Help me prep for Neptune's upcoming vet visit!

[Tarzanfam]

Hey all. The day is finally almost here! We have been waiting for what seems like forever to finally get a blood workup done on Neptune.

Here is the background on him:
8.5 month male nosy be panther cham

Had him since July. Breeder said he was a slow grower. But otherwise seemed healthy. When he came to us, he had an RI that needed treating within the first few days of being here. He was 4g when shipped. Vet gave him shots in the leg for 3 weeks and I wasn't totally convinced he was better, so she recommended another 3 weeks of meds. This seemed to stunt his growth a LOT. We also notices him rolling his eyes a lot and sitting with one closed. Vet flushed and gave him drops. Didn't help. Finally, I was able to speak to a really awsome expert and super helpful man who asked me to increase his A vit by a lot. When J did this, Neptune went from his hold at 12g to his now 27g (this growth he put on just in the last 4 or 5 weeks). The increase in vitamins seemed to help him bounce back out of his food aversion and now he is eating like a pig! Yay!

But, he still sits often with his eyes closes and very occasionally he rolls them. So, vet said they could pull enough blood at 30g and we are almost there. Here come the questions:

I feel I want them to check vit A levels and liver. What else should they check?

What will a blood panel cover?

What research specifically should I do before going in with him again?

He is my third cham. The other two were veiled's. The second we adopted ill and I had to learn how to help him with gout, renal failure, and possible mbd. He was in bad shape unfortunately and we weren't able to reverse the neglect he suffered. So, long story short, I have seen quite a bit of chameleon illness and I just can't figure out why he is still having these down moments with his eyes closed when he eats like crazy and is a pretty happy guy too. His enclosure has already been vetted by the common people on here and I am just so much more aware now that I need to be a partner with my vet, not just blindly do as they say. I want to be knowledgeable so I can have meaningful conversations with her.

Thanks for any insight or leads you may be able to provide. I have 3grams to go before he can go in, but he is gaining almost a g per day now, so it won't be long!

Many thanks, and Happy New Year!

 

[Tarzanfam]

Bumping. He hit 30g today!!!!!

 

[bbyoda]

Can you walk your vet through his current husbandry and supplement schedule? I see a vet named Dr. Bruce in Orlando, FL and he has a series of questions very similar to the ones on the help form here. That helps him understand what tests to do. You could type it all out in advance and bring with you to the appointment.

Has your vet done any fecal testing? Get that checked out as well as the blood test. I think checking for vitamin a and phos/calcium ratio sounds right.

 

[bbyoda]

Oh and good luck with Neptune at the vet and in his recovery!!

 

[Tarzanfam]

Can you walk your vet through his current husbandry and supplement schedule? I see a vet named Dr. Bruce in Orlando, FL and he has a series of questions very similar to the ones on the help form here. That helps him understand what tests to do. You could type it all out in advance and bring with you to the appointment.

Has your vet done any fecal testing? Get that checked out as well as the blood test. I think checking for vitamin a and phos/calcium ratio sounds right.

Thanks. Yes, we have done a fecal. He seems fine aside from the "resting" he does. I will add calcium to the list. To be honest, I think I know more about chameleon husbandry than my vet does. This is unfortunate, but is the way it is here. Knowing that, I am just trying to be as knowlegeable as I can be so I can ask good questions and help the vet help him! I appreciate your thoughts.