Chameleons Northwest
Avid Member
First of all I want to let you know the chameleon came through surgery fine.
We purchased a beautiful male veiled March 16th and the keeper went to her bedroom and brought out this veiled female so taut with eggs she handled like a football. No exaggeration. When you picked her up she was stiff with eggs and her skin was taut. She could not walk, and basically sat in one place all day. She was well cared for, in spite of this. Was pretty well hydrated and fed. She had been this way for months. at one time she had dug a few times, but no eggs. The young girl did not have money for vet care. We bought the female veiled (Phyllis) for $50. Look at that face. Who could refuse?
PHYLLIS PRE SURGERY
We placed her in a birthing bin for 2 days, just in case. Nothing
We then took her to the vet for X-rays, which showed a mass of eggs. Some appeared to be in tidy rows and oval. This suggested they were (post ovulatory) in the oviducts.
So the vet tried inducing labor with oxytocin. Phyllis went back to the birthing bin. Nothing.
Surgery was next. She had it yesterday. There is a short video with exerpts from the surgery below. I cut it down to a few short minutes. Warning- it's a bit bloody, but mostly you will see the vet and her assistant's hands working above the surgical shroud. Phyllis was given an injection, and then gas. She was then covered with a surgical shroud and the first incisions made. The eggs from left ovary were removed first, then the right. I was not permitted in the room during surgery, so they handled the our digital camera, on a tripod, set on video. I do think an extra assistant came in and actually held the camera so the view would be better, which was a really great thing for them to do. They were all pretty tanked about the surgery. Phyllis won their hearts, too.
In the end it was discovered that all eggs were pre-ovulatory, still in the follicle. The deceptive appearance of rows of oval eggs (in the X-rays) was due to compression inside Phyllis' taught little body. Diagnosis was pre-ovulatory egg-binding, also known as follicular stasis. Below is a photo of just some of the eggs from each ovary- not all. So far, Phyllis appears to be recovering very well. I'm not taking photos of her yet.
CLICK ON THE BLACK BOX BELOW TO VIEW VIDEO ON PHOTOBUCKET. YOU CAN THEN CLICK ON LOWER RIGHT CORNER TO MAXIMIZE IMAGE.
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We purchased a beautiful male veiled March 16th and the keeper went to her bedroom and brought out this veiled female so taut with eggs she handled like a football. No exaggeration. When you picked her up she was stiff with eggs and her skin was taut. She could not walk, and basically sat in one place all day. She was well cared for, in spite of this. Was pretty well hydrated and fed. She had been this way for months. at one time she had dug a few times, but no eggs. The young girl did not have money for vet care. We bought the female veiled (Phyllis) for $50. Look at that face. Who could refuse?
PHYLLIS PRE SURGERY
We placed her in a birthing bin for 2 days, just in case. Nothing
We then took her to the vet for X-rays, which showed a mass of eggs. Some appeared to be in tidy rows and oval. This suggested they were (post ovulatory) in the oviducts.
So the vet tried inducing labor with oxytocin. Phyllis went back to the birthing bin. Nothing.
Surgery was next. She had it yesterday. There is a short video with exerpts from the surgery below. I cut it down to a few short minutes. Warning- it's a bit bloody, but mostly you will see the vet and her assistant's hands working above the surgical shroud. Phyllis was given an injection, and then gas. She was then covered with a surgical shroud and the first incisions made. The eggs from left ovary were removed first, then the right. I was not permitted in the room during surgery, so they handled the our digital camera, on a tripod, set on video. I do think an extra assistant came in and actually held the camera so the view would be better, which was a really great thing for them to do. They were all pretty tanked about the surgery. Phyllis won their hearts, too.
In the end it was discovered that all eggs were pre-ovulatory, still in the follicle. The deceptive appearance of rows of oval eggs (in the X-rays) was due to compression inside Phyllis' taught little body. Diagnosis was pre-ovulatory egg-binding, also known as follicular stasis. Below is a photo of just some of the eggs from each ovary- not all. So far, Phyllis appears to be recovering very well. I'm not taking photos of her yet.
CLICK ON THE BLACK BOX BELOW TO VIEW VIDEO ON PHOTOBUCKET. YOU CAN THEN CLICK ON LOWER RIGHT CORNER TO MAXIMIZE IMAGE.
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