Three dead chameleons, and the value of necropsies
- Thread starter Dr O
- Start date
Dr O
Veterinarian
price and what comes with it will vary considerably, particularly depending on how much a vet might even like doing necropsies. for instance, if someone called and wanted a necropsy done on their pet that was found dead at home, my standard gross necropsy fee started at $75 depending on weight (think cat vs. great dane). i would always explain to people that if we found something unusual in the tissues and that was to be sent off to the lab for histopathology, the lab fee could run another $120-200+ (but still optional). and then if we were the ones to do a cremation after, those prices would apply (but some would take home and bury). however, if it was an ER/ICU case, the owner had already spent a significant sum of money and they were willing, i would usually offer to do one at no charge because for me it's such an important learning tool. as bloodwork is so standard in these kinds of cases, after jiving years of elevated or decreased blood numbers with what was actually going on with an organ gave me a diagnostic and prognostic advantage, being able to visualize what was going on inside. and i doubt that i ever charged for a reptile in my entire career, just because i'm so interested and they were much fewer and farther in-between than a dog or cat.
in general i would say my costs were less as i had a rural practice, and not everyone does free necropsies. but some will, and many will use it as i did as a teaching tool for their staff members.
in terms of using the money to upgrade an environment instead, certainly one of the points that i was trying to make was that it may prove much more prudent to first make sure that your husbandry is indeed correct and did not cause the death to begin with, vs. assuming that it was a natural death. not all situations call for this type of situation, but if you have 3 chams die in a week's time, then many well wonder just what the heck is going on. and this would be the best way to get an answer.
Dr O
Veterinarian
it is the same disease, although risk factors might be different. for instance, certain breeds of dogs or cats that have concurrent thyroid disease are at very high risk. i would think similar risks apply in human medicine, but i'm not an MD. medicines tend to be the same, though.
Dr O
Veterinarian
i have never seen this before personally. more than likely it was something that just went wrong during embryonic development, but i don't know if there could be a hereditary component.
Dr O
Veterinarian
and thank you all for your sentiments-----i'm still alive and kicking!! even have 2 new ladies already to help rebuild the population.
when something tragic happens, i try and see if i can use it to learn from and/or educate others that may be interested. thus the quick bang-out of this thread the other night. when my website goes online, i'll have a blog portion for situations such as this.
when something tragic happens, i try and see if i can use it to learn from and/or educate others that may be interested. thus the quick bang-out of this thread the other night. when my website goes online, i'll have a blog portion for situations such as this.
