# First vet visit questions.



## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

Ivy and Prim have their first vet visit Thursday. I have never used this vet but my friend did and she seemed to like them, but then again she has never had to take an animal to the vet before so I'm a little nervous to go to a new vet. My regular vet doesn't see exotics.

Anywho, what questions should I ask the vet as they look over the hedgies? 

Thanks!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

You could ask questions like whether they perform surgeries on hedgehogs, what kind of surgeries they've performed in the past, and if they accept payment plans in the event of large bills for regular customers. All of that might be useful information for the future, though hopefully not needed, of course! I would also make sure they're willing to check over the hedgies without gassing them immediately and without using leather gloves - I would just expect them to wear the usual latex gloves, if anything. If hedgies are uncooperative, see if they'll try a bowl of warm water before going to gassing, that usually helps. The only other thing I can think of to ask, which may not be something you feel you need to check on, is how they would treat mites - Ivermectin or Revolution, and if they'd be willing to use Revolution even if they say Ivermectin. They may try to talk to you about food too, a lot of vets tend to recommend hedgehog food over cat food, but they shouldn't get pushy about it or refuse to treat your girls just because they're fed cat food. That's all I can think of!


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

Thanks so much! I will write these down!

Why do you recommend Revolution over Ivermectin?


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Ivermectin can be very lethal for hedgehogs. Vets still tend to recommend it because Ivermectin deaths aren't always reported, so there isn't enough "official" documentation for them to recommend otherwise. If your vet wants to use Ivermectin, don't be afraid to push back and insist on Revolution instead.

I didn't know about the risk when I first got Piglet, and he ended up getting 2 rounds of Ivermectin shots. Thank goodness he was ok, but I can't help but wonder if I'll see long-term side effects as he gets older.


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## sklock65 (Jan 9, 2013)

There have been a lot of recent threads on the dangers on Ivermectin...worth reading up about if you have the chance. Topical Revolution has been much safer so it's definitely a good idea to talk with your vet about it so you know that you can be comfortable with how things will be handled if you ever need it.

As far as the vet I was able to tell so much just from my hedgie's first wellness visit. I watched how the vet handled him and asked questions to see if everything was consistent with the information I had read. She looked at quills, fur, nails, eyes, etc and listened to his chest. She took notes on what we use for bedding and what we feed him. They also weighed him and watched how he acted. My Henry actually behaved very well to the point where the vet poked at him a few times towards the end of the appointment just to get him to huff so she could see him do that. She was really knowledgable and recommended doing a fecal sample testing...which we received the results by phone the next day. I think it's important to be comfortable with the vet you choose and you will be able to tell from the visit what you think. 

Good luck!


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

I'm really good with vets, I used to work at one, but it was just a small animal vet that mostly handled dogs and cats. I've never had experience with an exotic vet. I know the questions to ask for a dog and cat but not a hedgie lol. I talked to the vet I used to work for, which is also where I take my dogs, about this one and he said he had never heard anything bad about them, but then they are about 30 minutes away so.

I appreciate all your replies! If anyone else has suggestions I'm more than happy to hear them!


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

Just thought I would let y'all know that we just got back from our vet visit! I really really liked the vet. She didn't say anything about gassing until I asked. She said they would do it if there was something that really needed to be looked at and there was absolutely no way to do it without gas. She said she usually only does it when she needs to look really closely at teeth and the hedgie isn't cooperating. I asked her about surgeries and she said with hedgies they usually have surgeries regarding teeth but they have also done exploratory surgeries, spays and biopsies. She was more than willing to use Revolution although she usually does give Ivermectin but she had absolutely no problems with Revolution. She didn't use any gloves at all (she washed her hands with an unscented soap before) and was comfortable handling both girls. Prim was a little huffy so I gave her a little blanket we use for snuggle time and that seemed to help a lot. I had also taken one of their clean fleece liners to put on the exam table so it wouldn't be so cold and they would have something familiar.

Over all she gave them a perfect bill of health, was GREAT with them and me, and said they were extremely well cared for (to which I gave y'all the credit and recommended this site if she had other owners that were interested).

While we were in the waiting room waiting for our appointment and waiting to pay everyone was asking what we had and wanting to see them. It felt like show and tell lol. Anywho, I appreciate all of y'all advise and just wanted to let you know that Ivy is now out of quarantine! I've moved her into my room with Prim but they are still on opposite sides of the room because I didn't want either of them to get upset by the other's smell (I assume this is possible).

(Prim is the top picture and Ivy is the bottom)


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Glad everything went well!  Your vet sounds great, that's always such a relief to have a good vet you know you can work with. And I always took one of Lily's blankets to put on the exam table too. I also took mealworms along most of the time, for bribes/rewards.


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## JulieAnne (Sep 3, 2012)

Oh, I should have done that!! As a reward they got to go straight back to their cages instead of being handled more LOL. 

Thanks so much for your help and advice  I truly appreciate it!


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