Hi all

I was wondering if anyone had any bright suggestions on herp veting advice due to the lack of /nonexistence of specialist herp vets in New Zealand. Herp first aid? Any advice would be much appreciated before I may ever need it.
Cheers, Mal

That would all depend on the situation. Can you give some examples of instances you would need to treat?

__________________
MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Choking or minor eye infections, loss of a toe or tail tip. The sorts of things one would see a specialist vet about. Even things like bites and scratches

Minor skin abrasions and cuts can be treated with triple antibiotic ointment. Just be sure its the kind without pain reliever.

Any treatment for a more major infection would require antibiotics and needs a vet.

Your best bet is prevention. Creating the best environment possible for your dragon will keep things like lost toes or tails or even eye infections or respiratory infections down to a minimum if at all.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Thanks schlegelbagel.
Ointments could work but they wouldnt last long in water I suspect. Also here in New Zealand there are no specialist herp vets that I am aware of so I would worry that any vet I saw might prescribe mouse medicine in stead of lizard medicine. Prevention is the best option for sure but I may be I have to deal with other peoples accidents or (god forbid) abuse due to there not being to many exotics in this country.

Thanks again

If your water dragon had a cut that was so bad it needed some ointment, i would put your guy in a hospital tank while it healed. No substrate or big water dish. Bumping up the temps 5 degrees also helps healing.

As for the tail or fingers getting lost, stay away from things that could cause problems, like chicken wire or anything sharp. Good husbandry does wonders.

Have you checked out our care sheet? It has many many good tips on care.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

If you go to Tricia's Water Dragon page you will find everything your loking for as far as health issues...look toward the middle of the page under "Herp Health"....... Tricia's Chinese Water Dragon, Reptile and Amphibian Care Page (Water Dragon care, Reptile care, Amphibian care)

__________________
1RedBelliedTurtle2ChineseWaterDragons2BeardedDragons2BluePhaseWhite'sTreeFrogs6White'sTreeFrogs2ClownTreeFrogs1BlueChineseGlidingFrog
1TomatoFrog1PacmanFrog2GreenFrogs1BlueBullfrog2(adult)CornSnakes5(yearling)CornSnakes13(babies4sale)CornSnakes1Rat-ChiDog

Yes I have checked and done some other research too. I knew about hospital tanks but didnt know about raising the temp. What do you think about lighting in a hospital tank?

Husbandry is a constant learning curve but I have bred several species of gecko native to New Zealand and so know preventative measures are best.

Some native skinks and geckos I rescued from local predators and I used honey on any wounds after I cleaned the area with diluted cider vinegar. After the honey went on I used a wee bit of tissue stuck in place by the honey to draw the wound together. Most wild geckos lived but sadly I lost a few. Cats and wild skinks dont mix either but the success rate there was not as good, most died of shock I think .

I tell you, antibiotic ointment works wonders.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

here are the listings from ARAV for New Zealand. Hope fully these help....
New Zealand - ARAV

__________________