first time vet visit 🤕

[lecaméléon]

Ok so this afternoon I brought my cham to the vet for the very first time and he did not like it at all. He started his shed today, much to my dismay of course. But i scheduled this before so i didn’t have to wait another month. The vet had good reviews and was connected to another exotic vet that has been recommended on these forums so about a week ago so I scheduled it for today. He kept trying to get out of the box and almost got out… I felt horrible but the vet was close enough. We waited about 30 minutes for his appointment and one of the vets was asking me standard questions off a paper. Then she took my chameleon in her hand (a bit to roughly but i don’t know if that was just me) and said she was giving him a “warm soak” I, not being a people person, said nothing and just let her have him. She came back with a dog bowl looking thing with water and put him in there. He kept trying to get out and was stressed but she picked up some water and dumped it on him a couple times. She then explained that it was to remove shed and I tried to explain that he just started that day and to just leave him but she assured me nothing was wrong. Then a couple other vets came in and said that he was healthy,. (They did say he was puny for barely four months old?) They also said my basking zone was too cold (at 83 degrees) and that it should be 85-100 degrees and said to add a third gradient. A warm gradient between the basking and cooler that should be 85 at all times. They also said that it should be 50-70% humidity at all times. (RI anyone?) Also, when i got him back, I saw this mark by his chin… I’ll attach an image.

The vets sent me home with this paper with all the care requirements for a veiled chameleon. It said the right info except the basking temps (too high) and to add greens to his diet. (?)

But other than that, hey everybody how was your day?

 

[janjan20]

Eekkk! What a traumatic experience for you and your little guy! I am also a little timid and introverted when meeting new people. I have learned over time that with my animals I have to be their advocate so if something doesn’t seem right I just politely decline. The black marks definitely look like bruising . Never soak and no warm water. Chameleon’s are dry shedders so I would toss that advice out of the window lol. I would leave the basking temp as it is. If he wants greens he can eat his plants if he wants, I would not supplement with greens because they are insectivores. As far as him being “puny”, how much did he weigh?

 

[Gloriawood]

Oh no I’m so sorry! I was typing out a response but @janjan20 beat me to it and said everything I was going to say! give him a few days to recoup and maybe an extra yummy treat bug

 

[absolutbill]

I absolutely understand about not feeling comfortable enough about speaking out and I'm sorry you had to go through this. Clearly you won't be going back to this vet, and you may want to email the vet that they are connected to and let them know what happened so that the professionals can provide guidance. Cham vets that actually know what they are doing are few and far between - I travel 3 1/2 hours each way for mine, so it's an entire day of adventure. Good luck in finding a better one for the next time!

 

[lecaméléon]

Thank you all for your sympathy! I should have left when she said that the YEMEN chameleon was from madagascar…

 

[janjan20]

Eeekk!! Well we can help you find another one in your area. Here is a thread with the list. https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachments/chameleon-forums-vet-list-2024-u-s-a-pdf.353636/

 

[lecaméléon]

Eekkk! What a traumatic experience for you and your little guy! I am also a little timid and introverted when meeting new people. I have learned over time that with my animals I have to be their advocate so if something doesn’t seem right I just politely decline. The black marks definitely look like bruising . Never soak and no warm water. Chameleon’s are dry shedders so I would toss that advice out of the window lol. I would leave the basking temp as it is. If he wants greens he can eat his plants if he wants, I would not supplement with greens because they are insectivores. As far as him being “puny”, how much did he weigh?

They said he weighed 13 grams

 

[janjan20]

Ok, I looked to see what my guys weighed around 4ish months and they were around 12-15g. He should have a good growth spurt soon.

 

[MzLaurie]

Wow so sorry for the awful experience! I have had two vets tell me that vields need higher temps then other chams 90-100. I compromised and have it at 86. Also just hand a whole leaf of lettuce, romaine or whatever you have in the frig just to see if he will go for it. Some veiled love it and some won’t touch it. Go to MarksChameleons.com he had a great video on his site of the clutch eating lettuce like crazy. Also never go back there again. If your baby is under weight just make sure the small crickets are the right size. BSFL is very nutritious too and easy for them to eat. Get wax worms for treats only as they are fat and will put on weight but don’t have much nutrition. You can keep them in the frig so they will last a long time. Please keep us updated with you little one.