Hello all!
This is a post specifically for the people just getting their first chameleon and have not yet found a vet that can see chameleons. Finding a chameleon vet is difficult as they are rare, but you need a plan for when your chameleon might get sick or have an emergency. To talk about how to do this I brought on Dr. Tom Greek from Greek and Associates in Yorba Linda, CA. He will speak from his decades of experience treating reptiles and, well, all of my chameleons since the 90s!
Info: This interview is a video interview which can be viewed on Youtube or Spotify. The audio can be listened to on any major podcasting app as episode 14 of the Panther Chameleon Podcast. the show notes can be found here: Podcast Show notes
Your veterinarian can be one of the most important partners in your chameleon keeping life! But chameleon experienced vets are still, unfortunately, rare and so it is a good idea to find one before you need one. Dr. Tom Greek of Greek and Associates in Yorba Linda, California talks about what we can do to be the most effective clients for your chameleon's sake!
Here are a couple of questions we went over in the interview. You can see more on the show notes page
Q: When's a good time to start looking for a veterinarian for your chameleon?
“Potentially even before you get your first chameleon. When you’re doing all your research to find out how to take care of them properly, watching podcasts like this to know what you need to do, on that list, Find a Veterinarian should be on there.”
Q: Is a wellness visit worthwhile for a new chameleon?
“If this is your first chameleon you’ve ever had, …, you may not know those little subtle signs that we would know looking at them. So it can be worthwhile when you get your brand new animal to get it checked out. That’s a way we can look at it, look for any injuries, look for any bone problems, maybe do a fecal looking for parasites. But we’ve got the experience and expertise.to find those little subtle changes that you may not notice simply because you just haven’t seen as many as we have. So it can be money well spent.”
Q: How do you deal with chameleons looking fine for you, but the keeper saw something at home?
“And that’s where I tell the people “I get to see them for 15 minutes, but I trust what they observed at home”. So if I did a physical exam and everything came back, looked 100% normal, but you’re seeing something at home, then we start talking about some other options. Typically, it’s doing some sort of testing, whether it is a blood panel, whether it’s a fecal, whether it’s an x-ray, something that’s going to give us a little more detail on what’s going on other than what I’m seeing or feeling during that physical exam.But I’m really going to trust those owners of what they are seeing at home. Sometimes it is the environment. One thing that we’ll see a lot is when the weather starts changing. And we’ll start seeing slow down a little bit because it’s getting colder. And your house is getting colder. And we don’t think about that because we’ve got the same heater on day in, day out. But you’re going to get those ups and downs inside that room unless it’s completely isolated or you’ve got it heated and cooled exactly the same every single day, but they will feel those fluctuations at night when it gets colder. And sometimes those are the little subtle things that the owners may not think about that, wow, maybe slowing down because it just we’ve just got a cold spell this past two weeks, and they may be slowing down because of that. So there’s so many factors that can go into why my chameleon is, unfortunately, acting off.”
Conclusion
The time to find a chameleon experienced veterinarian is before you need one! Just put that action item on the list as you are getting everything gathered for welcoming your chameleon. It may actually take a while so it certainly does not hurt to start looking even before your chameleon comes home with you!If you haven’t already, please listen or watch to the entire interview as we touch on some great information!
If you enjoy this interview you can find the rest of the Panther Chameleon Podcast episodes here
I would love to hear your experiences in finding a chameleon experienced vet for the first time!
