OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
This may sound funny to some, I am more nervous about meeting a new Vet than a trip to a dentist.
On Oct 26th my neat Male Mt. Meru somehow, someway, got his middle horn busted. Was it busted in such a way somebody with 35 years of keeping Herps could manage? Of course not. We never have that kind of luck.
Following the good advice given here back in Oct. I decided to not set the horn by securing it to one of the others. My plan was to keep it from getting infected and wait to see if nature would help with the horn going black and falling off. Again no luck. While I was seeing a slight change in the color of the horn I could see it still had blood flow. Around X-mas I noticed the swelling was getting to a size I was not comfortable with and dreaded the Vet visit I knew I needed to make.
Vets + Chams usually equals a dead lizard.
In this case we did have somethings going for us (Me and the Cham). For starters the cham was a hefty 32 grams, has been eating this whole time, well hydrated, and had no real infection to speak of due to a lot of TLC. Also we were not dealing with a super delicate species, nor one that is so small a cat fart could kill it.
All of that counts for nothing if you go to a vet that doesn't know Jack about chameleons.
So, after hearing so much about Dr. Greek from friends in the hobby. From friends at the local reptile store. From a few solid people here on these forums. And seeing my old buddy Ed Krammer loves the guy too, I made the appointment and the trip.
I figured I'd be heading home with a dead Meru by the end of the day.
To start with, I have been around a number of vets and fortunate enough to even have one I call a friend. I have to admit not too many people can say they were having a discussion about lighting products with a vet while he's spaying and neutering cats. It was quite interesting to watch back then.
I was impressed with what I saw of this hospital. The waiting area I didn't pay much attention to. What I could see of the rear treatment areas while looking thru a small window gave me some hope. Very very very clean facility, well equipped from what I could tell. I overheard enough of conversations with other customers to understand the staff was experienced unlike some places I've visited.
Once Dr. Greek came in and we chatted a little I realized this is a vet who really is comfortable with reptiles. I explained in detail what the issue was and that I simply don't have the skill or experience in removing a horn from a chameleon. I know my limits.
Thinking this was going to be an all day thing with surgery I was ready for the bad news. Instead Dr. Greek held the cham and checked the horn and swelling (AND he held the cham the RIGHT way!) He explained we'd give it a local to numb the nose up and remove the horn. I about passed out when he said he'd be right back in a few minutes. I really figured in 15 mins I'd have bad news.
Well.... in about 15 mins in walks the Doc. The cham is alive and pissed ( a good sign that). Dammed if the nose doesn't look much better. I think I'll try and pass him off as a Montium now since he's a two horned Male Meru.
No meds were prescribed, nice change from doctors that always want you to med up an animal (which could be as bad as the illness left untreated). I just need to keep the area clean which is a simple thing for me.
I figure in 72 hours I will either know if he will make it or not, that aside all I can say is Dr Greek clearly knows his trade. His facility is clearly top notch. The staff knows their stuff. The bill was a fair price in my eyes for the work done too.
From this one visit I'd highly recommend Dr Greek to the chameleon community. I never thought I'd ever say that to be honest. Plenty of Vets can work on a Tortoise or an Iguana in this day and age. Chameleons? This was a first for me. I won't be so hesitant if I need his services in the future.
Below are two pictures of the horn/injury before the visit and the other two are from today after the trip. Currently the Cham has drank on his own and is relaxing in his habitat and clearly would like to kill me (A good sign).
On Oct 26th my neat Male Mt. Meru somehow, someway, got his middle horn busted. Was it busted in such a way somebody with 35 years of keeping Herps could manage? Of course not. We never have that kind of luck.
Following the good advice given here back in Oct. I decided to not set the horn by securing it to one of the others. My plan was to keep it from getting infected and wait to see if nature would help with the horn going black and falling off. Again no luck. While I was seeing a slight change in the color of the horn I could see it still had blood flow. Around X-mas I noticed the swelling was getting to a size I was not comfortable with and dreaded the Vet visit I knew I needed to make.
Vets + Chams usually equals a dead lizard.
In this case we did have somethings going for us (Me and the Cham). For starters the cham was a hefty 32 grams, has been eating this whole time, well hydrated, and had no real infection to speak of due to a lot of TLC. Also we were not dealing with a super delicate species, nor one that is so small a cat fart could kill it.
All of that counts for nothing if you go to a vet that doesn't know Jack about chameleons.
So, after hearing so much about Dr. Greek from friends in the hobby. From friends at the local reptile store. From a few solid people here on these forums. And seeing my old buddy Ed Krammer loves the guy too, I made the appointment and the trip.
I figured I'd be heading home with a dead Meru by the end of the day.
To start with, I have been around a number of vets and fortunate enough to even have one I call a friend. I have to admit not too many people can say they were having a discussion about lighting products with a vet while he's spaying and neutering cats. It was quite interesting to watch back then.
I was impressed with what I saw of this hospital. The waiting area I didn't pay much attention to. What I could see of the rear treatment areas while looking thru a small window gave me some hope. Very very very clean facility, well equipped from what I could tell. I overheard enough of conversations with other customers to understand the staff was experienced unlike some places I've visited.
Once Dr. Greek came in and we chatted a little I realized this is a vet who really is comfortable with reptiles. I explained in detail what the issue was and that I simply don't have the skill or experience in removing a horn from a chameleon. I know my limits.
Thinking this was going to be an all day thing with surgery I was ready for the bad news. Instead Dr. Greek held the cham and checked the horn and swelling (AND he held the cham the RIGHT way!) He explained we'd give it a local to numb the nose up and remove the horn. I about passed out when he said he'd be right back in a few minutes. I really figured in 15 mins I'd have bad news.
Well.... in about 15 mins in walks the Doc. The cham is alive and pissed ( a good sign that). Dammed if the nose doesn't look much better. I think I'll try and pass him off as a Montium now since he's a two horned Male Meru.
No meds were prescribed, nice change from doctors that always want you to med up an animal (which could be as bad as the illness left untreated). I just need to keep the area clean which is a simple thing for me.
I figure in 72 hours I will either know if he will make it or not, that aside all I can say is Dr Greek clearly knows his trade. His facility is clearly top notch. The staff knows their stuff. The bill was a fair price in my eyes for the work done too.
From this one visit I'd highly recommend Dr Greek to the chameleon community. I never thought I'd ever say that to be honest. Plenty of Vets can work on a Tortoise or an Iguana in this day and age. Chameleons? This was a first for me. I won't be so hesitant if I need his services in the future.
Below are two pictures of the horn/injury before the visit and the other two are from today after the trip. Currently the Cham has drank on his own and is relaxing in his habitat and clearly would like to kill me (A good sign).
