Bad Guy William Gangemi (at repticon)

You thought the skink would be more likely to eat if you balanced the food on his head?
 
Re: Raspberry and Vet Paper

No, of course didn’t think putting the food on his head would help him eat. I balanced the raspberry there for just long enough to get the photo while he was laying still, before offering him pieces of it.

As for the paperwork from my vet, I got it yesterday and was shocked. The page they gave me was one I had never seen before. Dr. Talbott marked everything as normal, and only down at the bottom did he note that my skink was thin at his pelvis and neck, had runny and frequent stools, and was lethargic. However, in the visit, he was telling me how thin my skink looked and how he thought the marks on my skink looked like burns. At my last visit (for my crestie), he apologized for the loss of my skink and told me “Something was not right. He was sick before you got him.” However, the paper did list everything as normal?? The only thing he told me to do was boost my belly heat and cover a portion of the tank to keep the heated air circulating to ensure the skink wasn’t breathing air that was too cold. I did both (covered half of tank top, added UTH) and my temperatures and humidity were (still) in the same perfect range at all times up until my skink died. The vet also had written on the paperwork that the issues had been going on for “a few weeks” when I had explicitly told him the exact number of days I had the skink (less than a week at the time of the appointment).

I am so bewildered and embarrassed, and am doing a lot more research into this vet and other vets, even if it means I have to drive an hour to each appointment. I do, however, still believe something was wrong with my skink before I purchased him. My vet did no internal exams or fecal tests, just visually inspected him. As has been said many times, blue tongues are hardy and nothing at all happened in the week I had him that would cause death. He was offered healthy food in a environment with perfect heat and humidity, and was handled very very minimally. Same with Laurendalee’s skink; I cant imagine a “bulletproof” “fat garbage disposal” could go from perfectly healthy to dead in 20 hours unless it was outright poisoned.

However, because of the issues with the vet, I cannot definitely say William was responsible for the death of my animal. Personally, I will not support him further for my own peace of mind and because I do believe there was something wrong with my skink, but I have no hard data to support it.

I apologize to everyone, but I refuse to continue speaking out without evidence other than suspicion. I plan on trying another vet even though I took my Crestie to Dr. Talbott and he is doing beautifully. I know the much more experienced keepers here will make their own informed decisions about whether or not William is a reliable breeder.
 
dishay said:
No, of course didn’t think putting the food on his head would help him eat. I balanced the raspberry there for just long enough to get the photo while he was laying still, before offering him pieces of it.

As for the paperwork from my vet, I got it yesterday and was shocked. The page they gave me was one I had never seen before. Dr. Talbott marked everything as normal, and only down at the bottom did he note that my skink was thin at his pelvis and neck, had runny and frequent stools, and was lethargic. However, in the visit, he was telling me how thin my skink looked and how he thought the marks on my skink looked like burns. At my last visit (for my crestie), he apologized for the loss of my skink and told me “Something was not right. He was sick before you got him.” However, the paper did list everything as normal?? The only thing he told me to do was boost my belly heat and cover a portion of the tank to keep the heated air circulating to ensure the skink wasn’t breathing air that was too cold. I did both (covered half of tank top, added UTH) and my temperatures and humidity were (still) in the same perfect range at all times up until my skink died. The vet also had written on the paperwork that the issues had been going on for “a few weeks” when I had explicitly told him the exact number of days I had the skink (less than a week at the time of the appointment).

I am so bewildered and embarrassed, and am doing a lot more research into this vet and other vets, even if it means I have to drive an hour to each appointment. I do, however, still believe something was wrong with my skink before I purchased him. My vet did no internal exams or fecal tests, just visually inspected him. As has been said many times, blue tongues are hardy and nothing at all happened in the week I had him that would cause death. He was offered healthy food in a environment with perfect heat and humidity, and was handled very very minimally. Same with Laurendalee’s skink; I cant imagine a “bulletproof” “fat garbage disposal” could go from perfectly healthy to dead in 20 hours unless it was outright poisoned.

However, because of the issues with the vet, I cannot definitely say William was responsible for the death of my animal. Personally, I will not support him further for my own peace of mind and because I do believe there was something wrong with my skink, but I have no hard data to support it.

I apologize to everyone, but I refuse to continue speaking out without evidence other than suspicion. I plan on trying another vet even though I took my Crestie to Dr. Talbott and he is doing beautifully. I know the much more experienced keepers here will make their own informed decisions about whether or not William is a reliable breeder.
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Can you please post pictures or scans of the paperwork?
 
I don’t have access to a working scanner at the moment, so hopefully this picture is okay.
df2dX


Some notes: The black line is my last name. Blocked it out for safety. Also, I know a 20 gal is too small. It was a temporary enclosure while I monitored him and found a good solid permanent home for him. The woman at Gangemi’s booth with him told me my skink could be kept in a plastic tub and fed regular canned cat food, so I doubt the 20 gal is what did him in.
 
The picture is not showing up on my end. Hopefully it shows up on yours. Let me know if not.
 
I don't see a picture, the best way to upload it is to hit "go advanced" for your post, then "manage attachments" and upload it as an attachment. And yeah, from what you have said I really doubt your care was what made the skink sick.
 
I would definitely try to seek out a new vet for future reptile exams. Prescribing panacur without doing a fecal exam is not what a thorough vet would do. Getting some information wrong on the paperwork, and marking things he did not examine as "normal" is not a great practice either.

I'm still pretty concerned about the other customer who suddenly had a complete change of heart about his experience, but is not saying why. Thank you for sharing the paperwork and your experience with this seller.
 
meowmeowkazoo said:
Oberon is the skink's name. :p Vets usually use the pet's first name and then give it your last name.
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Still doesn't explain why he felt the need to black out his last name, if the last name provided is indeed his last name. Just makes me suspicious.
 
dishay said:
Some notes: The black line is my last name. Blocked it out for safety.
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Curious, if your last name is already listed on your Fauna profile, why the need to remove it from the paperwork?
 
You’re absolutely right, that was dumb of me. I forgot my full name was listed. :face_palm_02: And yes, Oberon was the skink’s name, from Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Here is the unedited paper.
 

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    41E27464-3963-4EF6-B0EC-7863EA874F45.jpg
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dishay said:
You’re absolutely right, that was dumb of me. I forgot my full name was listed. :face_palm_02: And yes, Oberon was the skink’s name, from Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Here is the unedited paper.
Click to expand...

I realized Oberon was the skink's name 5 seconds after I hit post.
 
Even had old Taz in the article. That’s a face I don’t miss seeing at Columbia. Is Rance really gonna hang it up?
 
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