curious

[brownie64]

While at the pet store awhile back I was talking to the owner about a female I lost to being egg bound. Now he said if this was to ever happen again that I could inject a little mineral oil into her, and she would pass the egg. He also said that this is good if your cham is impacted. Any thoughts on this?? Any Vets to elaborate would be great. Sounded too intrusive to me, but if it would work thin I would be willing to try it in an emergency, if I couldn't get them to a Vet for whatever reason. I know this works for human constipation, but chameleons aren't human.

 

[xraygirl]

Thats interesting, but I wouldn't do it... Sometimes it takes a shot of oxytocin from the vet to get the ball rolling.

 

[DirtyDubbz]

How should you go about injecting the chameleon ? And mineral oil ?! I'm confused what exactly is that

 

[Olimpia]

That's great - since the uterus and the stomach are connected, right? There wouldn't be any point in feeding her something to help pass the eggs because the two organ systems aren't connected like that. It would be as useful to a chameleon as it would be to a pregnant woman. Just more bad pet store advice! lol

Xraygirl is right, the best thing is to run to the vet and let them give the chameleon a shot of oxytocin - this is a hormone that causes uterine contractions, so that's what is going to get eggs moving. Unless there's some type of complication that requires surgery.

They do say that the drop of oil will help congested chameleons, and that seems more likely. But lots of water and water-rich foods will work as well, so things like hornworms or grapes if your cham will eat them. Although if impaction is suspected I'd run to the vet as well, home remedies don't work if there is an actual serious blockage.

 

[Carlton]

While at the pet store awhile back I was talking to the owner about a female I lost to being egg bound. Now he said if this was to ever happen again that I could inject a little mineral oil into her, and she would pass the egg. He also said that this is good if your cham is impacted. Any thoughts on this?? Any Vets to elaborate would be great. Sounded too intrusive to me, but if it would work thin I would be willing to try it in an emergency, if I couldn't get them to a Vet for whatever reason. I know this works for human constipation, but chameleons aren't human.

Wow that's a whopper! I wonder if this person was confusing this with egg binding in a bird. Sometimes a bird can't physically pass a rigid shelled egg, so they used to massage oil into the skin at the vent and put on a warm wet towel pack to ease the process.

I doubt very much this would help an eggbound cham at all. Completely different problem!

When I hear something as bizarre as this my usual answer is "Really? How many times have you done this yourself?" It becomes very obvious the person doesn't have a clue and is just passing along misinformation. Poor cham!

 

[brownie64]

Yah I thought it sounded a little out there myself. However I did think it might help impaction, sense it does help humans move things along. The real sad thing is this guy has owned this pet store, and has been in his family for over 35 years, and claims to have successfully achieved this. But I figured if it were possible you guys would know. Thanks for the input.

 

[brownie64]

How should you go about injecting the chameleon ? And mineral oil ?! I'm confused what exactly is that

Well the way I understood it you take one of those child dosing syringes, or a syringe with the needle removed, and squirt it in the bottom I guess like a makeshift enema.

 

[xraygirl]

Well the way I understood it you take one of those child dosing syringes, or a syringe with the needle removed, and squirt it in the bottom I guess like a makeshift enema.

No, no, no. Please don't do this. It would be like a roofer trying to perform an enema on a patient in a hospital.... BAD! Lol

 

[kdc5019]

Well the way I understood it you take one of those child dosing syringes, or a syringe with the needle removed, and squirt it in the bottom I guess like a makeshift enema.

As Xraygirl states. DO NOT DO THIS! Please

 

[brownie64]

Don't worry

As Xraygirl states. DO NOT DO THIS! Please

No worries guys I have no Intention of doing anything like this. I just thought the guy might know what he was talking about. Like I said he has been in the business for over 30 years. Like I said I thought it sounded way out there so that's why I brought it by you guys. I've been raising cams for 16+ years and never heard of it before, but you never know. Hence the reason I asked you guys. After all who am I going to trust?

 

[Olimpia]

I've heard some things at pet stores I just don't even know what to think about lol When I worked at one I got a phone call one day from a lady who was calling just to let me know that her female beardie had ended up dying, despite the help my boss and co-worker gave her. While consoling her she started telling me about what had been happening - something like her female had stopped eating, was not passing any stool, and spent hours every day rubbing her vent against things, so much that it was starting to bleed. To me it sounded like a serious issue, something I would have sent her running to the vet for. I asked what my coworker had recommended.

Guys... what she told me defies logic. Apparently my coworker had suggested that she probably just needed to breed and to bring her over to mate with one of the store studs. What?! So unbeknownst to me, this potentially impacted animal spent 2-3 days at the store, being mounted and harassed by a male, and then just went home to die. I was pissed, gave her the number of the vet I used for my reptiles, and recommended that she never ask anyone at the pet store for help again, lest they give her more atrocious info.

And this is another store that has 30+ years of experience! But you never know who you're talking to, not really. Perhaps the owner is really great with fish or mammals, but happens to sell other stuff for the sake of having a well-rounded store. It's a nightmare! And I wish people would call a vet first rather than a pet store.