Heartbreaking...

[hinoco1225]

So I work at a pet store. A woman came in with her baby veiled yesterday after taking him to the vet. He has been in her care for 2 months and has not had a UVB light the entire time. He is probably only 4 months old and has severe MBD. I mean he has the worst double elbows I've ever personally seen, and he is so weak he could barely stand. The vet told her she needed a UVB light (didn't tell her what type or anything like that), so she came to me to find out what she needed. I set her up with a 5.0 tube and hood and questioned her a little more about her husbandry. Come to find out, she has not been providing any supplements for the cham either and when she questioned the vet about that, he said she didn't need any! He told her the "high-calcium gutload" that she has been feeding her crickets is plenty. Like really?! It just makes me cringe that a VET would tell someone wrong information like that. It's horrifying. I know that most vets know nothing about chameleons, but he should have looked it up or something. And this vet claims to be well-versed in reptiles (not a specialist though), yet he didn't have enough sense to know that ALL juvenile reptiles need calcium supplementation? I know the specific needs are different for different reptiles, but they all need calcium in some form. And it simply impossible to get enough from the crickets alone, no matter what they are fed.

The good thing was, the woman seemed very receptive to what I was saying. I told her to give him as much natural sunlight as possible and all that while he is recovering. I told her exactly what she needs supplement-wise, and I hope she will begin providing that. (She said she would order it all online since my stupid store doesn't currently stock calcium without D3.) Anyway, I just needed to vent about this situation. I hesitate to blame her completely (although I do not understand how somebody can get a new pet and not do any independent research on it), but I am FURIOUS at whoever sold her that cham. Just how can pet store associates sell someone a chameleon and not even tell them they need a UVB light?!? It's infuriating.

 

[Pilotman800]

Wow, I got upset just reading that. Poor cham. Good thing that your pet store has you.

 

[bigcappa]

Wow, those stories are always terrible, and it's a good thing she ran into you! I hope the best for her and her chameleon. Hopefully she will do what you told her!

 

[kinyonga]

If she comes in again or you have a way of talking to her, she needs to know that she needs to give it extra calcium (preferably liquid calcium sandoz or calcium gluconate) to bring the calcium back in balance and then follow the "normal" supplementing.

 

[carol5208]

I blame her more than the pet store because there is too much information available on the internet(such as this forum) to get an education BEFORE you purchase any type of pet. Research people, research, it is that simple!!!!! I have always second guessed pet stores from way back when.

 

[melvbrooke]

Worst part is, if it was petco or petsmart they have little pan-flits telling you exactly what you need/care. Including what UVB lights they need and supplements. So if the people working there don't know the information it's available. Despite the fact their animals look terrible they have the information, just choose not to distribute it nor use it themselves.

 

[hinoco1225]

If she comes in again or you have a way of talking to her, she needs to know that she needs to give it extra calcium (preferably liquid calcium sandoz or calcium gluconate) to bring the calcium back in balance and then follow the "normal" supplementing.

You know, I didn't even think of that. Thanks - I will definitely tell her that if I get the opportunity. I didn't get her number, but she did take down mine in case she has any more questions.

 

[Riven]

Our cham came from petsmart, the leaflet we got does not say uvb lighting. The associate helped us get everything the pamphlet recommended and checked it off as we went. The temps are also very wrong on them I'm finding out. The animals there were actually in good shape.

We did do research as well. The problem is not in finding information, it is in finding information that is CORRECT. For example I found many sites recommending an orange and cat food diet for gut loading the crickets, and today I found out that's very bad.

I commend the lady for being receptive and wanting to properly care for her critter. I know this sounds strange to some people, but not everyone has internet, or thinks about using it as a search resource for pet care. Many think of vets, pet stores, and books most often. Because why wouldn't the vet know? They're an animal doctor right?? <---sarcasm

 

[Elizadolots]

I have to second Riven's sentiment. Not everyone thinks "oh, before I get this interesting animal, I should spend hours researching issues on the internet". I didn't. I had seen chameleons at a reptile show, thought they were way cool and told my husband I thought we should get one to live in the living room as a beautiful, interesting thing. One day, years later, he turned to me and said "I can't figure out what to get you for a birthday present so do you want to go get a chameleon?" I said yes, naturally. We listened to the store people (why wouldn't we?). Fortunately for us, we got him at a reptile store so the advice was better that a "big box" store might have been (we were sold a UVB/UVA combo light, a dripper and a mesh cage of appropriate size) but the advice was not 100 percent correct.

I credit the woman in this story for having recognized a problem and taken actions to get help. It sounds like she was pretty determined too since she didn't just accept what the first person told her, she trekked through the store to find someone who actually knew something about chameleons to help her.

 

[hinoco1225]

Our cham came from petsmart, the leaflet we got does not say uvb lighting. The associate helped us get everything the pamphlet recommended and checked it off as we went. The temps are also very wrong on them I'm finding out. The animals there were actually in good shape.

We did do research as well. The problem is not in finding information, it is in finding information that is CORRECT. For example I found many sites recommending an orange and cat food diet for gut loading the crickets, and today I found out that's very bad.

I commend the lady for being receptive and wanting to properly care for her critter. I know this sounds strange to some people, but not everyone has internet, or thinks about using it as a search resource for pet care. Many think of vets, pet stores, and books most often. Because why wouldn't the vet know? They're an animal doctor right?? <---sarcasm

I just want to state for the record that the Chameleon Care Guide that Petsmart now offers does actually state that chameleons needs a UVB light. I don't know when you got your cham, but the information has been changed since then.

I do commend the woman on being receptive to what I told her as well. At first she was like, "Well the vet said..." but I think it became apparent as we talked that I knew a good bit more about chameleons than the vet.

 

[Bernie]

I blame her more than the pet store because there is too much information available on the internet(such as this forum) to get an education BEFORE you purchase any type of pet. Research people, research, it is that simple!!!!! I have always second guessed pet stores from way back when.

I agree with Carol. People need to take the initiative and do their own research. Its just ignorance that people buy these animals and dont research their requirements in order to keep them successfully. Theres no excuse.