Please HELP! Wounded chameleon

[Lindsay9758]

Hello i was letting my chameleon get some sunshine and he escaped his cage and my dogs got a hold of him his back is pretty messed up looks like the spinal area is exposed but intact. There are no vets around me that are open please help!!

 

[Ghostbirb]

Hello i was letting my chameleon get some sunshine and he escaped his cage and my dogs got a hold of him his back is pretty messed up looks like the spinal area is exposed but intact. There are no vets around me that are open please help!!

What area are you situated? Here is a chameleon vet list that may help
https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachments/exotic-vet-recommendations-u-s-a-pdf.352368/

For now I’d say make sure he’s comfortable and safe. Is he bleeding anywhere?

 

[Sherbertsmysunshine]

@kinyonga @Beman @MissSkittles Do any of you know a way to help?

 

[MissSkittles]

Oh my! You need a vet immediately! Do you have an emergency vets that see reptiles in your area? You need to keep him as clean as possible. It would be best to put him in a hospital bin, which would be any clean plastic bin. Line it with paper towel for now and put in a balled up washcloth or small hand towel for him to hold onto and a small plant or even just a good vine of something like pothos. Cover with screen (remove the door to your enclosure if you need to use that) and give him a little heat. Maybe a temp of 75 or so. The human nurse in me wants to tell you to gently rinse the wound with water, but I don’t know if that would be good or not, so don’t do it. If he is not moving much, and if you have some clean or sterile gauze, I want you to moisten it with water and wring some out so it is wet but not dripping and put some plain neosporin on it in a thin layer. Place that loosely over the wound area. You need to protect it and try to keep the tissues somewhat moist if possible. You may need to periodically spray the gauze to keep it moist. That may make it more comfortable and have a better prognosis if it is treatable. If he is moving, nothing will stay on. I hate to tell you, but if the wound is as bad as it sounds, he will likely need to be euthanized. I’m so very sorry.

 

[MissSkittles]

I should have added, if you don’t have any gauze, that’s ok. Just still put him in the bin as described.

 

[Lindsay9758]

What area are you situated? Here is a chameleon vet list that may help
https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachments/exotic-vet-recommendations-u-s-a-pdf.352368/

For now I’d say make sure he’s comfortable and safe. Is he bleeding anywhere?

Not bleeding but his back half of his back is exposed

 

[Lindsay9758]

Oh my! You need a vet immediately! Do you have an emergency vets that see reptiles in your area? You need to keep him as clean as possible. It would be best to put him in a hospital bin, which would be any clean plastic bin. Line it with paper towel for now and put in a balled up washcloth or small hand towel for him to hold onto and a small plant or even just a good vine of something like pothos. Cover with screen (remove the door to your enclosure if you need to use that) and give him a little heat. Maybe a temp of 75 or so. The human nurse in me wants to tell you to gently rinse the wound with water, but I don’t know if that would be good or not, so don’t do it. If he is not moving much, and if you have some clean or sterile gauze, I want you to moisten it with water and wring some out so it is wet but not dripping and put some plain neosporin on it in a thin layer. Place that loosely over the wound area. You need to protect it and try to keep the tissues somewhat moist if possible. You may need to periodically spray the gauze to keep it moist. That may make it more comfortable and have a better prognosis if it is treatable. If he is moving, nothing will stay on. I hate to tell you, but if the wound is as bad as it sounds, he will likely need to be euthanized. I’m so very sorry.

Thank you so much

 

[Lindsay9758]

Not bleeding but his back half of his back is exposed

Il llook up the list thank you so much

 

[kinyonga]

Where do you live?

Photos of the injury please.

 

[kinyonga]

This place is in Katy…is that near you? I’ve never used them because I live in Canada…
https://apah24.com/services/exotic-animal-care/

 

[elizaann2]

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to your sweet baby. Please keep us posted on how things go.

 

[Lindsay9758]

Not bleeding but his back half of his back is exposed

This place is in Katy…is that near you? I’ve never used them because I live in Canada…
https://apah24.com/services/exotic-animal-care/

Yes! Im close to houston tx

 

[Lindsay9758]

Where do you live?

Photos of the injury please.

In lake jackson TX. It isnt bleeding i had put some betadine on it because i didnt know what ro do earlier its now covered with moistened sterile gauze

 

[Lindsay9758]

In lake jackson TX. It isnt bleeding i had put some betadine on it because i didnt know what ro do earlier its now covered with moistened sterile gauze

I also cleaned the debris out of the wound

 

[kinyonga]

He needs to see a vet now…immediately. You need to find one that’s open.

I’m not a vet, so I can’t tell you if there is any damage that is critical to his surviving this or not…but…it’s a huge area and I’m sure he needs pain medication and antibiotics if he can even survive this.

 

[elizaann2]

I'm so sorry this happened. My heart just aches for you right now.

 

[kinyonga]

I found this one too…but remember..I’m in Canada so I haven’t used any of the ones I’m listing…
https://texasavian.com/emergency-care/

 

[Sherbertsmysunshine]

https://www.gcvs.com/

This vet has 24 hour emergency walk in.

 

[Beman]

OMG I really hope this boy ended up at a vet where he could be humanely euthanized...

 

[Lindasjackson]

I’m so sorry this happened! Poor him and poor you!