What questions should you ask your vet?

techmikef

Member
Im about to get my first cham and want to make sure I find the most qualified person to be my regular reptile vet.

What set of questions should I ask my potential vet so that I can be sure they are the right person to handle my new pet?
 
I would highly recommend getting a recommendation form someone here on the forums for a good chameleon vet within driving distance to you. There's not allot of chameleon vets so expect to do some driving. I would send John a PM and ask him for a vet recommendation. IMHO a vet that doesn't know chameleons can sometime do you chameleon more harm than good. John is a long time chameleon keeper and lives in Indiana.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/ataraxia/
 
I used the links from the following page to find all the ones local to me:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/veterinarian-resources-67/

I had a couple of options but would like to only use the best of those options. Thats why Id like the list of questions. Questions that only a true chameleon expert could answer.

Ill hit up John to see what he says but he lives quite a bit further north than me so where he goes most likely wouldnt be applicable to me.
 
If your chameleon is not having problems I am not sure what questions you might ask, but maybe some things for him to check. First if you are going, bring the freshest sample of poop possible. You an preserve it by sticking it on a wet paper towel and putting in a zip loc in the fridge. Next I would have him open my chameleon's mouth and check inside. Sometimes, things can be going on inside with the mouth and tongue that you are not aware of. As far as set up and husbandry questions, I am sure you have those all answered here already. You can also have your vet run bloodwork to check calcium levels and such, but if he is healthy and not having issues that really isn't necessary. Edit: sorry I misunderstood your question. For a potential vet I would ask if he sees chameleons, how many he sees roughly, how long he has been dealing with them..If he has ever seen your species of chameleon...things of that nature.
 
I used the links from the following page to find all the ones local to me:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/veterinarian-resources-67/

I had a couple of options but would like to only use the best of those options. Thats why Id like the list of questions. Questions that only a true chameleon expert could answer.

Ill hit up John to see what he says but he lives quite a bit further north than me so where he goes most likely wouldnt be applicable to me.

Those links are very old (from 2005) and I wouldn't trust them. There's plenty of vets out there that will tell you they see reptiles and charge you big buck and they don't know a thing about chameleons. This link below would be better than the one above. Read each post where members here are recommending their vet. Don't go into the links and contacting John would be a good idea. My closest vet that knows chameleons in 2 hours away and my specialist is 4 1/2 hours away.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/
 
My vet is a long ways away. He has NO IDEA about chameleons. He charges alot too. They said chameleons lick their eyes, yes LICK their eyes. So im working on getting a new vet. So I think what you're doing is a great idea.:)
 
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