“After my shift, I count my fingers to see if some crocodile has bitten them off”: an interview with exotologist-herpetologist Tatyana Zhamoyda

Tatyana Zhamoyda is a reptile veterinarian. 25-kilogram pythons, snakes that are on the verge of extinction, and even crocodiles are brought to it. Tatyana told Lifehacker about the difficulties of the profession and gave advice for pet owners.

About the profession

— Could you please tell us what the directions of veterinary medicine look like and how the profession of an exotologist-herpetologist is integrated into them?

- When I took the first steps in the profession, 10-11 years ago, the veterinarian mainly worked for the needs of agriculture. He had a specialization in chickens, pigs, cows, horses. If, besides them, he could cure small pets - cats, dogs, then he was considered a space specialist.

The fact is that at that time there was practically no division in the departments according to directions. And if a person wanted to do something other than cattle, he had to study it on his own.

And even if such a specialist was retrained to help cats and dogs, his knowledge was still not enough to treat parrots, hamsters, turtles.

Over time, it became clear that we need more people who understand the health of a wide variety of pets. This is how exotologists appeared - specialists who deal with wild exotic animals.

But now exotology can also be divided into several areas:

• ornithologists deal with birds;
• ichthyologists - fish;
• ratologists - rodents, rabbits and other small mammals;
• herpetologists (like me) - amphibians, reptiles, amphibians;
• specialists in zoo animals - giraffes, camels, lions;
• marine animal specialists - sharks, dolphins, whales.

Veterinary medicine is undergoing a big leap right now. It seems to me that it is very important to develop it in separate directions. At the same time, I would like to see different specialists inside them: some would deal with snakes, others with lizards, and still others with crocodiles. Each large group of reptiles has its own specifics. It is impossible to apply the same methods of treatment and diagnosis to everyone.

I had such a situation. It seems that before that I only dealt with turtles, and then suddenly - here it is! They brought me a crocodile! And I know almost nothing about them. As a result, I had to draw some parallels in my head, read a lot to learn more about the animal.

- Wow! This is probably much more difficult than traditional veterinary medicine.

- I think yes. The problem is at least a lack of information. There is practically nothing about exotology in Russian-language literature. Mostly you have to read English-language scientific papers.

For example, at some point I realized that I lacked knowledge of parasitology reptiles. Then I tried to dig out everything I could on this topic. I succeeded, and in the end I even read about 8 hours of lectures for other veterinarians. And then - everything-everything could not be invested there!

In general, I try to write articles and hold webinars more often, especially if there is little information on the topic. The desire to teach others additionally stimulates a thorough understanding of the issue.

Then I felt that I lacked knowledge of reptile hematology. I allocated a whole year for its study and all this time I tried to take blood from my patients in order to study it in practice.

Now there is a need to study the cardiology of reptiles. There is only one person in the world who is good at it. It was he who wrote all the scientific articles on this topic - four pieces. I specifically contacted him and asked clarifying questions. In general, I try to regularly write to fellow veterinarians from other countries, communicate with them, exchange experiences.

But lack of knowledge is not the only difficulty. Another, for example, is related to the fact that exotic animals are still wild. We don't have the same understandinglike with cats and dogs. Exotics are individualists. They are more closed, secretive. Reptiles, for example, don't show pain at all. The big question of modern herpetology: how to understand that they are in pain and that the painkiller has worked?

- You are a surgeon, an ophthalmologist, and a therapist for your patients, right? Are you afraid to combine all these functions?

- Good question. So far, there is no clear division of specializations, so you need to understand everything. But it is clear that each person is usually good in some particular role. For example, I have a colleague who does an excellent ultrasound. And sometimes we host parties together. Its job is to identify problems. And mine is to understand their cause and find a solution.

It is the same with surgery: we have a specialist who is good at performing operations. My task is to assist him. I provide anesthesia support, control the condition of the animal in the process. Complex cases of surgical interventions require the presence of several specialists at once. Like people.

Are there emergency calls too?

— Our clinic is not yet open 24/7, so we do not take patients at night. But there is a plus: in this regard, it is easier with reptiles. For example, if a cat or dog starts bleeding, then there is little time to stop it. And reptiles are helped by their natural survival mechanism - composure. They tolerate such injuries more easily, and their diseases develop more slowly.

If in a dog the disease progresses in 2-3 days, then in a reptile it can take six months.

Therefore, it can be said that such patients are not very urgent. Emergency intervention is rarely needed. Even if this is some kind of injury, and I am not at the clinic at that moment, I can advise the owner, tell me what to do in order to make it to the next appointment.

— How are operations on exotic animals performed? Are they fundamentally different from others?

Yes, there is a big difference. On warm-blooded preparations work quickly. For example, they injected a cat with medicine - and he immediately fell asleep. Not so with the cold-blooded. If we gave an injection to a chameleon, then we walk for another two hours, wait, and see if it worked or not.

Also, reptiles must lie on a heating pad - to speed up the metabolism of drugs and maintain breathing and heartbeat. A cold-blooded animal must be warmed up, otherwise there is a chance that it simply will not wake up after the operation.

Do you ever take animals home?

- Yes. Usually I feel more relaxed myself, especially after I had the operation, after which the beast needs to be looked after.

Plus, not every city has specialists in exotic animals. If a person comes from afar, and I see that the animal is in a serious condition and needs to be observed for a week, then I propose to leave it at home - “put it in a hospital”. So that the owner does not have to travel 300 kilometers to me every day in order to show the pet.

If the owners go on vacation, and there is no one to leave the animal, I can also take it to my own “sanatorium”: do tests, observe the condition.

I live outside the city, in my own house, and this somewhat simplifies the situation. It is clear that I usually do not bring home a whole zoo (although I myself have many pets), but it does happen from time to time. My husband and children treat animals well - they often ask me for some facts about them.

When I bring home a new animal, everyone is also worried about him. Even when he is “discharged”, my household asks: “Well, how is he doing now? How does he feel? Things are good?"

Have you ever had poisonous snakes brought to you?

- Not. They are usually handled by zookeepers. By the way, in the same place, near one of the terrariums, you can find a special sticker with the name of the animal. If it crawls out and bite you, it will need to be taken with you to the intensive care unit so that the doctors use the right antidote. This is an established practice in developed countries.

Another thing is the reptiles outside the zoo. Sometimes people write to me: “It seems that a viper crawled up to us, we killed it. Look, is it poisonous at all?

In my personal messages you can find many pictures of snakes - more precisely, their corpses.

Basically, it turns out that these are absolutely harmless snakes. And even if it were a poisonous snake, it would hardly want to meet a person. It is not her food guide. Therefore, if you suddenly see one, it’s better not to disturb her or drive her away. I would like people not to be guided by the logic “First we kill, and then we will sort it out.”

And start poisonous snake as pets is not necessary at all. It's like a gun - it has to be somewhere far away in a safe. And it is unlikely that your neighbors will be happy if they notice a cobra in the garden!

- Aren't you afraid of being bitten by a snake or a lizard?

To be honest, I ask myself this question all the time. But usually after she healed some animal. (Laughs.)

When a patient comes to me, the first feeling is not fear, but a desire to help him. Because I see that he is suffering, and I know why this is happening. And I immediately get to work.

Only after a while I realize: “Yeah, I went into the room where there were two crocodiles, we did something with them... By the way, it was dangerous!”

This is probably the wrong response. But of course, this doesn't happen every day. From everyday life - I often get bitten by lizards. Sometimes you need to put something in their mouth to look at their teeth, but there is nothing at hand... except their own hands. Therefore, after the shift, just in case, I count my fingers to see if some crocodile has bitten them off. So far, all 10 are in place!

— Has it ever happened that exotic animals were brought to you from the street?

“This happens with animals that are inexpensive and cheaper to replace than to treat. For example, small red-eared turtles or hamsters are sold in the passages for a penny. But their treatment will cost significantly more.

Or sometimes people buy an animal from a pet store and get scammed. They say: “Yes, this is a dwarf turtle, it will not grow, it does not need anything at all ...” People are happy, they answer: “Wrap it up.” And then they find out that she is a waterfowl, she needs a 200-liter aquarium, special lamps and care. It means that? We need to invest again, but they did not count on it.

Such turtles are then found in the trash. And now the one who discovered it and decided to help, brings it to me. Of course, I try to meet halfway - I take money only for materials.

Among exotics, this fate is mostly tortoise. Other animals are chosen more consciously. Because if a person wants to take a crocodile, he will most likely immediately find out what expenses await him.

About patients and their owners

— What is the most exotic animal brought to you?

- Rarely come with crocodiles. Because, firstly, an adult weighs 100-200 kilograms (maximum - a ton). You can't just bring him to the clinic, you can't put him on the table. You have to go directly to him. Yes, and most often these are zoo or circus animals.

But sometimes people keep them in private houses where the crocodile has its own room.

There are also rare snakes and lizards. For example, some special color. Or those that are on the verge extinction.

- And how do you look at the fact that wild animals are caught and sold?

- This is bad. Because a very small percentage of such animals survive during transportation. And it turns out that in nature there are fewer of them. But when zoos or official breeders are breeding rare species so that they do not disappear from the planet in principle, this is the right job. It is aimed at restoring the population.

— Do you have regular patients who, for some reason, are brought in very often?

- Basically, my regular patients are those who come once a year for examination. For example, adult turtles, which are 40 years old, of which I know them for 15 years. They get tested and usually do well. It's a joy when your patients live so long and well.

— In 2019, Russia adopted a draft law “On Responsible Treatment of Animals”. According to him, it is impossible to kill healthy individuals, and this can be done only with those who are terminally ill. How do you feel about this and euthanasia in general?

“There is a subtle point here. We, too, allow euthanasia only for those patients who have no treatment option and are suffering. For example, if it is an oncology that is incompatible with life. In this case, I think such a step is really justified.

But there were other situations as well. We were visited by owners who were tired of the animal, who had allergywho were too lazy to treat him. Moreover, it is easy to treat - for example, treat a wound for 7-10 days.

Such people thought: “Why waste time and money on treatment, especially if it is more expensive than the cost of the animal? Let's sleep."

It is unacceptable. We do not euthanize the animal at the request of the owner. Let him better give it to some volunteers, animal rights activists, shelter.

How do you notify owners that their pet is terminally ill?

- It's complicated. There is no one universal solution here. But I always try to be completely honest. I understand that a person does not need to be given unnecessary hopes. Therefore, everything can be fine for a while, and then… He did not expect, but the animal died. This is very traumatic.

I always try to be direct about what the situation is, what we can try to do to prolong the life of the pet, and how much longer he can live. Many are crying at this moment. I think it's ok. These are emotions that a person experiences naturally. Therefore, they do not need to be hidden.

In such situations, I try to support the client, never blame him. Yes, it happens that people come late - it becomes clear that it was necessary to start treatment at least a week ago. Then everything would have been different, but now the prospects are zero. But what will change in the animal's prognosis if I blame or scold someone? Nothing. This is not constructive.

On the contrary, it is better to praise the owner that he at least came. After all, first it was necessary to see the problem, then understand that it would not be possible to cope with it on your own, then look for a doctor... The man did a great job. If at this moment you start criticizing him, it can end badly for everyone.

Suddenly the owner freaks out and throw away pet in the trash? Instead, it is better to support the person and explain what his mistakes were and how to avoid them in the future.

Are there really such inadequate clients?

- Rare now. But when I started working, communication with them was my point of growth, an internal switch. Imagine that completely different people come to you every half an hour. And you need to find a common language with them. And along the way, diagnose and treat animals.

It's a good school for learning how to interact with people, and it's also a dropout. Among the students who graduate from the veterinary academy, there are not so many who stay to work at the reception.

I had clients who looked at me, my recommendations and services from a position of money: “No-no-no, it's all expensive. We'd better go to a doctor who will tell us what we want to hear."

When it was impossible to find a common language, I really advised to find another doctor. I am for doing good to the animal. Because it suffers the most in this situation.

What is your favorite or memorable story?

— I used to try to write down such stories! But at some point there were so many of them that I stopped doing it. We communicate sincerely and closely with many owners - we even congratulate each other on holidays.

Recently, for example, the owner of turtles (a former client who moved to another country) wrote me a big message in a funny, humorous way and even drew a comic!

This is very cool to read - the person just shared from the bottom of his heart what is happening with my former patient! At such moments, I understand that I work not in vain. Until I had burnout - probably because such cases are very motivating.

The reviews that clients leave on the clinic’s website are also inspiring: “Here, at another veterinarian, they told me that only euthanasia remained. And we came to you and the pet came to life!

How to make life better for pets

What advice would you give to those who want to get an exotic animal?

- Read in advance about what kind of animal it is: what it eats, what climate it lives in, what conditions suit it. And it is better to look for information on English-language sites. You can also ask questions to experienced keepers.

Basic rule: first create a habitat and only then place it there animal.

- What are the health pitfalls? Maybe reptiles are carriers of some viruses or parasites that are dangerous to humans?

- There are almost no pitfalls, except for salmonella in reptiles. But this issue is easily solved by personal hygiene. Some other parasites that snakes and lizards have are not interested in people at all.

What exotic animal is the hardest to keep? And which one is easier?

- It is more difficult to keep an animal that requires large areas. For example, if we want to have a monitor lizard (I'm not talking about a crocodile), then we need a large terrarium - a closed ecosystem suitable for it. Because the monitor lizard loves to walk, run, climb. It would be nice to make some kind of reservoir.

And people can not always afford large areas. Especially when it comes to removable apartment. Therefore, you need to choose which animal you can create comfortable living conditions for.

Do not fill the whole house with pets - most likely, they will suffer in cramped conditions.

You also need to think about whether you can feed the snake with mice? Will you pity the crickets? If this inspires fear, you need to look for a herbivorous reptile.

— Please list the most common mistakes in keeping exotic animals.

1. The person does not comply with the conditions of detention. For example, he organizes the space for the life of a pet so that he has:

• small area to move
• incorrect ambient temperature,
• poor ventilation
• inappropriate nutrition.

2. A person practically does not see the animal during the day. If the owner has time to look into the terrarium only when feeds pet, he may miss dangerous symptoms.

This is especially true when talking about reptiles. Because you can simply not understand that the animal is bad. After all, reptiles do not cry, do not whine. And the disease develops at this time. Usually the owner notices that something is wrong with the animal when the case is already running.

Here you can find an interesting way out. This method was suggested to me by my clients. They installed a compact camera in the terrarium, thanks to which you can watch your pet even remotely.

Moreover, it is also convenient in the case when they come to me for diagnostics. Because the pet can behave strangely at home, but once in the office, it just freezes. And so the owner watches an 8‑hour video, cuts out a minute and shows it to me.

3. Man does not socialize the animal. For example, he simply puts a chameleon in a terrarium and does not touch him. Accordingly, if you then bring such a chameleon for inspection, he will stress: for some reason they picked him up, for some reason they climb to look at his mouth, offer some kind of injections... He suffers.

Therefore, you need to observe the animal more, communicate with it, try to transcribe some of its gestures, facial expressions and postures, and read emotions.

- And how to count emotions in reptiles?

“Now we are learning to at least humanize animals — to transfer our understanding to them. Perhaps reptilian psychology works somehow differently, but we don't know that. So, I hope this direction will develop. Now there are such examples:

1. Chameleon. If it is light green with slight dark patches, then it is in a normal psychological state. And if he turned black, then he doesn’t like something. Also, to express displeasure, lizards can hiss.
2. Bearded dragon. Her psychological state can be determined by the color of her beard. If it turns black, then the animal does not like something. Maybe its a failure picked up by hand or she ate, and they pull her. Poses and colors are very important for lizards.
3. Snake. When the snake is calm, it crawls freely. But as soon as some kind of danger appears, it immediately turns into rings. Like in a house: the head is inside, the body is outside. If a snake crawls over a person and at some point begins to squeeze the hand, suffocate, it means that she is going through. Some owners say: “She is stressful for me. Therefore, do not be afraid - she will choke a little and stop. And there is.

The state of the pet can also be calculated by how relaxed he behaves - how he interacts with the environment. If the animal confidently walks on the table, examines the room, collects smells with the tongue - this is a relaxed behavior. And if it freezes, it hardly feels comfortable.