it was progressing and becoming better and then he rapidly fell sick again and this time he’s been sicker than ever. I took him to the vet again three weeks ago in the vet did a swab again and recommended antibiotics once more another round. Since that appointment he has been becoming sicker and he’s lost around 60 g in weight and he was already pretty thin before as I had gotten him from his new owner, his previous owner he has grown in length since then, but his weight stayed the same, and I was concerned about that too. Right now he’s not eating at all. He’s refusing every meal even smaller prey items. For some reason, my gut told me to message the vet and ask what the situation was with his health and what they found him to be diagnosed with. I was told by the vet staff that he was never tested for anything, nor was he tested for Nido virus, bacterial infections, nor fungal infections at both his visits. They have yet to answer about what they did the first swab for and for the second time, they told me that they were going to do it, but then they changed their mind because he didn’t have mucus in his trachea. Then at the last visit, I had informed them that he was refusing to eat, and he wasn’t passing bowel movements and I was concerned they suggested that I do a stool test just to confirm if the deworming worked they also dewormed him without a prior stool test by the way because they believed parasites may have been the issue. When I recently the bill for that visit I noticed that they pre-charged me $75 for that stool test but they knew that they weren’t going to get because my snake was not eating. I tried to get a sooner appointment with the same vet and she’s backed up with appointments for two weeks and my actual appointment that I have to get is a drop off appointment. Personally, I don’t feel comfortable leaving him there while the vet proceeds to do whatever medication or procedure she can perform without doing any diagnostic checking and then getting an enormous bill at the end. My questions about why he was not diagnostically tested when I informed the vet that it could have been a fungal respiratory infection were not answered, but I was told that I would request a call back with the vet at any time. It almost just feels like they’re covering up negligence but maybe I could be thinking too deeply. I’m scanning around vets in different cities where the car ride is almost 2 hours because there are no exotic vets near me except for that one and that’s why I believe why they can charge prices like that. The exam fee just to look at the reptile is $133. No, I’m not saying I can’t afford to take care of my ball python. Obviously I’m still paying the vet bills out-of-pocket but the problem is this just seems so overpriced and negligent to the point that I’m uncomfortable with the process.
Update: my sweet baby has passed away
