Does the Veterinarian Know Best?

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Who would you trust about your new pet, the veterinarian or the hobbyist? With contact to the vast amount of info on the internet, I decided to discover that for myself. I will be researching the basic care of the “Axolotl”, an aquatic salamander.. In my exploration, I came across two distinct websites on the same topic concerning amphibians. The authors of both sites are individually deemed front-runners in their field of care. Our authors are Dr. Lianne McLeod, a veterinarian, and John Clare a hobbyist/breeder. Both of which I will relate and contrast. When it comes to the direct care of an uncommon pet, I believe it’s best to go with a qualified expert.

The first website I came across is, “The Reptile Channel.” This website is composed of articles by their magazine of the same name. The author of the article on TRC (and several others on the site) is John Clare. Clare is the author of Axolotl.org, and the founder of Caudata.org and FrogForum.net. Clare does not have any special qualifications regarding this subject other than personal experience. He is well versed on several issues, including diseases, and modified environments, however without holding a degree in any related subject. The sites he moderates are open forums for discussion and support of axolotls, also other amphibians. Most discussions are based from personal experience, to which anyone can join or contribute to on the internet. I consider that information to be subjective, as the responses vary between personal opinions and experience, and not scientific fact. His articles are based at a general audience, ranging from children and adults, in words anyone can understand.

The second website I came across is a subcategory of “About.com”, specific to exotic pe...

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...on and care specifics for the axolotl. Clare’s websites provide massively more information regarding various topics (because of frequent contributions by the public), but the information is not constant and sometimes unreliable.

Both websites are successful in keeping your interest; however a simple layout does the better job in the long run. It may not be the most “pretty” article, but the quality of information is superior. I believe the best choice is the source with more credibility and expertise. In this case that would be the information provided by Dr. McLeod.

Sources Cited

Web - http://www.reptilechannel.com/care-sheets/axolotl.aspx

http://www.caudata.org/

Author – John Clare

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Web - http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/amphibians/a/axolotls.htm

http://exoticpets.about.com/bio/Lianne-McLeod-DVM-2931.htm

Author – Lianne McLeod DVM

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