Providing services for chelonians

The NAVC SkillShop in Orlando, Florida, featured the multi-session course “Growing your clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic toolboxes for reptiles,” presented by a team of veterinarians with specialists in reptile, amphibian, and fish care as well as zoo medicine. In a dvm360 interview, instructor La'Toya Latney, DVM, DECZM (ZHM), DABVP (Reptile & Amphibian), CertAqV, senior veterinarian at The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York, New York, provided insights for general practitioners caring for chelonians and how practices can use tools they already have in the clinic to exam turtles, terrapins and tortoises.

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The following in a transcript of the video:

La'Toya Latney, DVM, DECZM (ZHM), DABVP (Reptile & Amphibian), CertAqV: If you want to get into the regular practice of seeing common [chelonian] species, learning where they come from in the wild and how they thrive, what their sexual maturity age is, how big they're going to get, what they eat, all of these things become really important.

We could literally hear from an owner report what's going on, and before we even see the animal, already have a differential diagnosis list for you. We don't even need to see the animal. That's how powerful knowing any gaps or any issues with their husbandry, becomes.

RELATED: Understanding the role of husbandry in reptile medicine

So, just because they're hardy animals doesn't mean that we can't apply the same tools [used for companion animals], and because they do have this beautiful anatomy, that doesn't mean that they themselves don't deserve the same full treatment in terms of a thorough physical exam and ultrasound like we would do for our other unshelled brethren in the reptile family.

Especially in female reptiles, you choose the category. The fourth leading cause of morbidity and mortality is actually reproductive disease in females. So that's another really good reason to become a little bit more comfortable with ultrasound, and people actually really enjoy doing that as well.