EllenD
New member
- Aug 20, 2016
- 3,979
- 68
- Parrots
- Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
Awe, he looks like my very first bird, Keety!
I have 8 American/English Budgie hybrids/crosses, and they actually have half an English Budgie tuft on their heads, so you can't really tell if they are American or English, lol.
You nailed exactly what the issue with "specialist" vets in the US is, and it boils down to what the requirements are in this country to be able to officially call yourself an "Exotics" Vet, which is absolutely nothing at all...well, nothing over having a basic doctorate from a Veterinary Medical School and getting your state license to practice...In the US, an "Exotics" Vet is simply a General Vet who is "willing" to see animals other than cats and dogs. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. So while a "General" Vet will only see cats and dogs, and "Exotics" Vet wants to see all animals so they can make more money, that's it. You are not at all required in the US to have any extra education, training, or experience beyond Vet School and your state license to call yourself an "Exotics" Vet. Period.
On the other hand, in order to call yourself a "Certified Avian" or "Certified Reptile" Vet in the US, you half to obtain certification from one of the 3 available Veterinary Specialist Certification Organizations in the country, and in order to obtain any of those 3 Certifications you must do a certain amount of education beyond Veterinary Medical School, you must then do an official internship or fellowship under an existing Vet who already has that specific certification, and then you must take a number of tests in order to obtain that certification. This is usually an extra 2 years+ on top of the 4 years of undergrad college and 4 years of Vet School, along with the state licensing tests. This is why there aren't many "Certified" specialist vets in the US, because they make diddly as far as money goes while doing the internship or fellowship, and they have to start paying back all of their college and Vet School loans 6 months after graduation...OR, they can simply start practicing as a General Vet or an "Exotics" Vet right after graduating from Vet School and passing their state licensing tests. So there ya go...It's a shame, because even some "Exotics" Vets who have been practicing as such and seeing birds, reptiles, rodents, etc. for decades still don't know what the hell they are doing or talking about...it's dangerous actually, many birds, reptiles, etc. die from easily treatable conditions due to Exotics Vets who don't have a clue, and aren't capable of even coming to a proper and accurate diagnosis, let alone start the appropriate treatment...it's very, very sad and it's a system/law that needs to be changed ASAP. If you want to call yourself an "Exotics" Vet or an "Avian Specialist" then you need to be certified and go through what that entails...
It makes no sense, as human doctors who want to specialize or become surgeons do years and years of extra education, internships, fellowships, etc. beyond Medical School, so why don't animal vets have to do the same?
I have 8 American/English Budgie hybrids/crosses, and they actually have half an English Budgie tuft on their heads, so you can't really tell if they are American or English, lol.
You nailed exactly what the issue with "specialist" vets in the US is, and it boils down to what the requirements are in this country to be able to officially call yourself an "Exotics" Vet, which is absolutely nothing at all...well, nothing over having a basic doctorate from a Veterinary Medical School and getting your state license to practice...In the US, an "Exotics" Vet is simply a General Vet who is "willing" to see animals other than cats and dogs. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. So while a "General" Vet will only see cats and dogs, and "Exotics" Vet wants to see all animals so they can make more money, that's it. You are not at all required in the US to have any extra education, training, or experience beyond Vet School and your state license to call yourself an "Exotics" Vet. Period.
On the other hand, in order to call yourself a "Certified Avian" or "Certified Reptile" Vet in the US, you half to obtain certification from one of the 3 available Veterinary Specialist Certification Organizations in the country, and in order to obtain any of those 3 Certifications you must do a certain amount of education beyond Veterinary Medical School, you must then do an official internship or fellowship under an existing Vet who already has that specific certification, and then you must take a number of tests in order to obtain that certification. This is usually an extra 2 years+ on top of the 4 years of undergrad college and 4 years of Vet School, along with the state licensing tests. This is why there aren't many "Certified" specialist vets in the US, because they make diddly as far as money goes while doing the internship or fellowship, and they have to start paying back all of their college and Vet School loans 6 months after graduation...OR, they can simply start practicing as a General Vet or an "Exotics" Vet right after graduating from Vet School and passing their state licensing tests. So there ya go...It's a shame, because even some "Exotics" Vets who have been practicing as such and seeing birds, reptiles, rodents, etc. for decades still don't know what the hell they are doing or talking about...it's dangerous actually, many birds, reptiles, etc. die from easily treatable conditions due to Exotics Vets who don't have a clue, and aren't capable of even coming to a proper and accurate diagnosis, let alone start the appropriate treatment...it's very, very sad and it's a system/law that needs to be changed ASAP. If you want to call yourself an "Exotics" Vet or an "Avian Specialist" then you need to be certified and go through what that entails...
It makes no sense, as human doctors who want to specialize or become surgeons do years and years of extra education, internships, fellowships, etc. beyond Medical School, so why don't animal vets have to do the same?
