Did the Vet kill Steggy??

[Crusader]

So continuing from this thread... https://www.chameleonforums.com/remains-bottom-sleeps-127999/

My girlfriend took Steggy home from the vet because I had to go back to work. On the ride home, he started having these odd greyish black spots around his leg where he received the shot.

About 4 hours after he got out of the vets, he just died. The greyish black spots are around his eyes, his jaw, and other random spots. They do not look like stress patterns though.

 

[CarlC]

Your cat killed the chameleon not the vet. This animal was already in dire shape by the time you got it to the vet.

Carl

 

[Crusader]

Yeah maybe I was jumping to conclusions... I was stuck in the moment of loss and grief.

I'm still just curious as to what those splotches around his skin was. I don't really want to post pictures of it because I don't think anyone wants to see a deceased chameleon.

 

[Kodos2150]

I'm sorry for your loss! When my first chameleon had a respiratory infection, he was given Fortaz injections. He would always get a color change around the injection site. It would last a day or two and then go away. As he was recovering the duration of change would shorten. The color changes in chameleons are all done at a cellular level. When the cells' environment changes, it changes the conditions for color change. The injection changes the local environment around the site and the cells react accordingly. As for the other spots, I suspect that since he was so close to passing, the whole cellular environment was altered from system failure which created the odd color changes, you just saw the ones around the injection site first because they were from the minor trauma of the shot.

 

[Olimpia]

Ditto what Kodos said. The bruise you saw was normal bruising that happens at injection sites in chameleons, and when they perish they lose control of their colors so they'll be bright/normal colors in patches and black in others.

I also agree with Carl, I think your guy was in really bad shape going into the vet. She did what she could but between his issues and the stress from the day, it must have been too much to bear.