(EXTREMELY GRAPHIC) Self veiled necropsy

[Hakai]

BTW, in that diagram, the part labelled C doesn't look quite right to my untrained eye, looks a bit bigger than I'd imagine it should. So my guess is that is digestion related. Good photography also.

Yeah, digestive problems seems to be the direction this is headed. And I haven't had any experience post high school biology. rofl. Thanks for your input.

 

[shaunaroxanne]

I'm really sorry for your loss. I'm so impressed that you were able to do that. Really great job, you should be proud of yourself. This is problem-solving at its finest.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Yeah, digestive problems seems to be the direction this is headed. And I haven't had any experience post high school biology. rofl. Thanks for your input.

Hey, technically I don't either, I'm a senior in high school, however so far in high school, I have taken bio. Honors, chem honors, marine science honors, AP chem, and I'm in AP biology now. There was a lot of dissection in marine science though. Hunting really helps you get a familiarity with the internal organs though, I'm practically an expert in squirrel anatomy lol.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Sorry to ask this of you, I know I wasn't as thorough as I could have been, but based on what you saw, what is your best guess on what the cause was, is this a husbandry problem or something else, and how can I prevent this from happening in the future? Sorry if those are overwhelming questions, but those are the very reasons I started this and my previous thread.

I wish I could tell you...it's too hard to say based on pictures alone. Even in person I may not have been able to find a cause unless some of the tissues were analyzed for histopathology. It sounds like you checked all your husbandry details with others and they sounded good. I'm not sure how long you had him but it could have been something he was already affected with when you got him. Everything happens slowly in reptiles - they take a while to get sick and a while to show signs (sometimes weeks) and they take a while to get better. So it may not have been anything to do with you at all. All I can tell from the pictures is something was abnormal with the GI tract, but was it the cause of death or simply a sequela to the true problem? I don't think we'll ever know. So don't beat yourself up. Chameleons are fragile creatures and sometimes despite our best efforts they just don't do as well as we hope.

 

[Kaianuanu]

I'm really sorry for your loss. I'm so impressed that you were able to do that. Really great job, you should be proud of yourself. This is problem-solving at its finest.

+1 on that

 

[Hakai]

Hey, technically I don't either, I'm a senior in high school, however so far in high school, I have taken bio. Honors, chem honors, marine science honors, AP chem, and I'm in AP biology now. There was a lot of dissection in marine science though. Hunting really helps you get a familiarity with the internal organs though, I'm practically an expert in squirrel anatomy lol.

Quite impressive. Lol. I too am a senior in high school. However I take all regular science classes. I'm pretty sure the only thing I disected in school was like a grasshopper and an owl poop or something. I'm in the last required science course right now, Physics. Which doesn't help here at all. Marine biology sounds awesome. I'm really getting into sea turtles these days.

 

[Hakai]

I wish I could tell you...it's too hard to say based on pictures alone. Even in person I may not have been able to find a cause unless some of the tissues were analyzed for histopathology. It sounds like you checked all your husbandry details with others and they sounded good. I'm not sure how long you had him but it could have been something he was already affected with when you got him. Everything happens slowly in reptiles - they take a while to get sick and a while to show signs (sometimes weeks) and they take a while to get better. So it may not have been anything to do with you at all. All I can tell from the pictures is something was abnormal with the GI tract, but was it the cause of death or simply a sequela to the true problem? I don't think we'll ever know. So don't beat yourself up. Chameleons are fragile creatures and sometimes despite our best efforts they just don't do as well as we hope.

Thank you. Your words and effort are more than enough.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Quite impressive. Lol. I too am a senior in high school. However I take all regular science classes. I'm pretty sure the only thing I disected in school was like a grasshopper and an owl poop or something. I'm in the last required science course right now, Physics. Which doesn't help here at all. Marine biology sounds awesome. I'm really getting into sea turtles these days.

Sea turtles aye? Living down in Florida, and being born into a very nautical oriented family, I have witnessed sea turtles laying eggs and babies hatching on several occasions. I also have swum with a bunch of them in Hawaii. Their inquisitive nature driving them to stick their giant powerful heads in your face to say hi can be really intimidating at first, one bite and your hand is gone lol, but they are just really personable. The ones in FL seem to be a lot more flighty.

 

[Hakai]

Sea turtles aye? Living down in Florida, and being born into a very nautical oriented family, I have witnessed sea turtles laying eggs and babies hatching on several occasions. I also have swum with a bunch of them in Hawaii. Their inquisitive nature driving them to stick their giant powerful heads in your face to say hi can be really intimidating at first, one bite and your hand is gone lol, but they are just really personable. The ones in FL seem to be a lot more flighty.

Yeah, I've seen them lay eggs, but I've never had the honor of seeing them hatch. That's on my bucket list. Swimming with them sounds awesome too. I approached the mothers after they were done laying and I touched some and they seemed way more scared than aggressive. They were huge! I think they were loggerhead or loggerback or something, it was at Pompano Beach in Florida. I made sure to maintain my distance during the laying though. Quite fascinating.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Both loggerheads and leatherbacks are common in Florida but loggerheads are much more common, leatherbacks are the colossal ones. And you know, once they start laying, they are entranced and you can get really close and even touch them but they just lay and lay and lay like robots.

 

[Hakai]

Both loggerheads and leatherbacks are common in Florida but loggerheads are much more common, leatherbacks are the colossal ones. And you know, once they start laying, they are entranced and you can get really close and even touch them but they just lay and lay and lay like robots.

Yes, I think they were loggerheads. I spoke with the volunteers there and it all seemed so interesting. I'm probably gonna volunteer there for a few weeks during this summer. If your interested, we should hook up.

 

[Hakai]

I forgot to ask, is it normal for them to die like that? Hanging just by the tail completely upside down. I figured he was sleeping on the vine with his tail wrapped, and then he fell off with his tail still wrapped or something.

 

[Pap]

Dude so sorry to see that... Hope you figure it out...

 

[Kaianuanu]

I forgot to ask, is it normal for them to die like that? Hanging just by the tail completely upside down. I figured he was sleeping on the vine with his tail wrapped, and then he fell off with his tail still wrapped or something.

I don't think it is an indication of anything unusual.

 

[ChuWuti]

Hakai, I am extremely impressed by your willingness to dive into such a tough job! Not only was this your own cham that you had to cut open, but also you were trying to do a necropsy without any training--and you did a great job under the circumstances! When I read that you're a senior in high school, I was flabbergasted!

You are clearly a very smart young person who is going to go far in life. With your care for animals and your willingness to try new things--even difficult and unpleasant new things!--you have great potential.

My heart goes out to you in your loss. Sometimes we learn the most through loss, don't we? I'm so sorry.

Sandy

 

[deadhd5]

Great job... It apears you can rule out parasites, which was a concern in your previous thread.

I hope this helps you take solice in the knowledge that his death was not a result of something you did and helps you to feel confident enough to get another chameleon when you are ready.

 

[JimO]

I know it was probably difficult to do and potentially a controversial post, so I want you to know that I appreciate the thread. It was interesting to see both your photos and the one of the normal necropsy. As hard as it is sometimes to lose a pet, it's part of the cycle of life. Being a scientist and a hunter, I've always been fascinated by anatomy.

 

[Hakai]

Hakai, I am extremely impressed by your willingness to dive into such a tough job! Not only was this your own cham that you had to cut open, but also you were trying to do a necropsy without any training--and you did a great job under the circumstances! When I read that you're a senior in high school, I was flabbergasted!

You are clearly a very smart young person who is going to go far in life. With your care for animals and your willingness to try new things--even difficult and unpleasant new things!--you have great potential.

My heart goes out to you in your loss. Sometimes we learn the most through loss, don't we? I'm so sorry.

Sandy

Thank you so much. It means a lot to me. This experience has been very helpful in so many ways. I'm currently going to school for computer science but I'm reconsidering what I really want. Money doesn't really mean that much to me. Computer Science offers that. But maybe I'll look into something animal related. Or who knows, maybe I can combine both loves into one.