Question for chameleon owners.

[Newtoreptiles]

I am curious, how many people on here have not taken thier chameleon to the vet. I don't mean general checkups or fecal tests etc. I mean who on here has had a chameleon that hasn't developed some sort of illness or condition that require a vet visit. Just generally curious. I understand vets are important for any animal, I don't get how people can deny it to thier animals. Buy I just want a better picture of how common it is for chameleons to get sick.

 

[Beman]

I think you will find most of us have... Even when husbandry is on point things can go wrong. Beman was screen climbing and slid off the screen hitting his front arm pretty hard on a branch as he went down. Started developing swelling in the arm. Had to take him in for a full blood panel and xray. Then replaced his screen door with a solid plastic vinyl to ensure it would not happen again.

This is why it is so important to have a vet near you that actually can work with chameleons and actually does know about them. I have never had one that knew more than me when it came to husbandry but they did know how to hold him and do a proper blood draw. This is what I am most concerned about can they treat them not do they know how to house them or care for them.

 

[MissSkittles]

When doing things right - obtaining a healthy chameleon and having husbandry as perfect as possible, the odds of having your chameleon get sick are minimized, but never zero. Like all living creatures, they are susceptible to a wide range of natural disease and also the ones that come with aging. Just like us humans, as chameleons grow older seeking medical care for a problem is rather inevitable.
I’m of the mind set that I take my responsibilities to my animals very serious. If they need veterinary care, they receive that care.

 

[Newtoreptiles]

I think you will find most of us have... Even when husbandry is on point things can go wrong. Beman was screen climbing and slid off the screen hitting his front arm pretty hard on a branch as he went down. Started developing swelling in the arm. Had to take him in for a full blood panel and xray. Then replaced his screen door with a solid plastic vinyl to ensure it would not happen again.

This is why it is so important to have a vet near you that actually can work with chameleons and actually does know about them. I have never had one that knew more than me when it came to husbandry but they did know how to hold him and do a proper blood draw. This is what I am most concerned about can they treat them not do they know how to house them or care for them.

Yeah need to ask around about vets, I know a few exotic, not sure if they are aware of chameleons but I would assume they have some idea.

 

[Newtoreptiles]

When doing things right - obtaining a healthy chameleon and having husbandry as perfect as possible, the odds of having your chameleon get sick are minimized, but never zero. Like all living creatures, they are susceptible to a wide range of natural disease and also the ones that come with aging. Just like us humans, as chameleons grow older seeking medical care for a problem is rather inevitable.
I’m of the mind set that I take my responsibilities to my animals very serious. If they need veterinary care, they receive that care.

Completely agree, animals need vet care, people who can't afford it or don't want to should not have any pet.

 

[dinomom]

I am curious, how many people on here have not taken thier chameleon to the vet. I don't mean general checkups or fecal tests etc. I mean who on here has had a chameleon that hasn't developed some sort of illness or condition that require a vet visit. Just generally curious. I understand vets are important for any animal, I don't get how people can deny it to thier animals. Buy I just want a better picture of how common it is for chameleons to get sick.

Our of 3 chams only one has not been other than for fecal. I think chams are reasonably hardy given near- perfect husbandry. Unfortunately that is a moving target and we are still learning. Also their short life makes it SEEM like they have problems more often as their lifespan is so compressed. For example if your cat lived to 20 and had 4 illnesses you'd say that's not a lot. But on an animal that might live 6 years 4x would seem like a lot.

 

[elizaann2]

I do my best to keep my husbandry on point. Temps fluctuate drastically in the state I live in so it can be difficult when the seasons change. I currently have 3 chameleons. I’ve taken 2 of the three so far to the vet. My panther was acting off and had his eyes closed during the day, he had a nasty parasite load we had to get rid of. To find out what was going on took 2 or 3 vet visits, a blood draw and two fecal samples before we solved the mystery of why he had his eyes closed during the day. After that I had to do three mor fecal tests after the meds were done 2 weeks later to ensure he was parasite free. My veiled has been maybe 3 times, all over things that ended up being nothing (thank goodness). My third I plan on taking to the vet this month for his first wellness check.