Forget about an appointment, wasting time. Just show up at the emergency vet. You show up with a dying animal and they are not going to turn you away. Remember, they became a vet because they love animals too, or just couldn’t cut it as a human doctor! Either way they will not just sit back and watch you two suffer.
1. Or just couldn’t cut it as a human doctor? Do you realize that it is much harder to get into veterinary school than human medical school? It is the same amount of schooling for a DVM as an MD and yet at the end of it a veterinarian can treat a great number of species, a factor that you are banking on with your suggestion. And not only that, but can perform a much wider variety of services and procedures on a daily basis than any MD I’ve met. Everything from pediatrics, preventative care, surgery, dentistry, radiology, oncology, ophthalmology, etc. Vets don’t go to vet school because they couldn’t get into med school. In fact, it’s the other way around with people unable to get into vet school going to medical school instead. Vets go to vet school because it’s their passion.
2. Reptiles however are not every vet’s passion and not many are comfortable with their unique and specialized care. Especially in the emergency vet world where it is almost exclusively dogs and cats. It is much more worthwhile to find a reptile vet than just rush to any vet who may not even know what the best solution is in this particular and delicate instance. They won’t sit back and let her suffer, but they may not know the best way to help her. Hopefully that’s not the case. And just for clarity’s sake, human hospitals are required to help people. Veterinary hospitals are not under the same obligation, especially when it’s a species they may not be comfortable with. It’s not fair to the animal to not be able to provide best medicine. Poor medicine could in fact kill a delicate critter like a chameleon. So yes, they absolutely may turn you away even if you show up with a dying chameleon for fear of doing more harm than good.
I hope for all the best for this girl.
For those insisting that any vet can call in a reptile vet or teleconference with one I would just like to say that I WISH this was the case everywhere. Unfortunately the veterinary world is not set up like that, at least not yet. Very experienced reptile vets are hard to come by and are not exactly readily available at all hours of the day and night. For example, I am always happy to help when I am contacted by another vet by email or call, but not always at that moment. I have a full work schedule I have to account for first as my patients are waiting. And when I’m off of work I have a family that I owe my time to. Reptile vets aren’t common enough to have a service available at all times. It’s not like human hospitals that always have multiple specialists available or on call at all times. It’s not for lack of wanting to help, I assure you! Just that most veterinary hospitals have less than 10 vets employed total, they can’t be all different specialists, especially reptile specialists when the majority of patients are dogs and cats. I just want everyone to know how this kind of things work because unreasonable expectations don’t set anyone up for success.
