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  1. #1
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    BG Veterinarian thread

    Hello thar,

    I hope everyone is doing well, Been a while eh? I noticed we have a medical thread to talk about all those possible STD's you're all getting from your overseas trips, but we have absolutely no topics to discuss the health of our wonderful lifelong companions?

    All jokes aside, hope you're all well. Anyone working in the animal medical field / registered vets / animal techs etc? Could be the start of a healthy topic -- and I'm willing to start if off.

  2. #2

    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

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    My black roughneck monitor still has tapeworms. I've had her treated twice with Panacur. I am assuming its cross contamination back with some of the cage furniture/fixtures.

    This time I am going full profy with a new cage and minimal bedding and fixtures until she completes the cycle. It's not too involved; three doses 2 weeks apart.

    Still annoying.

  3. #3
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    I have a beta fish and I don't feel like cleaning the tank because it's a 5 gallon portrait tank and it sucks to clean.

  4. #4

    i always hated cleaning my 60 gallon tank too... so i didn't for a few months at a time. i did this mainly by having lots of live plants in the tank as well as snails to eat algae. (the little tiny ones with spiral shells). i actually spotted them when buying a marimo for my tank and asked the guy to put a few of em in there - they happily multiplied and really helped out with keeping the tank clean.

    I also had a plecto in there that got ridiculously huge - almost 8 inches, plus some shrimps to help eat any debree on the gravel.

    obviously this would be overkill for such a small tank but the little snails and a variety of live plants can really help keep nitrate and algae levels down, as does proper aeration via flowing water or airstones. shrimps can be a great addition as well, provided theres enough food for them to eat and places to hide... just be sure they won't get eaten faster than they multiply or get sucked up by a gravel vacuum. ;3


    with all that my tank looked quite impressive, despite having waaaay too much fish for its size. i had 5 zebrafish, 3 mollies, a plecto, a dwarf angelfish, a dwarf gourami that tried to kill my angelfish until it got too big to be picked on, and then big enough to terrorize the poor gourami into permanant hiding, several shrimps, a few notanapple snails, and a few cherry barbs. despite being overloaded the water didn't stink and only had a faint green tinge even after months without a water change.

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    I actually got 2 snails recently and a live plant cause I was getting brown algae, but I believe it's actually rust from a fake plant that I'm going to toss this week in place of more real plants.

  6. #6

    just watch out for snails - apple snails can easily take over your terrarrium and they're indiscriminate on what plant matter they eat. they look similar to the notanapple snails too, though they get even bigger. if you see tiny snails though with elongated shells, (about 1/4 of an inch big) those ones are cool though. granted, they'll take over and you'll probably be crunching them on occasion while cleaning the gravel, but they're great against algae.

    as far as plants go, you can't go wrong with hornwort...except for the fact it will happily take up the entire aquarium if you let it. i had to occasionally go in every month or so and trim them down and take out the excess. thankfully its easy to do since they don't really root. it looks nice and is great for removing excess nutrients, and every piece you break off will grow to new plants, making it extremely easy to propagate. just watch out - the leaves tended to make me feel slightly itchy, though i'm not sure if it was an allergic reaction or just the countless needlelike leaves poking at me, sorta like tiny pine needles. it wasn't a big deal though.

    Anacharis Elodia is another great plant, and a bit softer too. great for adding air to the water, and like hornwort is easily propagated by cutting them to pieces and letting them grow. they're a bit more delicate, to the point you can occasionally snap them to pieces when you didn't mean to.

    there's also marimo if you want a fun and cool looking plant. they do like cooler temperatures though, and require a bit of maintenance if you want to maintain their cute ball shape. (generally a weekly flushing of debree and preferably rolling them around a few times a day, or a tank with water currents to turn them.) if you don't do this they tend to flatten and wind up more like normal moss. they grow very veeeery slowly though. more of a decorative item than an algae buster.

  7. #7

    Our youngest pup has suddenly got very violently food aggressive with our oldest, with hints of it manifesting when it seems like he's not getting enough attention while the other is, too. Our middle dog took some damage early on with this started, but I don't know if they sorted things out or she's learned how to avoid it on her own. Unfortunately, the oldest has had to go to the vets multiple times now to make sure they didn't need stitches, with the last incident culminating in him needing a drain surgically installed to reduce swelling that got to about the size of a rolled up gym sock in his neck. We got the youngest dog neutered a couple weeks back as a result of this development, but aside from knowing we need time for all the hormones to get out of his system, there's no guarantee this behavior is going to subside, either.

    That said, we got the drain removed from the oldest the other day, while we've been keeping the youngest muzzled while they're together or taking it off when we close 'em up in different parts of the house or even outside. Things were good for about a week, but we had another bruhaha earlier and it's just kind of got us all dejected. With these being 40-50 pound dogs, breaking them up isn't always easy. And in some of the more extreme cases, the youngest would latch on and simply not let go. The initial hope was that one of my sisters would take the youngest, but after a few days, she unsurprisingly flaked and he came back here. My folks don't really have the balls to just completely re-home him, either, clinging to the notion that he's a good boy despite the fact he obviously hasn't been. I also pin a lot of this on them between sharing people food and contradicting whatever training I'd tried to give him earlier on. I think the only personal praise I can take away from this is that all the vets do love working with my dogs, as they're used to shar peis being pains in the asses to strangers. And while the oldest is just shy in nature, the others pretty much want to instantly be your best friend.

    Just making some days pretty stressful because I knew we didn't need the third dog, but here we are, me more or less cleaning up after my folks in yet another way. Oldest is also getting sick of my shoving pills down his throat between a couple weeks of painkillers and antibiotics, the latter still having like a week left.

  8. #8
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    My wife works at a vet. She's kind of a jack of all trades there, helps with surgeries and all that stuff. They were going to send her to become a registered vet tech until she became pregnant, so that's on hold now.

    We have a 6 year old bull terrier cross named Bentley, she has more energy than us at any given time. She had her anal glands taken out a couple years ago due to leaking, and loves life even more now. We also have 3 cats, female tabby named Hazel, a Maine Coon named Fletcher, and a black and white domestic short-haired named Simon. Hazel likes to pick at shit and we're on the verge of getting her de-clawed. Fletcher used to get into shit but not so much anymore, and Simon is a sweetheart.

  9. #9
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    My wife is a registered vet tech. Has been a licensed tech working at vet hospitals for 10 years now I think? We have lots of animals at home.

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    our russian tortoise is very friendly but our hamster is an ornery little shit.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by BaneTheBrawler View Post
    our russian tortoise is very friendly but our hamster is an ornery little shit.
    Our russian tortoise is not super friendly but she does beg for food. When we take her out she hisses and claws at our hands. Once she is on the lawn though she is super happy to run around.

  12. #12
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    I've had my cat for 12, going on 13 years. I've had him since he was about 3-4 months old or so. He's always been an indoor cat and he's been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Quite common in cats. He's going in for i131 soon and I never really got pet insurance. super pricey but worth every penny. I've always taken good care of him. I knew towards his senior years his health would be questioned but I've committed myself to give him the best life possible, regardless of cost -- where the line is drawn -- kidney transplant and medical procedures that effect his quality of life. By quality of life is -- no longer eating, drinking -- signs of pain etc =(

  13. #13
    Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
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    Any advice on possibly having a cat shaved? We adopted a kitten a few years back that we believe to have some Maine coon in her. Even with consistent brushing her hair is a nuisance around the house. Never was a big enough issue until we had our first child recently. The nursery is clearly off limits for the cats, but even than he’ll still have a bit of hair on him at the end of the day.

    Just figured I’d ask here. Been thinking about it lately but don’t how it’d affect the cat herself.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Xno Kappa View Post
    Any advice on possibly having a cat shaved? We adopted a kitten a few years back that we believe to have some Maine coon in her. Even with consistent brushing her hair is a nuisance around the house. Never was a big enough issue until we had our first child recently. The nursery is clearly off limits for the cats, but even than he’ll still have a bit of hair on him at the end of the day.

    Just figured I’d ask here. Been thinking about it lately but don’t how it’d affect the cat herself.
    Parents had two cats shaved. Their dander was outrageous and the one didn't know how to clean himself or something or he was just too lazy to do it. His hair matted and clumped the poor thing and the best option they saw was shaving him.

    They took him to a place and he apparently was a nightmare but he was much better after and the hair grew back quick as fuck so they have them shaved every few months now it seems. The first time was really traumatic for them though I will warn you that. He fought and peed and shat everywhere for the service, but he's been better since I think now that he knows he's not being skinned alive or something. Still a very stressful first experience for them.

    No clue how it would help shedding, might not at all, unless you shave often enough.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xno Kappa View Post
    Any advice on possibly having a cat shaved? We adopted a kitten a few years back that we believe to have some Maine coon in her. Even with consistent brushing her hair is a nuisance around the house. Never was a big enough issue until we had our first child recently. The nursery is clearly off limits for the cats, but even than he’ll still have a bit of hair on him at the end of the day.

    Just figured I’d ask here. Been thinking about it lately but don’t how it’d affect the cat herself.
    No advice on the shaving, but invest in better air filters on your ac. Get the high end allergen filter and it'll help with a lot of the fur you kick up while walking around the house. Also, the brush attachment on the vacuum is a god send.

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

  16. #16

    i thought some pet dander exposure during childhood was a good way to prevent allergies? what's the issue?

    that said my parents ragdoll cat gets shaved every few months too. he was NOT HAPPY the first time but once he got used to it he actually seems to enjoy being shaved. thankfully he doesn't realize how ridiculous a lion cut looks on him. i always can't stop laughing everytime he comes back from the groomer, though after a month or so it looks pretty good as the fur grows long enough.

    you could also get one of those combs that is designed to thin out the coat. they look sorta like a bunch of metal wires with a bend in em for bristles. my cat goes ballistic when you use it on him, he practically runs toward it as soon as you break it out. some serious purring ensues when you brush him with it, provided you avoid trying to yank any knots out. (best to gently snip any knots out, in pieces if it's large, and by all thats holy DON'T PULL ON IT. unless you enjoy death by cat.)

    first time he was shaved though he did have a few slightly amusing issues. namely, he loves lying down on the bare kitchen floor but without his fur it's kind of cold so he keeps lying down on it then immediately getting back up with a look of "HOLY FUCK BAD IDEA" on his face. it's adorable. he still sometimes forgets after a shave. obviously without their fur there's less insulation so make sure they stay warmer than they usually are accustomed to until the fur grows back in a bit.

  17. #17

    Quote Originally Posted by BaneTheBrawler View Post
    our russian tortoise is very friendly but our hamster is an ornery little shit.
    Im from Russia and i dont know this guy.

  18. #18

    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

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    Fucking carpet python wont eat. Been a solid four months now and I'm beginning to get annoyed. Female carpet python so it's not that out of the ordinary, but she's lost a lot of weight.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by mallister View Post
    Fucking carpet python wont eat. Been a solid four months now and I'm beginning to get annoyed. Female carpet python so it's not that out of the ordinary, but she's lost a lot of weight.
    I went 9 months with my ball python not eating. Shit is infuriating when rats are 8 bucks a pop, are only delivered to the store once a week, and sell out before the store closes. I'm seriously on the edge of breeding my own colony and selling to local friends cause we all have the same issue.

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

  20. #20

    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

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    I have a friend with a rat and mouse colony. She's got a great set up. It's the only way to fly, man. I buy in bulk frozen once a month for the python and the monitor.

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