Medical Forum needed ??

[chas*e]

Hey ..Who out there thinks sSnakeSs.com should have a Reptile Health and Medical forum?....of course it must have a disclaimer that states that the help/advice given is non-professional and that sSnakeSs.com is in no way responsible for anything adverse advice...cool YES/NO


PS..as if you guys don't have enough to do...lol

[crazyboy]

i think its a good idea

[tHeGiNo]

I actually think that is an awesome idea.

[ReptileHQ]

good idea Chuck, but I also think it would be good to have a few select professionals answering the questions....kind of an "ask the doctor" type of forum...

Chris

[chas*e]

As you know Chris....there are semi-medical pros out there besides you and I....but this ain't football...lol....Ya, I will try to get some "Herp-friendly" Vets that I know to check in on us from time to time....the medical aspect of snakes is my, "my trip". I missed my calling and became a roofer...more money in roofing..lol


PS....that is if the "big guys" at sSnakeSs.com can do it ...maybe not who knows, legalities being what they are..I guess I could help out if they want

[wyz]

I find it's a good idea..

Only problem I see is that it would have to be separated in some sections. i.e. snakes, liz, invert.. maybe even more than that.

I wouldn't put only 1 forum for this type of posts, I'm pretty sure it'll be just damn too popular ! :)

Half of the threads are about sick animal or snakes that won't eat, etc...

WYZ

[eyespy]

Here in the state of PA, I would get into bigtime trouble for participating on a forum that has a health section, even with disclaimers. It's against the terms of professional licenses in many states in the US and most countries in western Europe to participate in any forum that would give the viewer the impression of expert advice and I would risk getting points against my rehab and vet tech licenses or even a suspension. I don't know what the terms of Canadian professional licensure entails but that would be something to check out before inviting vets here.

If ssnakess.com ever gets a health forum I'll have to stop coming here. My license is more important to me than this forum, no matter how much I love it here.

[TheRedDragon]

I think it's a really good idea.

[chas*e]

I feel, although I could be wrong, that as long as there is NO medicines dispensed there should be no problems...after-all when a post about "what to do about mites" or " my snake isn't shedding right" is posted and answered, is that not a medical problem ...no charge --no problem

[sSNAKESs.com]

Chuck and others... It was a great idea that has been thrown around a few times before... But for the reasons that Eyespy listed as well as some other legallities, we decided not to set one up as there is just way to many reprocussions that could arise from it... Sorry guys.

[chas*e]

no really...i will pm you cool...jeff

[eyespy]

Neither meds nor money come into the terms of professional licensure in many jurisdictions. Advising any type of treatment without a physical exam is enough to get a licensed healthcare professional into bigtime trouble.

[Shane Tesser]

What if it was done in the form of care sheets eyespy? Like a loop hole of sorts. Perhaps an identification of a couple of well know problems, the usual cures etc? No actual advice would be handed down specifically, but a list of what to look for as a basis for a diagnoses would be there. With not only a disclaimer, but also always followed with proper care by a vet must be given...or something to that effect? Am i making sense? Lol probably not!!!

[eyespy]

Care sheets are fine, and so is the occasional "what do I do" sort of post as long as the advice isn't for prescription items and such, it's when there's an entire dedicated forum that raises the expectations of viewers that they can get advice that the real licensing problems come into play. Those are the forums that licensed folks tend to shy away from.

The problem with dedicated forums is that they raise the expectation of members that they will be able to find advice there, and if a "reasonable person" can expect medical advice that is one of the tests that ends up getting points on a professional license.

So if some doofus writes a "my snake got burned by my hot rock" post, suppose I were to advise some stop-gap measures like cleaning the wound and using an antibiotic ointment until they get to the vet. But the owner never sees a vet and the snake dies or is left with bigtime scarring. I am personally liable for my post and so is ssnakess.com if the owner sues because it's a medical forum and he thought the advice was as good as a vet visit. Disclaimers don't tend to stand up in court nearly as much as whether the pet's owner thought that advice would save the snake without actually going to the vet. The attitude is that professionals should know better than to give advice over the phone or net as they never personally saw the animal.

I've noticed that the big breeders tend to shy away from the forums that contain medical sections too.

[chas*e]

I think there is a way around(or through) anything."Adapt and Overcome" as the RECON troops say....I still believe that if a disclaimer is issued then you wouldn't get into much grief legally. As I said before, I have seen many many such medical threads on this and other forums. I will look into it if you guys(Jeff and Shane) don't mind from the Canadian standpoint anyways.

[ChokeOnSmoke]

I think you are making sense Shane and I think its a really good idea

[RaVeNo888o]

wut if you didnt make a whole section of medical forums with differenent categories for different animals.. but had a medical forum under each section of the existing forums. like on under pythons, one under boas, one under colubrids..etc..

[chas*e]

To address the issues of legality and such, I still believe it(the Health Forum) could be done. If a Vet tech or Vet doesn't participate , well so what. We, as members of this Herp site, would contantly be sued for everything from enclosure designs, to selling snakes, to substrate preference....come on this "Lawyerphobia" is getting too much....be positive sometimes

[jay76]

A medical forum does seem to be a good idea, on the surface. However, another approach would be to have certain relatively common ailments listed in a FAQ page or the like to see if people can clear up their own problems. A section for getting rid of mites, a section on what to do for bad sheds, etc. More serious conditions shouldn't be dealt with whatsoever. After all, the answer will usually be "go to a vet", which is what should be done in the first place rather than waiting for someone you don't know and who's never actually seen your animal or its enclosure tell you what to do.

Also, I can't say as I blame vets/vet techs for shying away. It's their livelyhood on the line after all. If someone came along and told me that if I helped someone set up a satellite receiver or put in a subscriber amp I could be sued, or somehow barred from working with telecommunications, I'd be leery of helping others too. Telecom is what I do for a living after all, and it's hard enough finding a job these days without having any black marks on your record.

[Solid Snake]

yea i think its a great idea, it should aslo have stickys to frequently asked quetions like how to get rid of mites.

[ohh_kristina]

What if the forum was named something else besides "Medical Forum"? Would people like eyespy be able to post then? How about "Advice Forum" or something like that - I'm not good at naming things. I think it's a great idea, but I would hate to see people not being able to use the site because of it.

[chas*e]

YA...thats the spirit....!!!!!!.....Vive la Liberte !!!!!

[eyespy]

I wouldn't take the risk personally. Most licensed vets and techs and even the big name breeders don't even post on general forums for fear of liability or discipline from the licensing boards, the more specific towards health-related issues it gets the more dropoff I think there would be. Many of the folks at US Fish and Wildlife Services I work with lurk here and some are even registered members, but nobody is willing to post on the forums as they are for fear of disciplinary action. I think they would be leery of even logging into the site if an message board were devoted to health stuff.

[jay76]

What if the forum was named something else besides "Medical Forum"?

A rose by any other name...

The title is semantics. It's content that matters. Call it opinions, advice or whatever, it's all the same really...

[chas*e]

For one thing I doubt that on any medical diploma on the wall is the name ...Dr Jay76...or...Dr Eyespy..or..Dr Chas*e...lol...Way too paranoid....I understand those persons position(legal backlash from Lic boards), I really do but.....but my point is ...This will be a forum for the members who DON"T have or work in the Vet field...just for us dumbies (who make up 99.9%) on sSnakeSs.com.....we would like to discuss medical problems with our Reptiles without costing us a trip to a Vet. The point is that, a great many medical problems that arise DO NOT warrant a Vet trip or bill.....please no offence attributed to this statement....but it is true...If an animal is sick and needs medical care , I would be the first to advise this, with mine or anyone else's....I am not a Vet nor a tech but there are a great many of us who own and care for more reptiles than any Vet or tech has ever seen. Isn't our input worth something.....

[eyespy]

Sure, but that input already can and does happen in the individual species forums. If creating a special forum is going to scare off the people with the experience to help, that's not a situation where anyone wins. It just becomes newbies trying to help newbies after awhile and a lot of the older reptile forums on the web dropped their health or advice forums for that very reason.

[drewlowe]

The cons outway the pros in my mind. I wouldn't want to lose any of the members here, we already give some basic help. Specially eyespy!!! It's a good suggestion i just don't think it should be done.

[Shane Tesser]

On the flip side... If ssnakess was sued and there was grounds for a law suit (if we are liable we have to pay for the fees)... who would pay the laywer and court fees??? The site is free for the most part, where do you think the money would magically come from to pay for those bills??? Sure its a good idea but im sure Jeff doesnt want to risk losing everything over it.

[chas*e]

Hey Hey...What about losing everything for an ideal....think how popular you would be, people would say.."See that homeless man talking to himself, he lost everything and drinks detergent, but he stood up for what he believes in"....lol

[Jayson]

Medical advice should be left to the vets office. without a vet check/visit no one really can give an educated answer to a problem
Just my thoughts.

[reverendsterlin]

just post health/medical questions to the regular species forum, everyone already said that it was the 'dedicated' medical forums that caused a problem. In other words "it ain't broke, quit trying to fix it!" This site has enough amatures, do nothing to cause problems with the professionals that are here.

[chas*e]

Wrong.....I and a lot of others can give an educated answer on many medical problems...come on now....how can you say that....I am sure you could too...

[chas*e]

I must admitt that this question cannot be answered until further legal inquiry.....thankyou...exciting eh!

[Lisa]

I think asking the questions in the specific species forums would work best. I don't know anything about frogs so putting it anywhere but where frog admirers frequented doesn't make sense. It also allows the medical people to skip over those posts.