Need a Vet for Interceptor - In or near Chicago

[driftin]

I need to get a prescription for interceptor. With no other pets in the household, I don't have a vet of my own. I saw in a thread that the vet Jeff used isn't around anymore. Has anyone had success recently? I'd really prefer someone in Chicago or near northside burbs, but I guess I can't be too picky!

Thanks.

 

[driftin]

Anyone?

 

[DodgeDude99]

i will recommend Palos Animal Hospital in Palos Heights, RTE 83 & Harlem, 708 448 6600.

they have some of the best and diverse Doctors in the business, the staff is friendly, nice and helpful, the building is clean, and the equipment is up to date.

any Doctor you choose there is going to be great, my favorite though is Dr. Mills.

 

[driftin]

Have they prescribed interceptor for reef tanks? Or are they just a good animal hospital? It's waay out of my way...

 

[DodgeDude99]

ohh i just re-read your post, i cant say they actually have done it just for reef tanks.

being its for heartworms and other worms, most animal hospitals require a blood test to make sure heartworms arent present in the animal before the medicene is given, if heartworms are present and the medicene was given it could be fatal, so i am not sure if an animal hospital will take the liability of selling it to you like that.

could try 1-800-petmeds, but they usually require the prescription as well, and also have to be careful what you buy from them as well since alot of the meds they advertise they sell requires a veterinary license to purchase. rumor has it they buy out of date or close to out of date meds from vets who dont want to get stuck with a worthless inventory.

have you had a problem getting Interceptor from animal hospitals before? i will check with my wife (she actually works there) to see if they would prescribe it or not.

what does Interceptor do for Reef tanks?

 

[madadi]

im willing to drive for a clinic that will sell interceptor with no hassle. let us know what you find out.

interceptor kills red bugs, an acro pest.

 

[DgenR8]

Guys,
A heads up, before there's a problem.....
Interceptor is a drug, it's primary use is in dogs, and several other 4 legged critters. It's been found to kill the nasty red bugs that attack Acropora.
The problem I face, is that I can not allow RC to be the facilitator in obtaining this medication illegally. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one legal means of obtaining Interceptor, and that is with a Veterinarian's prescription. If your conversation is going to shift toward other than legal means of getting Interceptor, I'll have no choice but to close it.
Keep it about Vets that are in the know, and where you can find them, and all will be well.

 

[madadi]

thanks for the heads up.

hope someone can recommend a vet that will write the prescription and also carries the pill in the clinic. that would be cool. id drive for that!

 

[driftin]

DodgeDude, no problem! I haven't tried obtaining a prescription for it yet. From what I've read in other threads, only the occassional vet will give the prescription and usually need some kind of documentation on the uses in a reef tank. I'm not sure what documentation that is... I'm guessing they would want more than just Larry's post from this thread But please let me know what your wife finds out.

Thanks!

 

[DgenR8]

There are several good threads here on the subject. You can print out the best of them to take with you. That seems to be the route to success for most people.

 

[Pufferpunk]

My vet said there are much better/safer meds for treating heartworm now so he doesn't carry that. I don't think I would have had a problem getting a prescription from him though. Does it really matter if Petmed's are out of date, for a treating a tank?

 

[madadi]

i bet they are still good. problem is i like to keep a few pills just in case. just in case might come a few months from now, maybe a year. if you get a pill thats already expired, when you finally need it, it will be VERY expired.

still, if i can find a vet that will prescribe it and wont carry it, id use petmeds.

 

[DodgeDude99]

i asked my wife. she said per the illinois department of regulations that it has to be prescribed to an animal that has an established history with a vet.

she said the same goes for DFS & 1800PETMED.

a vet giving you a prescription is risking loosing his/her license basically.

 

[Larry Waughon]

If you know the amount of Ivermectin in each tablet, could you just buy the Ivermectin at Farm & Fleet? They sell it in bottle form for cattle.

 

[madadi]

is there a farm & fleet here close to chicago? we know the amount in each tablet but can we find out the concentration in the farm stuff.

hope this doesn't brake RC policy. not looking to get interceptor illegally. if anyone can buy Ivermectin from farm and fleet, id be interested in that.

 

[madadi]

well i THOUGH its the same but its not. heartguard pills contains ivermectin. interceptor pills contain Milbemycin oxime. heartguard pills can be bought without prescription. i wonder if ivermectin is affective against redbugs the same way. if it is, we only need the conversion ratio of Milbemycin oxime mcg = ivermectin mcg.

 

[DgenR8]

As long as it doesn't break the law, I see no problem at all.
You may be able to get a Vet, or a Chemist that specializes in developing new medications (RHF in the Chemistry forum at RC) to answer some questions regarding dosage/effectiveness/safety in an aquarium.

 

[Larry Waughon]

I thought interceptor used Ivermectin. I never used Ivermectin for red bug. I did use Ivermectin for worming pigeons and for dogs heartworming years ago. I always used the cattle Ivermectin. They also have a sheep drench Ivermectin. I would check with a vet, but it can be bought with no problem and shared amongst us. I don't know what it sells for now, it was like $65 a bottle.

 

[madadi]

well taking in consideration that ivermectin content for the 50-100 lb dog pill is 272mcg and the interceptor equivalent for the same size dog is 23mg of milbemycin oxime, it would be easy to calculate a safe starting dosage from the vial of ivermectin made for horses. i found a vial that contains about 6mg of ivermectin. i would dilute it in at least 500ml of RO water.

apparently interceptor is very much like ivermectin. ivermectin is much stronger so thats why you use so much less to kill heart worms. i read some where that ivermectin dosage has to be increased if its treating ticks and lice which ts can kill, but at higher doses. Redbugs are similar to ticks and lice.

im going to order this
http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&pf_id=00010
its too cheap to not try. diluted it should be safe. i would start with a lower dosage in a frag tank or QT and increase slowly till you see good results on the RB. i wish i had a frag with red bugs. but when i do, ill definitely dip it in this and see what happens.

 

[DgenR8]

Do yourself a favor, and check with Randy. He should be able to tell you if what's available without prescription is safe, and help calculate the dosage.
With access to a guy like Randy, why would you consider doing this without seeking his opinion?