Calcium Deficient, Egg Bound Chameleon

As this was a rehome situation, we didn't have much choice about male/female; Lea's family was desperate to find a home before moving to Washington state. They left today. The really sad thing is that they just did not know what they were doing wrong; they learned she was sick the day they were going to bring her to me. It delayed Lea's move a couple of days. However, I doubt that would have made any difference; they tried to improve her diet and her lighting immediately after the vet told them she was calcium deficient. However, the vet told them she was OVERWEIGHT, so they immediately began feeding her even LESS, when what she actually needed was more . . .

but it was apparently already too late, from what Kerry has said.

*sigh*

The vet must have mistaken eggs for fat!

Apparently . . . but how could the vet take an X-ray, see lots of eggs, and then say the cham was overweight????????????????

It boggles my mind. This was a supposed "exotic animal vet" in OKC that Dr. Minson's office referred the family to because he was out of town.


arrrghghggh

Hi, all,

If any of you are still following this thread, or for anyone in the future who might be inspired to learn more about egg binding and its association with calcium deficiency, here is what the other exotic animal vet at my friend's clinic told me today (Kerry had already left when I went to pick up my equipment, so the other vet came out to talk with me).

When they opened Lea up to see why she hadn't laid the rest of her eggs, they found two problems:

1) her uterus, which should be a reasonably thick, muscular sheet of tissue so that it can push eggs out, was extremely thin and nearly transparent, indicative of the weeks or months of deficient nutrition to which Lea was subjected.

2) her remaining eggs' shells were not fully calcified, and so, rather than being smooth and simply lying loosely inside the uterus, the eggs were literally STUCK TO the uterus. There wasn't enough shell to separate the eggs from the uterine wall.

As a result of the two conditions, Lea literally was incapable of laying all of her eggs.

The vet said she had been underfed/neglected for a long time, and that it was simply impossible to improve her condition quickly enough to save her.

The only good things to come out of this for me are:

1) I have a new relationship with local vets whom I feel I can have confidence in for herp health issues--Kerry and the vet who talked with me this evening, who worked with Brad Minson for several years and learned a lot from him. I am super-glad to know that Norman has some vets who have actual experience with herps!

2) My DH & I have learned a lot about chameleons--though we're fully aware that we don't know everything by any means!! What we have learned, though, makes us feel that someday we will get a chameleon (or a few). After all, now we have some of the appropriate equipment!

Thanks again for all the support and encouragement you offered.

Sandy

I think Dr. Minson's office should know so they don't refer anyone else. Was this someone in Norman?

The person to whom Dr. Minson's office referred the family is located in OKC. I won't post that clinic's name or that particular vet's name on the forum, as I think we're better off if we don't become known for bad-mouthing particular vets, but I am willing to share my personal experience--as far as it goes--privately, as long as people recognize that this is only ONE experience and not something from which we can generalize or draw any broad conclusions.

The vets who have working with Lea for the past two weeks are located in Norman--Main Street Veterinary Clinic (which is located on 36th Avenue NW just south of Robinson). Dr. Kerry Shafer-Ray and Dr. Angela Barker are the exotic animal specialists; Dr. Barker is the one who worked with Dr. Minson for several years. I have been extremely pleased with their expertise, their honesty, and their invested effort in saving an animal despite the odds against her.

Sandy,

Do you think either one of them would be interested in joining OCHIS ?

I will ask. Kerry probably would not be able to make a commitment to attend meetings for quite awhile--her husband died the day after Christmas, and she's trying to keep life as normal as possible for their two sons, Reed (17) and Cole (11?), who are engaged in soccer, music, spelling competitions, etc. Angela might be willing, though, as she is planning to stay in this area, and she has no children yet, though she does have a fiance.

Thanks Sandy.

If you would let them know that our members in other states and in Europe

seldom attend our meetings.

We like for everyone who can to attend our meetings and activities, but

attendance isn't a prerequisite for membership.