Myrthe&Lucifer
Member
Hello Everyone
(If not interested in the story you can see the diagnosis and veterinary care down here)
A thank you
First I want to thank everyone that has helped me on this forum for the last 6 years. This forum gave me the best information and care for him.
The story
My panther chameleon Lucifer came into my life in 2020 when my first one had died in the first month of having her i was not guided well by the vet i was seeing at the time which let to her unfortunate death. I thought I was not good enough to have another one but I was encouraged by my mom to get Lucifer. And we had 6 wonderful years together. Chameleons were my first reptile and he was my first pet that I had full responsibility to. And while sometimes I made mistakes I did try my hardest best to give him everything he needed. He was a calm chameleon and had so many fun quirks that showed me there is more to reptiles than people think. He liked drinking from a cup or even the spray bottle he was not drinking shy at all and wasn't really interested in drinking from the leaves, loctus was his favorite insect, he enjoyed coming out once in a while and had a hatred for my dad (lol). I couldn't imagine a better reptile to start my journey with even tho my very first one has also a special place in my heart.
Medical history
In those six years I met an amazing vet that was fair, caring and communicated well. Was passionate about exotic animals and made sure you knew all the information. Lucifer went here for yearly visits and he even got surgery done by him in 2024 due to an annoying wart and a growth on his toe. (Which was supposed to go to a lab but a assistant lost it which my vet was definitely not happy about) but he wasn't too concerned since it didn't feel like a tumor and it did not come back. Lucifer did great, however begin of 2025 he started to decline due to his age. More struggles with shedding and aiming wasn't always accurate. End 2025 i had a full blood work done on everything so I was sure it was his age and it came back clean and healthy. Which means he was just a Lil old guy. However in 2026 he started to decline fast and in May I decided to do another bloodwork for his liver and kidneys. Which was clean but I had this gnawing feeling I could not place. He was hydrated, eating and had strong muscles and bones. He was just a bit more clumsy and his aim and shedding wasn't too great. Yet I remember telling my mom "I dont think he will make it till next year." "But he is healthy " "yea he is but i feel like something is gonna happen and it will come quick" and sadly it did
The diagnosis
The serious decline i was scared of started happening in july.It started with being more at the bottom of the cage and falling way more. Mind you he was the type to rarely fall. He was still eating well and had strong back legs and tail. He was also very alert. However his frontal legs were not doing too well. Which let me and my vet believe he might have arthritis or a neurological problem. Since his bloodwork was done not so long ago and was fine otherwise. Which led to me giving him painkillers at the end of july for 3 weeks for a possible arthritis issues. There seemed to be improvement but not quite. I stopped giving the meds for a week or 2 to see if there was noticeable difference, since it wasn't too clear. (Recommendation of the vet) However begin September i started noticing serious issues with his front legs. Like out of nowhere. They were clamped shut and he could barely open them. Yet he was so healthy otherwise and back legs were still so strong. He ate well and was alert. He wanted to use those legs but they wouldn't open and were weak. I started meds again for a week to see if it did anything. It didn't. Nothing changed. And I knew in that moment it was time.
I went to the vet that same week. And we decided on xrays. Since nothing else seems wrong except those legs. We looked for arthritis but the xrays were totally clean... Except for one thing.. and it was a bump right underneath his vertebra. Normally on xrays you don't see these kind of things that easily but this one was quite big so we did see it. It was basically the size of one of his vertebra and was at the beginning of his spine right above the front shoulders. So while i knew what kind of appointment this was, that moment made it clear. He had to be put down. There was no life quality here and my vet was 100% sure that if he fell again he might break his spine on that spot because of the bump. Surgery was also impossible in this case. After his passing we decided to do a biopsy. And it was the probable cause because the bump was most definitely pressing against a few very important nerves that ran across those front legs. It was a irregular fleshy growth which led us to believe he had a tumor. We are still looking for a volunteer at a research center to find out what it was.
The ending
I am content with my decision because I knew he had no life quality and was at risk of some very painful problems with this tumor. He probably had some pain or numbness and I was not about to risk more pain. However it was frustrating since he was good otherwise then those legs. My only regret is in the last 3 weeks our bond was damaged by the fact I had to bother him constantly by picking him up from the ground, giving his meds and so on. However before we took him out for euthanasia I was able to look at him without him becoming instantly angry and I hope he knew it was all for his best. I will miss him dearly.
Additional information
Xrays are found in the files. Maybe interesting for some of you but the euthanasia and 5 xrays costs me 165€. His Surgery from back in 2024 was 125€. I would consider this cheap for a exotic pet. My vet has always been very generous and passionate about his job. When Lucifer died he even took some air dry clay to make a paw print. Which was so kind.
Anyway this was my journey idk if I'll have another chameleon, but if I do it might be a rescue because there are so many who need a home.
Thank you for reading.
(If not interested in the story you can see the diagnosis and veterinary care down here)
A thank you
First I want to thank everyone that has helped me on this forum for the last 6 years. This forum gave me the best information and care for him.
The story
My panther chameleon Lucifer came into my life in 2020 when my first one had died in the first month of having her i was not guided well by the vet i was seeing at the time which let to her unfortunate death. I thought I was not good enough to have another one but I was encouraged by my mom to get Lucifer. And we had 6 wonderful years together. Chameleons were my first reptile and he was my first pet that I had full responsibility to. And while sometimes I made mistakes I did try my hardest best to give him everything he needed. He was a calm chameleon and had so many fun quirks that showed me there is more to reptiles than people think. He liked drinking from a cup or even the spray bottle he was not drinking shy at all and wasn't really interested in drinking from the leaves, loctus was his favorite insect, he enjoyed coming out once in a while and had a hatred for my dad (lol). I couldn't imagine a better reptile to start my journey with even tho my very first one has also a special place in my heart.
Medical history
In those six years I met an amazing vet that was fair, caring and communicated well. Was passionate about exotic animals and made sure you knew all the information. Lucifer went here for yearly visits and he even got surgery done by him in 2024 due to an annoying wart and a growth on his toe. (Which was supposed to go to a lab but a assistant lost it which my vet was definitely not happy about) but he wasn't too concerned since it didn't feel like a tumor and it did not come back. Lucifer did great, however begin of 2025 he started to decline due to his age. More struggles with shedding and aiming wasn't always accurate. End 2025 i had a full blood work done on everything so I was sure it was his age and it came back clean and healthy. Which means he was just a Lil old guy. However in 2026 he started to decline fast and in May I decided to do another bloodwork for his liver and kidneys. Which was clean but I had this gnawing feeling I could not place. He was hydrated, eating and had strong muscles and bones. He was just a bit more clumsy and his aim and shedding wasn't too great. Yet I remember telling my mom "I dont think he will make it till next year." "But he is healthy " "yea he is but i feel like something is gonna happen and it will come quick" and sadly it did
The diagnosis
The serious decline i was scared of started happening in july.It started with being more at the bottom of the cage and falling way more. Mind you he was the type to rarely fall. He was still eating well and had strong back legs and tail. He was also very alert. However his frontal legs were not doing too well. Which let me and my vet believe he might have arthritis or a neurological problem. Since his bloodwork was done not so long ago and was fine otherwise. Which led to me giving him painkillers at the end of july for 3 weeks for a possible arthritis issues. There seemed to be improvement but not quite. I stopped giving the meds for a week or 2 to see if there was noticeable difference, since it wasn't too clear. (Recommendation of the vet) However begin September i started noticing serious issues with his front legs. Like out of nowhere. They were clamped shut and he could barely open them. Yet he was so healthy otherwise and back legs were still so strong. He ate well and was alert. He wanted to use those legs but they wouldn't open and were weak. I started meds again for a week to see if it did anything. It didn't. Nothing changed. And I knew in that moment it was time.
I went to the vet that same week. And we decided on xrays. Since nothing else seems wrong except those legs. We looked for arthritis but the xrays were totally clean... Except for one thing.. and it was a bump right underneath his vertebra. Normally on xrays you don't see these kind of things that easily but this one was quite big so we did see it. It was basically the size of one of his vertebra and was at the beginning of his spine right above the front shoulders. So while i knew what kind of appointment this was, that moment made it clear. He had to be put down. There was no life quality here and my vet was 100% sure that if he fell again he might break his spine on that spot because of the bump. Surgery was also impossible in this case. After his passing we decided to do a biopsy. And it was the probable cause because the bump was most definitely pressing against a few very important nerves that ran across those front legs. It was a irregular fleshy growth which led us to believe he had a tumor. We are still looking for a volunteer at a research center to find out what it was.
The ending
I am content with my decision because I knew he had no life quality and was at risk of some very painful problems with this tumor. He probably had some pain or numbness and I was not about to risk more pain. However it was frustrating since he was good otherwise then those legs. My only regret is in the last 3 weeks our bond was damaged by the fact I had to bother him constantly by picking him up from the ground, giving his meds and so on. However before we took him out for euthanasia I was able to look at him without him becoming instantly angry and I hope he knew it was all for his best. I will miss him dearly.
Additional information
Xrays are found in the files. Maybe interesting for some of you but the euthanasia and 5 xrays costs me 165€. His Surgery from back in 2024 was 125€. I would consider this cheap for a exotic pet. My vet has always been very generous and passionate about his job. When Lucifer died he even took some air dry clay to make a paw print. Which was so kind.
Anyway this was my journey idk if I'll have another chameleon, but if I do it might be a rescue because there are so many who need a home.
Thank you for reading.
Last edited:
