Amberbluefrog
Established Member
Hi guys! So after calling around, scheduling an appointment, getting cancelled on the day of the appointment, and then finding another vet we have finally found a specialist.
I always get worried taking Yoshi out of his cage because I’m worried the different temperatures and surroundings are gunna put him into shock. The vet was super awesome and here were some of the things we learned:
-Yoshi is one of the oldest chameleons she has seen apart from a 6 year old one
-She felt no swelling in the joints, mobility resistance, or cracking so arthritis was ruled out.
-We decided to do a full blood check over a x-ray because it would definitively show more of what was going on with her concerns. (We did a exotic CBC and a reptile panel)
-Results showed high levels of uric acid in the blood (x2-3) which indicates kidney issues and she came to the conclusion that due to this he likely has Gout.
-Calcium levels were a little low, for this she did an injection of calcium to help boost this.
-Due to kidney concerns she did not do an injection of painkillers.
-The CBC panel came back yesterday and showed a higher white blood cell count and a low amount of protein.
-She said the protein (and likely the calcium) levels might be due to ulcers and then impacting how much nutrients is absorbed.
-So what have we been sent home with:
TraMADol HCl (painkiller), Sucralfate (gut bandaid for ulcers), MetroNIDAZOLE (antibiotic), and Allopurinol (to help lower the uric acid).
What a process. I will be up front, the vet bill and meds cost more than what I spent for Yoshi almost 4.5 years ago lol. It’s important to save for these emergencies, but I will be transparent with the bill:
-Meds ($150)
-Vet visit ($204) nonER visit
-CBC ($149)
-Reptile Panel ($132)
-Calcium injection ($20)
-Extra fluid ($13)
-waste fee ($11)
I did not get an X-ray, but the cost was $400.
In terms of husbandry, the vet wanted to make sure our bugs had the highest calcium levels so she recommended using/adding the mazuri better bug gut loading diet to the fresh/frozen cubes I’ve made. The cage alteration I’ve made, for those who don’t know the cage now looks like this bc little man kept falling:
She actually thought it was clever. She did voice that the temperature range will not be as wide as it was, so to really monitor what the high/low temps are. Over the last two+ weeks I’ve found difficulty with humidity in this setup, so I’ve actually begun to put real moss on the bottom of the screen floor to help hold onto that water. I’ve done about 1/4 of the floor and I found it helped create a natural cooler spot and bring back a larger temp range.
I’ve been giving him the meds, a ton more roaches/mealworms, and switched to everyday feeding per the vet’s instructions to build protein. Reptile improvements are very slow and they also pass suddenly, so I’m trying to be cautious optimistic. For now, I’ll be here trying to pry little man’s mouth open with a gift card for these meds (a different lengthy process lol). Thank you all for your help always
I always get worried taking Yoshi out of his cage because I’m worried the different temperatures and surroundings are gunna put him into shock. The vet was super awesome and here were some of the things we learned:
-Yoshi is one of the oldest chameleons she has seen apart from a 6 year old one
-She felt no swelling in the joints, mobility resistance, or cracking so arthritis was ruled out.
-We decided to do a full blood check over a x-ray because it would definitively show more of what was going on with her concerns. (We did a exotic CBC and a reptile panel)
-Results showed high levels of uric acid in the blood (x2-3) which indicates kidney issues and she came to the conclusion that due to this he likely has Gout.
-Calcium levels were a little low, for this she did an injection of calcium to help boost this.
-Due to kidney concerns she did not do an injection of painkillers.
-The CBC panel came back yesterday and showed a higher white blood cell count and a low amount of protein.
-She said the protein (and likely the calcium) levels might be due to ulcers and then impacting how much nutrients is absorbed.
-So what have we been sent home with:
TraMADol HCl (painkiller), Sucralfate (gut bandaid for ulcers), MetroNIDAZOLE (antibiotic), and Allopurinol (to help lower the uric acid).
What a process. I will be up front, the vet bill and meds cost more than what I spent for Yoshi almost 4.5 years ago lol. It’s important to save for these emergencies, but I will be transparent with the bill:
-Meds ($150)
-Vet visit ($204) nonER visit
-CBC ($149)
-Reptile Panel ($132)
-Calcium injection ($20)
-Extra fluid ($13)
-waste fee ($11)
I did not get an X-ray, but the cost was $400.
In terms of husbandry, the vet wanted to make sure our bugs had the highest calcium levels so she recommended using/adding the mazuri better bug gut loading diet to the fresh/frozen cubes I’ve made. The cage alteration I’ve made, for those who don’t know the cage now looks like this bc little man kept falling:
She actually thought it was clever. She did voice that the temperature range will not be as wide as it was, so to really monitor what the high/low temps are. Over the last two+ weeks I’ve found difficulty with humidity in this setup, so I’ve actually begun to put real moss on the bottom of the screen floor to help hold onto that water. I’ve done about 1/4 of the floor and I found it helped create a natural cooler spot and bring back a larger temp range.
I’ve been giving him the meds, a ton more roaches/mealworms, and switched to everyday feeding per the vet’s instructions to build protein. Reptile improvements are very slow and they also pass suddenly, so I’m trying to be cautious optimistic. For now, I’ll be here trying to pry little man’s mouth open with a gift card for these meds (a different lengthy process lol). Thank you all for your help always
