Opinions on what the vet said?

[TheAmazingGerby]

So I just took my veiled cham to a vet today for his first check up. The vet seemed
pretty knowledgeable, but there were a few things that she said that didn't match up to the care sheets on here. She had to call another vet in the state to see what they recommended. I'm copying and pasting the email that she sent me, so could you guys let me know if it sounds accurate?

Dear Gabby,


doing very well with husbandry but here are some improvements

1. Place a hygrometer where pet spends most of its time (more accurate for humidity)
goal is 60-80%
ways to accomplish this, a shallow bowl of water at bottom of cage always,
drip system on 24/7 is ideal
mist every 4 hours


special species at Madison feels the shed getting stuck is a lack of humidity issue, partly because we are in WI and dryer here.

2. recommend sending fecal sample for parasites

3. basking area closer to 95 degrees, but pet 6-12 inches from light

4. No supplements with vitamin D3, not needed when using UVB light

5. Calcium without D3 2-3x weekly

6. no fruit

7. monitor eyes, could have been the shed around the eye sockets

I hope this is helpful, please let me know if you have more questions.

My veiled is about 3-4 months old. This is what the other vet told the vet that I went to. He had some shed stuck on his feet from yesterday when his legs and feet started to shed after his body. She removed the shed from his feet by plucking it off with tweezers. My cham didn't seem too fond of it. I had to hold him while she did it, so it made me out to be the bad guy to him. Also, when you guys take your chams to the vet, does the vet pick them up to look at them or do you just hold them. My vet didn't really check him out. All she did was ask questions about my husbandry and such.

Thanks guys.

 

[jajeanpierre]

So I just took my veiled cham to a vet today for his first check up. The vet seemed
pretty knowledgeable, but there were a few things that she said that didn't match up to the care sheets on here. She had to call another vet in the state to see what they recommended. I'm copying and pasting the email that she sent me, so could you guys let me know if it sounds accurate?

Dear Gabby,


doing very well with husbandry but here are some improvements

1. Place a hygrometer where pet spends most of its time (more accurate for humidity)
goal is 60-80%
ways to accomplish this, a shallow bowl of water at bottom of cage always,
drip system on 24/7 is ideal
mist every 4 hours


special species at Madison feels the shed getting stuck is a lack of humidity issue, partly because we are in WI and dryer here.

2. recommend sending fecal sample for parasites

3. basking area closer to 95 degrees, but pet 6-12 inches from light

4. No supplements with vitamin D3, not needed when using UVB light

5. Calcium without D3 2-3x weekly

6. no fruit

7. monitor eyes, could have been the shed around the eye sockets

I hope this is helpful, please let me know if you have more questions.

My veiled is about 3-4 months old. This is what the other vet told the vet that I went to. He had some shed stuck on his feet from yesterday when his legs and feet started to shed after his body. She removed the shed from his feet by plucking it off with tweezers. My cham didn't seem too fond of it. I had to hold him while she did it, so it made me out to be the bad guy to him. Also, when you guys take your chams to the vet, does the vet pick them up to look at them or do you just hold them. My vet didn't really check him out. All she did was ask questions about my husbandry and such.

Thanks guys.

What specifically bothered you? I think a 95F basking area is a bit high for a baby but veiled experts could chime in.

I agree with the vet about the calcium. There is no need for calcium with D3 with UVB lights. Other than plain calcium, I think reptile vitamins to be a complete waste of money and give the owner a false sense of security.

One of my vets will pull shed off my chameleons' feet if she sees it. She pulls of any lose shed. Your chameleon won't hold it against you--he isn't fond of you or humanity to begin with. They seem to be mostly in the moment thinkers. Often my vets never touch the chameleon, just looking at them from my hand or a perch/edge of the travel box. Most of the diagnostics is done by dialogue between the vet and me. We discuss the case in depth first before I ever take the animal out of it's darkened travel tote. My vet usually just has a quick look to confirm what we have been discussing. Remember, a very ill chameleon near death often looks pretty strong and healthy on examination.

Kidney damage from chronic dehydration is a huge issue with captive chameleons. Increasing humidity is one way of tackling it. I suggest live plants for increasing the humidity.

 

[TheAmazingGerby]

What specifically bothered you? I think a 95F basking area is a bit high for a baby but veiled experts could chime in.

I agree with the vet about the calcium. There is no need for calcium with D3 with UVB lights. Other than plain calcium, I think reptile vitamins to be a complete waste of money and give the owner a false sense of security.

One of my vets will pull shed off my chameleons' feet if she sees it. She pulls of any lose shed. Your chameleon won't hold it against you--he isn't fond of you or humanity to begin with. They seem to be mostly in the moment thinkers. Often my vets never touch the chameleon, just looking at them from my hand or a perch/edge of the travel box. Most of the diagnostics is done by dialogue between the vet and me. We discuss the case in depth first before I ever take the animal out of it's darkened travel tote. My vet usually just has a quick look to confirm what we have been discussing. Remember, a very ill chameleon near death often looks pretty strong and healthy on examination.

Kidney damage from chronic dehydration is a huge issue with captive chameleons. Increasing humidity is one way of tackling it. I suggest live plants for increasing the humidity.

My vet loved pretty much everything that I did husbandry wise. I told her that his basking spot was roughly 85 degrees or a little higher. She off the bat told me that it needed to be at least 100 degrees. That kinda threw me off a bit. That wasn't what I've read anywhere at all. And the no fruits? He doesn't eat them very often if I offer them. He'll only eat a tiny piece or two if anything at all.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Other than the basking temperature recommendation being high, there are sound merits to much of the advice given.
A shallow bowl of water is not a bad idea, but it is labor intensive to keep clean and that is why it is discouraged. While I share the very different view that vitamins are very useful in the proper husbandry of chameleons, many of them marketed towards reptiles are either useless or supply incorrect forms and dosages to the animals. I agree that calcium supplementation is often overdone and 3-4 times a week is sufficient for most healthy chameleons.

 

[jajeanpierre]

My vet loved pretty much everything that I did husbandry wise. I told her that his basking spot was roughly 85 degrees or a little higher. She off the bat told me that it needed to be at least 100 degrees. That kinda threw me off a bit. That wasn't what I've read anywhere at all. And the no fruits? He doesn't eat them very often if I offer them. He'll only eat a tiny piece or two if anything at all.

I believe that veileds' propensity to eat vegetation is more about hydration than nutrition. I've traveled in the area they live in and it doesn't rain very often. The air is incredibly humid and I am sure their will be dew, but I didn't notice any dew. Their digestive tract is short, so they are unlikely to be able to digest fruit or veggies other than perhaps sugar. The way to get the nutrients of vegetables into a chameleon is to gut load the feeder insects so that the feeder insects do the hard work of partially digesting the veggies and the chameleon eats the veggies in a form they can now digest and use.

I wanted to clarify my comment about vitamins. I do give human grade Vitamin A to my animals once they hit about 6 months of age. If I owned a baby veiled or panther that came from a breeder that didn't supplement their females with human-grade Vitamin A I would supplement Vitamin A earlier. (It's one of the nutrients that goes into the egg, so if the mother is deficient--very common in captive chameleons--the babies hatch without the benefit of a reserve.)