Illness & Disease - Finding a good exotic veterinarian

I think it should be mentioned:

Any veterinarian knows more about animal systems than a pet store worker, breeder, or even most lifetime hobbyists. Reptiles share many of their systems with mammals and any knowledge regarding specialized care they may require is widely available through the networks most vets have formed with their colleagues. Example: your vet may say to you, "Hmmm, this has me stumped because I don't see many snakes, I'm going to have to call my friend who's a specialist...". This doesn't mean your vet is incapable of helping your snake! It's likely that your average vet knows enough about animal systems that they can accurately describe the problem to their colleague and after their discussion together you'll end up with the same treatment plan as if you visited the specialist!

I'm not to say you shouldn't try to find someone who regularly sees snakes, I'm just saying you don't always NEED one. Many common problems with snakes are fairly simple for a veterinarian to diagnose and their treatment is designed based on the same literature no matter who you see.

Steps you can take to find a good retile oriented veterinarian:

• Yellow pages, look for the inclusion of exotics in the practice description
• Find your nearest Herpetological Society (there's a fairly complete listing here: www.herper.com/forum/societies.html) and ask their representative for their opinion or they might be able to give you a contact of someone who is in your area that will know.
• Call your nearest veterinary clinic and ask the doctors there if they know someone you could see.
• Look up your area using the this directory from the ARAV (Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians)
• Look at this list from exoticdvm.com
• Contact your nearest zoo and inquire about who cares for their animals, snakes specifically - this doctor will likely only work for the zoo but may know someone else who can help you.