My chameleon is dying from kidney failure and I'm heartbroken

[veiledRandell]

My veiled chameleon is turning 6 later this year, and I really thought I'd have more time with him. He's never had a serious health issue. However, the past few days he has taken a turn for the worse and a vet visit determined he has age related kidney failure. I had the choice between having him put to sleep, or giving him end of life care. I decided I'm not ready to say goodbye, and will see how he responds to being injected with liquids over the weekend to flush his kidneys out.

I feel so heartbroken, lost, and scared. He is my best friend, and I don't think I will ever share the same bond with an animal again. He is the friendliest chameleon you'd ever meet, every morning he'd run down his branch to come out and say hello. He loved to be handled. I'm really going to miss all of his silly quirks, and he has so many of those.

I lost my Chinese water dragon at the end of last year due to an extremely uneducated choice by a previous vet, and I don't think my heart can take anymore. They were both my first two pets, and if somebody told me I'd lose them both within the space of 7 months I wouldn't believe it.

I honestly don't know how to move past this, I don't think I'll ever be ready to see my chameleon go. It's all happening way too quickly, he was seemingly fine last week and only refused food yesterday. A few nights a go, I was in bed and just had a sudden feeling/something telling me he was going to die and now here we are. I keep blaming myself, going over every little thing I could have done differently, regretting not taking him for a checkup sooner. I feel like I've let my little buddy down.

 

[Ghostbirb]

My veiled chameleon is turning 6 later this year, and I really thought I'd have more time with him. He's never had a serious health issue. However, the past few days he has taken a turn for the worse and a vet visit determined he has age related kidney failure. I had the choice between having him put to sleep, or giving him end of life care. I decided I'm not ready to say goodbye, and will see how he responds to being injected with liquids over the weekend to flush his kidneys out.

I feel so heartbroken, lost, and scared. He is my best friend, and I don't think I will ever share the same bond with an animal again. He is the friendliest chameleon you'd ever meet, every morning he'd run down his branch to come out and say hello. He loved to be handled. I'm really going to miss all of his silly quirks, and he has so many of those.

I lost my Chinese water dragon at the end of last year due to an extremely uneducated choice by a previous vet, and I don't think my heart can take anymore. They were both my first two pets, and if somebody told me I'd lose them both within the space of 7 months I wouldn't believe it.

I honestly don't know how to move past this, I don't think I'll ever be ready to see my chameleon go. It's all happening way too quickly, he was seemingly fine last week and only refused food yesterday. A few nights a go, I was in bed and just had a sudden feeling/something telling me he was going to die and now here we are. I keep blaming myself, going over every little thing I could have done differently, regretting not taking him for a checkup sooner. I feel like I've let my little buddy down.

I’m so so so sorry this is happening to you. Don’t feel like you let him down, chameleons have a nack for hiding sickness, and 6 years is an AMAZING age for a chameleon. Sending you all the hopes and wishes for you and your boy.

 

[Gingero]

Sending you the biggest hug! This is the biggest challenge we face as exotic pet keepers — we can do EVERYTHING right and things can still go wrong. It’s absolutely heart breaking. I’m glad you are able to keep him comfortable and have the chance to say your goodbyes. I would suggest maybe getting a paw print in clay done as a nice momento. I’m going to include a video I made talking about the loss of a chameleon in the hopes you can know you’re not alone

 

[veiledRandell]

I’m so so so sorry this is happening to you. Don’t feel like you let him down, chameleons have a nack for hiding sickness, and 6 years is an AMAZING age for a chameleon. Sending you all the hopes and wishes for you and your boy.

Thank you so much for your comment - I really appreciate it.

 

[veiledRandell]

Sending you the biggest hug! This is the biggest challenge we face as exotic pet keepers — we can do EVERYTHING right and things can still go wrong. It’s absolutely heart breaking. I’m glad you are able to keep him comfortable and have the chance to say your goodbyes. I would suggest maybe getting a paw print in clay done as a nice momento. I’m going to include a video I made talking about the loss of a chameleon in the hopes you can know you’re not alone

Thank you so much. The clay print is a really good idea, thank you for the suggestion

 

[Sonny13]

I’m really sorry for you and your poor boy . Always terrible, but you’re not letting your boy down. You gave him a great life and 6 years already a great age. It’s though decision you’re standing and you’re the only one that can make this and first one you made. Hopefully, you can extend his life pain free to make more beautiful memories

 

[veiledRandell]

I’m really sorry for you and your poor boy . Always terrible, but you’re not letting your boy down. You gave him a great life and 6 years already a great age. It’s though decision you’re standing and you’re the only one that can make this and first one you made. Hopefully, you can extend his life pain free to make more beautiful memories

Thank you, I hope so too

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m sorry and unfortunately know this heartbreak too well. Six years is a wonderful long life for a veiled, but it is far too short for us. I don’t think we can ever truly be ready or accepting to lose one of our beloved animal family members. With chameleons, they hide things so well that we don’t see any issues until it is often in the late stages, leaving us with little to no time to adjust and limited options. Just know that you have given Randell a beautiful long life and are doing what is right for you both now.
Paw prints are a nice way to memorialize him. I would also suggest getting a portrait painted. Rebecca Wang does a beautiful job and there’s just something extra special about a painting over a photo. I have my small ‘shrine’ to my first chameleon in my living room and I’m always looking at it and it brings me comfort. ((()))

 

[veiledRandell]

I’m sorry and unfortunately know this heartbreak too well. Six years is a wonderful long life for a veiled, but it is far too short for us. I don’t think we can ever truly be ready or accepting to lose one of our beloved animal family members. With chameleons, they hide things so well that we don’t see any issues until it is often in the late stages, leaving us with little to no time to adjust and limited options. Just know that you have given Randell a beautiful long life and are doing what is right for you both now.
Paw prints are a nice way to memorialize him. I would also suggest getting a portrait painted. Rebecca Wang does a beautiful job and there’s just something extra special about a painting over a photo. I have my small ‘shrine’ to my first chameleon in my living room and I’m always looking at it and it brings me comfort. ((()))

It's really not enough time, I still remember so clearly the day I got him. He was in the store for at least four months because nobody wanted him due to him being small for a male . Thank you so much for your comment and suggestions, I really appreciate it

 

[veiledRandell]

Update: Struggling like hell to syringe the liquid out of the bag without air bubbles. Currently on a trip back to the vet to get some assistance & hopefully will leave knowing how to do it with ease. I need to do this twice a day, so if anyone has any tips this would be appreciated

 

[MissSkittles]

Update: Struggling like hell to syringe the liquid out of the bag without air bubbles. Currently on a trip back to the vet to get some assistance & hopefully will leave knowing how to do it with ease. I need to do this twice a day, so if anyone has any tips this would be appreciated

Gravity is always a friend as the air bubbles will rise. When tapping and flicking the syringe fail to get the bubbles to rise properly, try pushing all fluids back in and without removing syringe, try pulling up fluids again. Should work first time, but might need a second.

 

[veiledRandell]

Gravity is always a friend as the air bubbles will rise. When tapping and flicking the syringe fail to get the bubbles to rise properly, try pushing all fluids back in and without removing syringe, try pulling up fluids again. Should work first time, but might need a second.

Thank you!! I managed to do it first time with no problems once I was at the vet, very typical. Turns out I was worrying about tiny bubbles way more than I should as it's not going into his veins. Worth the visit though as they kindly gave me loads of extra needles and syringes free of charge

 

[jamest0o0]

Sorry to hear this, you should be proud you gave your boy 6 years, that’s a good lifespan. Be careful with the fluids, depending on the severity of the kidney failure, it could be harming him more. Watch for breathing difficulties, shaking, swelling, etc. (fluid overload). If that’s the case, the best thing would be to sadly take him back to the vet and end the suffering.

 

[veiledRandell]

Sorry to hear this, you should be proud you gave your boy 6 years, that’s a good lifespan. Be careful with the fluids, depending on the severity of the kidney failure, it could be harming him more. Watch for breathing difficulties, shaking, swelling, etc. (fluid overload). If that’s the case, the best thing would be to sadly take him back to the vet and end the suffering.

Thank you for the advice! The plan over the weekend is to see how he responds to it, and if he doesn't respond well then I'll have to make the decision to end his suffering

 

[elizaann2]

I’m so sorry to hear you are going through this twice in less than a year. Sending you lots of love and prayers. Keep us all updated. We are all here for you.

 

[jamest0o0]

Thank you for the advice! The plan over the weekend is to see how he responds to it, and if he doesn't respond well then I'll have to make the decision to end his suffering

Good luck with everything, keep us posted

 

[veiledRandell]

I’m so sorry to hear you are going through this twice in less than a year. Sending you lots of love and prayers. Keep us all updated. We are all here for you.

Thank you so so much

 

[veiledRandell]

Can anyone help me correctly age my baby? This picture was taken by the pet store in February 2019 (a month before I bought him). They said he was the runt of the litter and small for a male. I also looked further back on their photos and found pictures they had of a baby chameleon in August. I believe this to be him. I thought he was roughly 5 1/2 years old, but now I believe he maybe is 6 years old exactly. I messaged the person who sold me him to see if he remembers any details about him. Not sure why I want to know so bad, I think it's making it less painful knowing he made it to 6 years.

 

[MissSkittles]

Can anyone help me correctly age my baby? This picture was taken by the pet store in February 2019 (a month before I bought him). They said he was the runt of the litter and small for a male. I also looked further back on their photos and found pictures they had of a baby chameleon in August. I believe this to be him. I thought he was roughly 5 1/2 years old, but now I believe he maybe is 6 years old exactly. I messaged the person who sold me him to see if he remembers any details about him. Not sure why I want to know so bad, I think it's making it less painful knowing he made it to 6 years. View attachment 357526

He was just a baby at maybe around 3 months, if that.

 

[veiledRandell]

Update: Since finding out Randall had kidney failure on Friday I took time off work to spend every minute of the day and night looking after him and making sure he wasn't alone. I've barely ate or slept because I didn't want to miss anything he needs. We had such a good weekend together, basking in the sun and hanging out. The fluids kept him stable but there were signs that it wasn't working. I made arrangements to euthanise him yesterday (01/08) but an hour before his appointment he suddenly gained the strength to climb to his basking spot for the first time in over a week. He finally looked like Randall again. I postponed the appointment and today he seemed to be doing Randall things. Unfortunately he took a turn later in the evening and started to have trouble breathing. The emergency vet only had an exotic vet they could contact by phone if I were to go there, this didn't sound promising to me so I said I will keep him comfortable. He then passed away in my hands, he looked peaceful and I really hope he wasn't in too much pain. My soul aches so much, I already miss him.

However I'm really worried he's not actually dead, he hasn't been responsive for 4 hours but there's no bad smell and his colour has changed. He was dark when he passed but now he's a paler green and showing his 'happy' colours. His body stiffened within 10-15 minutes of him passing away which I feel is quite quick for rigor mortis. He feels stiff on his limbs, his spine and the back of his casque. His hands and feet are now closed however the end of his tail has not stiffened and I can still curl it. He has dark patches on his knees and elbows (possibly blood pooling?') and his eyes are slightly more sunked in. His one eye is open, and his mouth is sealed shut with bright yellow colours around it. I've wrapped him in a towel and will need to place him in the fridge - is this a good idea and is there a chance he may still be alive? I don't want him to be in any kind of pain.