To spay, or not to spay?

[Frigga]

I have never heard of spaying a reptile before. When I took my female veiled in for her first ever check up my vet played on the scare tactics thick about egg laying. He said she's most likely going to get MBD, regardless of husbandry and supplements, due to the toll egg laying will have on her body, and of course theres the whole egg bound fears too.
He highly suggested I get her spayed, since I have no intention of ever mating her. He said it could improve her life span as well. (Now, I've always trusted my vets judgement, he's one of the most highly reccomended exotic vets in my state, but I've never had a female before so I've never experienced this side of things.)
Then the vet tech mentioned as I was checking out that they had a chameleon patient that's been spayed multiple times, like it doesn't stick since they'll continue to produce.. which seems counterproductive to me if I have to keep making her go through surgery, not to mention expensive.

I was wondering if anyone here has chosen to spay their female? What are everyone's thoughts on it? Pros? Cons?

 

[Frigga]

Sorry, maybe I should have put this in general conversation instead of health clinic? Since I'm asking more of a general opinion? Idk

 

[Chameleophlaged]

I have to say that I don't like the idea at all, sounds like a money maker for the vet and and nightmare for both you and your friend.

 

[ChemChamChemistry]

You can spray her A BIT but not too much that she drowns. Spray the leaves but spray her
indirectly

 

[jannb]

I have several girls that have been spayed. My vet will not spay until they have an egg laying problem and he has to do surgery to remove the eggs. While he’s removing the eggs he will spay them while he has them open. Not many vets have been successful with this surgery. Do you mind if I ask what vet you use?

I would also highly recommend pet health insurance because the egg removal surgery and spay can be quite expensive.

 

[jamest0o0]

You can spray her A BIT but not too much that she drowns. Spray the leaves but spray her
indirectly

Lol is this a joke? He's talking about spaying, not spraying...

OP, sorry I can't offer any advice. I've heard of people having it done, but have no experience with it. Honestly though, I don't like the sounds of it either as mentioned above.

 

[Frigga]

I have several girls that have been spayed. My vet will not spay until they have an egg laying problem and he has to do surgery to remove the eggs. While he’s removing the eggs he will spay them while he has them open. Not many vets have been successful with this surgery. Do you mind if I ask what vet you use?

I would also highly recommend pet health insurance because the egg removal surgery and spay can be quite expensive.

I'm in Arizona, his name is Todd Driggers at the avian and exotic animal clinic.
How do I get pet insurance for my chameleons? I have it for my dogs through the vet itself, but they obviously don't see the same vet lol
When you've had it done was it successful and never needed to be done again? I was more concerned when the tech said they had to do it multiple times for one chameleon, seems like unnecessary stress, for both me and my cham. But that was after we had already left the exam room so the doc wasn't there for me to question that more, so I'm not sure if there was underlying issues with that one chameleon. And very expensive, they gave me a quote of almost $900! But if it's something that would truly benefit her I'd pay whatever it takes, I'm just not sure it really will.

 

[Frigga]

You can spray her A BIT but not too much that she drowns. Spray the leaves but spray her
indirectly

Lol is this a joke? He's talking about spaying, not spraying...

OP, sorry I can't offer any advice. I've heard of people having it done, but have no experience with it. Honestly though, I don't like the sounds of it either as mentioned above.

I'm assuming he was just confused

 

[jannb]

I'm in Arizona, his name is Todd Driggers at the avian and exotic animal clinic.
How do I get pet insurance for my chameleons? I have it for my dogs through the vet itself, but they obviously don't see the same vet lol
When you've had it done was it successful and never needed to be done again? I was more concerned when the tech said they had to do it multiple times for one chameleon, seems like unnecessary stress, for both me and my cham. But that was after we had already left the exam room so the doc wasn't there for me to question that more, so I'm not sure if there was underlying issues with that one chameleon. And very expensive, they gave me a quote of almost $900! But if it's something that would truly benefit her I'd pay whatever it takes, I'm just not sure it really will.

My chameleons health insurance is through Nationwide Pet Insurance. It’s only 8 or 9$ a month and pays very well.

 

[jannb]

Is that vet in Mesa? It might be where Dr. Kevin Wright use to practic. He was an excellent chameleon vet but sadly he passed away a few years back. It’s possiable that there’s another exotic vet in there.

 

[Frigga]

Is that vet in Mesa? It might be where Dr. Kevin Wright use to practic. He was an excellent chameleon vet but sadly he passed away a few years back. It’s possiable that there’s another exotic vet in there.

Yes it's in Mesa, I looked up Kevin Wright, it looks like he had his own practice that closed after his passing.

 

[Graves923]

In my honest opinion I would not have her spayed unless necessary. With proper nutrition and supplementation, proper enclosure and laying bin, you should be ok. Then again, things do happen and egg binding is something to worry about.

As mentioned above, pet insurance is always a good investment when it comes to exotics and the normal household pets.

 

[nightanole]

Yup my vet wont do it unless there is egg binding. I have some of the most expensive water dragons and frilled lizards in the world, its why i kinda switched to boys prefered. still its not as bad as my friend with the Chihuahua with a $3500 shoulder made of kevlar.

 

[Frigga]

Thank you everyone for your feedback!
I've done a little reading on it today as well, and I have decided I'm definitely not going to spay her unless it becomes medically necessary. I've also talked with some local reptile owners, and the responses I got from them was the same. I'm saddened by the fact I feel like my vet was pressuring me into something for the money, maybe that wasn't behind his reasoning but it sure felt that way.
I would do anything to ensure the wellbeing of my pets, but I don't want that to make me feel vulnerable to money grubbers.

 

[ChemChamChemistry]

Lol is this a joke? He's talking about spaying, not spraying...

OP, sorry I can't offer any advice. I've heard of people having it done, but have no experience with it. Honestly though, I don't like the sounds of it either as mentioned above.

What I mean is you can either INDIRECTLY spray her or DIRECTLY spray her for less time

 

[ChemChamChemistry]

What I mean is you can either INDIRECTLY spray her or DIRECTLY spray her for less time

And plus chameleons need some water to clean their eyes.

 

[jamest0o0]

Hes talking about spaying, as in removing the reproductive parts. So the chameleon doesnt lay eggs.

 

[ChemChamChemistry]

Hes talking about spaying, as in removing the reproductive parts. So the chameleon doesnt lay eggs.

But you still have to do it so they can clean their eyes.

 

[jamest0o0]

Completely irrelevant to the topic, I'm guessing you're trolling

 

[ChemChamChemistry]

Well as you can see I'm a new member, and do not know what "spraying" is