Life after tail amputation

[azrael]

I have a female chameleon who is currently scheduled for a tail amputation surgery tomorrow. She is a 2.5 year old ambilobe who laid 2 successful clutches of unfertilized eggs. She recently developed some abnormal behavior and after taking her to her vet it was discovered that she retained eggs (which she has since laid) that lead to folliculitis and to kidney failure and then gout-and finally thrombosis to her tail that has lead to necrosis. The plan is to amputate above the clots in hopes of preventing gangrene or sepsis but with everything else, i wonder if the surgery is the best idea. She is currently medicated with meloxicam, fortaz, allopurinol and probencid. She is eating well, defecating and has good energy. My conundrum is risking surgery with a fair to good prognosis to buy her a little bit more time but run the risk of her dying during the surgery. Or do we continue to keep her comfortable and live out her days in the stable condition that she is currently in and say goodbye when she begins to really deteriorate.

I appreciate anyone's thoughts especially if you have had a chameleon that has had a tail amputation surgery

 

[BabyChamCham]

I have a female chameleon who is currently scheduled for a tail amputation surgery tomorrow. She is a 2.5 year old ambilobe who laid 2 successful clutches of unfertilized eggs. She recently developed some abnormal behavior and after taking her to her vet it was discovered that she retained eggs (which she has since laid) that lead to folliculitis and to kidney failure and then gout-and finally thrombosis to her tail that has lead to necrosis. The plan is to amputate above the clots in hopes of preventing gangrene or sepsis but with everything else, i wonder if the surgery is the best idea. She is currently medicated with meloxicam, fortaz, allopurinol and probencid. She is eating well, defecating and has good energy. My conundrum is risking surgery with a fair to good prognosis to buy her a little bit more time but run the risk of her dying during the surgery. Or do we continue to keep her comfortable and live out her days in the stable condition that she is currently in and say goodbye when she begins to really deteriorate.

I appreciate anyone's thoughts especially if you have had a chameleon that has had a tail amputation surgery

Anything that would keep her the most, comfortable. Please post pics and updates in her. I would like to see how she is doing.

 

[Decadancin]

Is there any sign of blood flow down past the clot? If not, you likely have only one option. If not amputated the area will die and cause bigger issues. I would risk the surgery if the prognosis was for a good life for a couple years. I took this risk with my 6 month old cat who had a saddle thrombosis. Well I risked surgery to amputate and he just turned 9.

 

[Decadancin]

You said kidney failure. How long would she live if the other issues were not present? Tough call.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I can't believe a vet would recommend surgery for your chameleon.

Your chameleon has several conditions that have very, very poor prognoses: kidney failure (which led to the gout), gout, and reproductive issues that will also likely end up killing her if something else doesn't kill her first.

From your description, I think you have a very sick and dying chameleon that is in a lot of pain from gout. I am not sure the tail will be all that painful. I would be euthanizing as soon as the animal was so sick, it needed to be taken to a vet for kidney failure or gout (and the two are related). Add anything else, and it's a no brainer for me.

Any one of those conditions in my mind would rule out a chameleon for any surgery with the exception of the reproductive issues. If all that was wrong with her was just reproductive issues and money didn't matter, you might consider spaying her because she will most likely need it the next time she lays eggs. The kidney failure and the gout make any surgery unwise.

What is wrong with pet vets these days? They have zero common sense. They really have lost their way--their goal seems to be keeping any animal alive at all costs with little concern for the animal's quality of life, let alone the owners'.

 

[JaniP]

If I had to make the choice, given the issues you listed - I would not risk the surgery. The chameleon you have described is not one that is going to live a long and healthy life if you save her with this surgery.

I feel like this isn't the best recommendation that the vet could make. If I were in your shoes I would either seek a second opinion from another vet, or allow her to live out her days while she is still comfortable, and then give her the best gift that we can give our animals with a humane euthanasia. Good luck with whatever you choose

 

[guanagator]

It's a really tough call to make but the other posts above are correct, the surgery doesn't address the root causes of your chameleons pain and will likely just prolong the animals suffering.

 

[Millz&Jukka]

I agree but it's not my decision and I respect and call made

 

[azrael]

I appreciate everyones feedback and especially the position of putting a pets comfort and quality of life above expensive procedures. I am fortunate enough to be in the veterinary field myself, although for mammals, so I have my own professional/personal experience to pull from. As well as trusting my herp vet to not fleece me for the sake of earning an extra buck and she is a very well respected member of the local herpetological community. That being said, it was a decision that was made with a lot of considerations, and im glad i can turn to this great chameleon community to get even more insight.

So, after discussing it more with her vet, we decided to do the tail amputation surgery. The kidney disease and gout are manageable. These aren't new diagnoses and it would perhaps have been helpful to mention we have been managing theae conditions successfully for over a month now. While they are incurable she can live with a good quality of life with the proper medications for kidney support and pain, and continuing good husbandry. If we didnt do the tail amputation, we would have had to euthanize because it was very painful and the gangrenous infection would have killed her quicker than the other chronic conditions she has. So , she is home, alebit a little lighter in the tail-end. And she is recovering well and seems mostly back to her regular self. I will continue to update if people are interested.