My New Pet Panther Chameleon is Barely Alive

[@GoHerping]

don't mind me calling him a veiled by accident Stay tuned for (hopefully) more updates! In the meantime, I recently uploaded a video on a leopard gecko who took 2 years to rehabilitate! kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4u0kmqrd6d0isU&ab_channel=GoHerping

[@Callmesr27]

It’s fine

[@spicypizza6116]

No problem. I was just going to say it was Panther. I’ve been waiting for this update.

[@Jake3eee]

Sounds silly I know but have you herd of the teabag method for his eyes I'm not having a joke by the way 😂

[@leanna3625]

As someone with parrots, I feel your pain on the vet thing. Like with reptiles, they seem treat all parrots like the same species.

[@spicypizza6116]

@@leanna3625 what?! You mean that there are “species” of parrots and they come from vastly different climates, even continents, and have extremely different requirements?! /s

[@tracywebb5315]

When giving a chameleon antibiotics, you should give it in the front legs. If it goes in the back, the circulatory system seems it through the kidneys and liver first, which filters out a certain amount of them before getting to where it needs to go. In the front legs, this doesn’t happen. My panther chameleon also needed antibiotics, and my extremely qualified vet who only sees reptiles, explained all of this to us. He taught us how to do the injections and never tried to “upsell” us with things he could teach us how to do. I hope you read this. Good luck with your little guy.

[@dragonsrule20201]

Commenting to boost

[@sushicat777]

me too ^

[@owo1744]

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[@crisavina3900]

sameeee

[@lexifeist5576]

boosttttt

[@danielleleigh8217]

I've had chameleons in the past and sunken eyes are usually a sign of dehydration. Chameleons tend to suck at drinking water, they normally drink droplets off leaves or glass, not usually standing water. It sometimes helps to get them hydration through their food e.g. feeding locusts with cucumber and feeding the chameleon with that. I've found that helped before. Hopefully that's helpful? I'll keep my fingers crossed for Arnold!

[@eliracine9020]

Great advice.

[@nickfaiella9164]

Too bad Alex don't read his comments

[@eliracine9020]

@@nickfaiella9164 so you felt the need to say this for what?

[@brosist6511]

Actually, chameleons can't drink standing water because of the way their tongue and mouths are made. They will usually only drink from water falling on their face, sliding down into their mouths. At least it's what I learned from a rescue that had multiple chameleons.

[@mpk6664]

@@nickfaiella9164 He replies to comments most of the time.

[@Ellemenopea97]

The common problem with "exotics" vets is that even if they specialize in reptiles, they're only expecting to see ball pythons, leopard geckos and maybe a turtle. They're usually just not expecting to see actually exotic species.

[@tasha_111_]

Yep!!! 💯

[@robinsonrom]

I think they're for sure very specialized. They probably do see a ton of the common pets, and not so much of anything else. My local exotic vet has been great with my guinea pigs, but I haven't had to bring any reptiles in yet. Their specialty seems to be birds, though. They have a really sweet cockatiel that hangs out in the reception area.

[@littlekitsune1]

For sure. I have a rabbit, which you'd think would be fairly common, but are extremely hard to find specialized vets for. Even harder to find a "good" specialized vet.

[@princessuwu69]

Reptile vets are hard to find atleast good ones , I work with zoos so I use their vet for my exoitic animals , I live in Australia so we do have different animals but all the ones around me seem to specialise in chickens and mamals.

[@AlienTheCat007]

@@robinsonrom Dude, for real like most "exotic vets" around me are not specialized for reptiles, they're all about birds and people rave about how their bird care is excellent. Thinking this is just kinda the case all around the nation now. I guess it makes sense seeing as how most people do not own squamata. It's more of a safe profit bet to be an avian doctor, plus there's the "gross" stigma around reptiles that even vets are not immune to -_-

[@Smolblondie]

This has got to be one of the worst cases I have seen in his species. I happen to keep multiple chameleons. I raise them and keep them as pets. I have seen how sensitive they are because one stuck shed turned into black skin that died off in a matter of a short period of time. I honestly do not think it was just the cold contributing to how bad his condition is. But you are definitely headed on the right path. When he gets his strength back (enough to at least hold himself up) a soak would be extremely beneficial to him. Along with all the other stuff your giving him a little water by syringe would be extremely beneficial. One of my younger chameleons came it like this and did fine. Just keep some hope.

[@aalynnodell9809]

Indeed cold doesn't make you sick but it makes you more prone to whatever is floating around so Im thinking the cold his mom carelessly exposed him to made him super susceptible to a quick onset RI and the damage just kept increasing by the hour being a super sensitive chameleon leading to dehydration and vitamin a deficiency. In the meantime id be hunting for antibiotics just in case another round is needed and for back up.

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

What’s your thought process for recommending a soak? Chameleons don’t absorb water from their skin and aren’t aquatic so I’m trying to understand what benefit there is to soaking. Soaks are known to cause more harm than good due to causing unnecessary stress.

[@honeybee8059]

@@NeptunetheChameleon the soak would help get the stuck shed off, same with how you would soak snakes or beardies and other lizards despite not soaking water through their skin

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

@@honeybee8059 Ah but chameleons are dry shedders so getting them wet is the opposite of what they need 😅

[@muurrarium9460]

Correct me if I am wrong but I remember reading that soaking also lets them absorb at least some fluids via the cloaca (especially if they are very dehydrated). With an almost mummyfied animal ike this one..every drop would help. (Esp. if an IV / subdermal deposit is out of the question)

[@tracywebb5315]

He is terribly dehydrated. My panther was really sick and passed, and he wasn’t nearly as dehydrated as this guy. You can tell by how sunken his eyes are. My panther need subcutaneous fluids every other day. Is your guy getting any subcutaneous fluids?

[@_glint]

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[@coweenuhm9662]

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[@stephanies9689]

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[@gracie6991]

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[@quinnzablocki9718]

I work at an exotic veterinary hospital and home treatment works for some but another reason we hospitalize is because a lot of emergency hospitals have overnight staff. They are literally being watched 24/7 but you need to sleep where as an overnight tech or doctor is literally being paid to stare at your animal while you sleep. The air bubbles are not removed with ceftaz because you are supposed to freeze it and liquid expands when frozen and the bubble is necessary. Arnold is critical but with emergency you need to triage. If a hit by car dog or an actively seizing animal comes in you have to assess these animals when they come in. I’ve been following you since I was in highschool and I’ve been on both sides. So I see your POV but being in the inside of an emergency exotic hospital and being a reptile hobbyist there are reasons for things. I’m only speaking for my hospital in a completely different state

[@annasstorybox7906]

Yea... I thought the same about them not treating pets in the order of arrival. Also, Arnold is in a bad condition but he's stable. It's like someone with a broken arm having come in and than someone with severed hand is seen earlier. The broken arm is painful, it should be treated soon. But if it's initially clarified that no blood vessels are injured, the patient has stable blood pressure and pulse, is maybe on a monitor, has gotten something for the pain... Yea that severd hand will be prioritized. While they aren't likely actively bleeding out especially when brought in by ambulance the emts will have stopped the bleeding, its still urgent and less stable than the broken arm. While bleeding might still be an issue, they obviously want to check of they can save the hand, they want to make sure they can stop the bleeding by some other manner than the tourniquet the medics likely put on to avoid the rest of the arm not getting enough blood... To cut a long story short... Someone might come in close to death or really sick but stable aka "it's not good, they'll need treatment, but they aren't going to crash suddenly and they can go a couple of hours without worsening" while someone might come in who seems to be similarly bad or less bad but less stable because their condition is less predictable and they have gotten worse quickly, got worse during the trip to the hospital, are actively getting worse and worse while already at the hospital.

[@ashleyhardy4042]

Speaking as a veterinary professional, you need to understand that we deal with a lot of clients who think they know better than us. Most of them are not as well-educated as you. It's hard to trust people to manage their animals at home appropriately, even when they aren't this sick. Too many of the cases I've taken care of in hospital even come back soon after becoming well enough to go home because people decide not to give medications properly, or ignore very basic instructions. All the demos and literature in the world will not convince some people that they need to give the right drugs at the right time in the right way, whether or not it's convenient for them. So in the end, we don't know you, we just want what's best for the animals, and we don't want to be responsible for an animal being mismanaged at home if we can avoid it.

[@Pintomare11]

I think what a lot of people don't understand as well is that a lot of exotic animal vet work is trying your best with your knowledge of drugs with very limited literature and science on how these drugs actually interact with and work in exotic species. Companies don't fund FDA approval for all the random species of exotics that exist, it's an extremely difficult field.

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

Do you think there's a way Alex could talk to a vet to effectively communicate that he can and will do the necessary animal care himself? Would it help to explain about his business and how much experience he has with very sick reptiles?

[@concernednoiseo1909]

Thank you!! Vet nurse student here, people complain about not having good vets but then act like they know more than vets who are just trying to help. You get people calling in who curse you out because you're not an emergency vet and can't take emergency patients if they're not already a client. People will come in with animal in critical condition and expect the doctor to be able to treat them immediately. A lot of the other comments are right, It is not about favoritism, It is about the condition of the patient, how stable they are, how quickly that could change and so many other factors. Not every clinic or hospital has the same resources. Reptiles and birds can be extremely difficult to treat once they reach a critical condition. I once had to wait 8 hours at an emergency vet because it was the only one that would see my friends bird. And guess what, of course dogs that have come in after being hit by a car or disemboweled. Not because of a clear favoritism over species but because their condition was more urgent and would quickly prove fatal if not treated immediately. I understand his frustration but the whole video just reeks of entitlement.

[@bluedreams1387]

I'm in college to be a veterinarian and follow lots of animal pages of Facebook - being in them made it VERY clear that people are bad at instructions, which I can personally understand because when I'm in the position of being a pet parent and being told what to do by a veterinarian, my anxiety immediately acts up and questions if I'm doing everything perfectly. When I'm practicing in my head or giving out advice (not medical advice, just home remedies, and I'm 1000% sure on what I'm saying, I'm obviously nowhere near an expert yet) it's such a different mindset dynamic. You really have to assume that pet parents are on par with toddlers when it comes to instruction, just because so, so many genuinely are. We're trained to cover all the bases, but also the left field if things go awry. Regular people just aren't. A lot of treating is also symptom-treating rather than condition-treating, so if you have a condition that causes pain and you're treating pain, a normal person isn't going to know what to do if, I don't know, the animal suddenly starts peeing blood, or vomiting, or seizing. Holding animals for care is to cover the left field, not just to cover the bases.

[@HoneyBats]

I never understood that. I have a panther chameleon myself and when we got him he had kidney function issues and was undernourished and dehydrated. We found the best exotics vet in our area and worked with her closely and he’s doing wonderful. We followed the instructions for his oral and injection meds and upgraded every bit of husbandry we could with her guidance and recommendations (she raises reptiles and tarantulas herself) I get some vets aren’t great so people lose trust but there’s always another vet you could work with. I couldn’t imagine not doing what I could to keep my boy healthy, He’s actually due for a needle today to fight an infection he got from a mouth cut because the little devil loves to bite objects and munch his drippers. People shouldn’t have pets if they can’t give them their proper care

[@zerosteam1056]

I’m personally not a huge fan of chameleons, and I don’t believe that they’re good pets for most people (for experienced keepers only imo), but seeing any animal especially a reptile in this condition absolutely breaks my heart. Keep fighting Arnold!

[@MaxwellRBLX]

In my opinion chameleons shouldnt be legal because its too easy to get them killed ..

[@JBZofficial812]

@@MaxwellRBLX then we'd have to say tht about a lot more animals to. Im sure common animals are killed by neglect more than a chameleon

[@MaxwellRBLX]

@@JBZofficial812 probably

[@daypaul420555]

They really arent that hard to take care of its just sad how easily people seem to just be able to neglect animals. It does require daily care and attention but i dare say dogs need more care, but are less fragile than chams. Its a daily rewarding chore some,folks are good at keeping things a constant and some arent. Mistakes happen though that doesnt mean it should be illegal, a lot of us keep them with more benefit and love rather than loss and hardship. Education rather than Regulations!

[@ZazarStudios]

You're right, the government should definitely infringe on the rights of responsible owners to own chameleons -_-

[@caycedakon7093]

Veterinary professionals cannot just trust that clients have any common sense. I’ve had clients ask me the dumbest questions and when hospitalization is recommended it is because that is the highest quality of care, and we can ensure that the pet is actually getting the treatment needed. It is especially risky when injectable medications need to be administered as reptile anatomy is drastically different from mammals and you are millimeters away from giving an IM injection when it needs to be SQ. It is annoying to see that someone is likening my job, education, and years of experience to be the same as someone who just keeps reptiles. We deserve to be paid for our services and respected for our skills/education

[@maggbeaf1598]

I totally agree with you! But in every field there are good and the bad. I personally have had pretty bad experiences with vets especially when it came to my reptiles. But I don’t hold it to vets in general, just the ones I have seen. So keep up the good work! And the more good vets out there hopefully more pets can get the medical care they need :)

[@kaillekreatress]

bad vets

[@202cardline]

Yes but now you are underestimating his job and years of experience rehabilitating reptiles, which is something he makes known to the vets.

[@kduoxo4666]

@@202cardline Years of experience?!? What is he..20?? I thought I knew everything at that age as well, but I wasn’t spruiking potentially dangerous incorrect information while posing as an ‘expert’ on KZbin. And clearly he doesn’t know everything because he was criticizing the vets when they were actually not doing anything wrong (eg, leaving the air bubble in the syringe and triaging their patients). If I was his vet his arrogance would piss me off.

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

This is probably the worst condition I’ve seen a chameleon in that is still alive. I’m rooting for Arnold and thanks for taking a chance on him! In the meantime, I would lower his lights so they can reach him down at the bottom. Compact UVB bulbs like that don’t penetrate more than a few inches so it’s definitely not reaching him at the bottom. I’d suggest switching to a T5 5.0 linear UVB ASAP. Most keepers will create a little hospital bin for sick chams that includes a Rubbermaid tub, soft towel at the bottom, and not much to climb on until they regain their strength. Happy to help answer any questions you or anyone else might have about chameleon care 💚

[@catlinpowers382]

I have a chameleon i rescued thats in much much worse condition that I personally paid 100 dollars for so that I could give it at least a nice last however long she lasted and I've been watching your videos and she's still kicking and actually gaining weight and seeming to get better!! Colors are a lot better even and eyes aren't so sunken in. I know this isn't your video but seeing you comment I still wanted to thank you for being so informative its very helpful

[@Jo-cv5kb]

Yo my girl, plz help this guy out. I cringe when he says veiled.

[@ksevntyfour3418]

Dude glad I found this comment. You give great chameleon advice and they are such a misunderstood animal.

[@sarahhyun3410]

@@Jo-cv5kb ikkkk

[@LuToNetworks]

Facts, that T5 is vital if he's going to be at the bottom of the cage like that.

[@JazLilyJosh]

I would strongly suggest moving his heat light temporarily within basking range at the bottom of the enclosure. He needs a 5.0 linear uvb. Along with the misting I would suggest a fogger over night to add the much needed humidity his dehydrated body and eyes need.

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

Totally agree with all of this advice 👏🏻

[@ratspaghetti4909]

boosting!!

[@boatman783]

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[@gliger]

I work in an animal ER as a vet tech and your comment about picking favorites really pissed me off. It has nothing to do with favoritism. We triage patients as they are presented and more critical patients jump the line, just like a human ER. If an animal comes in actively dying they will be seen before something that's more stable. Veterinarians recommend treatment and we have to wait on approval from owners to administer it. It's people who make those comments that contribute to the rise of suicide in this field and the mass exodus of qualified technicians because all they get is abusive or hurtful comments. We don't do this for money, we do it because we love animals and want to help them. Also, your refusal to do bloodwork severely hinders their ability to form proper diagnosis. There's only so much we can deduce based on exam. Labs and x-rays show us how their organs are functioning, if there's a blockage, are they fighting an infection, are they in organ failure, and so much more that even I don't know. None of these things can be seen on exam. On another note, we leave air in the syringes on purpose so you don't lose any of the medication during travel in case the plunger gets bumped or depressed somehow. I know you won't read this but I hope someone else does and gets a better understanding of why people have to wait at the ER. We are also caring for the hospitalized patients in the ICU while seeing the incoming patients so that's another factor to consider.

[@linzyjensen7271]

^ This. I forgot to mention about the syringes in my comment. Ceftaz also has a super short shelf life once reconstituted, so you need that air bubble in pre-loaded syringes so that you can freeze them without damaging the syringe. When it comes to exotics- so many problems are husbandry related, so having an established relationship is vital. I'm tired of seeing good people in vetmed getting burnt out, leaving, and even dying because people think that we can do the impossible. People like to think that vets are off driving fancy cars and living the high life, but in reality, we're mostly just getting by doing a job we love that is killing us.

[@BearDown4Life]

So you do pick favs. It's ok everybody has them.

[@beab-locher6077]

@@BearDown4Life You read the whole comment and this is what you got? Jesus, anyone somewhat decent should want that the animals nearest to death should be treated first. It is a triage, not favoritism. They don't get a more superb treatment, they are just more urgent.

[@enchantedmoon1129]

@UCqPKjUIfZ8tF3xx2Jt3kMWQ let’s say you came into the er with appendicitis or a gunshot wound. Both can kill you within minutes if not taken care of immediately. Would you rather them take whoever came in order? Would you really be okay with a kid with a broken arm go before you just because they were there first? Prioritizing patients with genuine medical emergencies that they could die from is way more important than taking care of a kid with a broken arm. Idk if you’re a troll or a fucking idiot but sit down and shut up.

[@barfbrooks2606]

I came here to say this too. He said himself this chameleon had been in this condition for at least days before being brought in. Yes, the chameleon needed urgent care, but unfortunately not as urgently as a dog who was hit by a car 10 minutes prior.

[@ClassyCavallina]

When you complain about vets and techs but don’t inject into the correct half of the reptile. I’m normally a huge fan of your channel but please do thorough research before attempting injections on your own. The renal-portal system is important to keep in mind! Also note that in emergency clinics, pets are triaged based on how critical a patient is, so those other animals they were “taking quicker” were very likely in need of more urgent attention. -LVT with ER and reptile experience who loves your channel, but not the light you are shedding on an already overworked, under-appreciated, and mostly underpaid career

[@MichelleSK6]

💯

[@negandavidson9600]

Stories like this really make me want to become a vet that specializes with exotics. It's almost impossible to find a vet in Tulsa that looks at Bearded Dragons, and when I had rats, I had to go back to my hometown to a vet (7 hour drive to Missouri).

[@airena1449]

That is the nightmare with avian vets for me. 2 birds and not a single damned vet in this erea that would know how to handdle them

[@negandavidson9600]

@@airena1449 It's insane how hard it is to find an exotic vet. You'd think there would be one or two in most major cities since exotic pets are on the rise. Also there wouldn't be much competition, so they could charge way more than normal.

[@Annie_Annie__]

I live in a decently large city and when I had rats there was only one vet in town that would see them. And because he was the only one he charged ridiculous prices. It was $400 to get antibiotics for a respiratory infection for 2 rats. And that was more than 10 years ago. And this “exotic vet” saw everything from hamsters to alpacas to macaws to reticulated pythons to monitor lizards to tree frogs. I just don’t see how someone can be a medical expert in all those extremely different species. Surely vets should specialize in small mammals, farm mammals, birds, *OR* reptiles/amphibians. But how can you possibly have someone come in with a rare breed of rabbit and be familiar with issues that breed might have, plus know the usual issues with rabbits and possible rare issues with rabbits to diagnose it; then the next patient is a sick bearded dragon and you’re supposed to know everything about them, determine if he’s well cared for, diagnose and treat him; then the next patient is a cockatiel, etc.

[@hopeadler507]

I feel so lucky for my rats. I live at the intersection for the best exotics vet in my city/province

[@Southern_Plains_Railfan]

If you have a problem with any of your animals again I would recommend Stoneridge Animal Hospital in Edmond, OK. It would only be about a 2hr drive from where you are and they did a really good job with my Cornsnake.

[@artsyapple6509]

WE NEED MORE ARNOLD UPDATES STAT.

[@kawachholtz]

I really like you as a KZbinr, but my god i don't think I'd like you as a client. Lmao. I think you should find a vet you dislike the least and "partner" with them. They may just not think they can trust you with all the meds/supplies to go home. If you build a relationship with them and they know who you are and what you do they're more likely to give you supplies to go home with, maybe even give you a prescribe longer courses to go home with so you can have some on hand. We work with the local wildlife refuge/personal rehabbers and we'll do things like that for them sometimes. That and we're more likely to squeeze in returning clients vs a new person with a new pet because those appointments generally take longer. PS. Injections should go in the front third of the body until your chameleon is a little more stable. If well hydrated injections in to the hind limbs should be okay and doesn't make too much of a difference

[@tanyaroberson9394]

This is good advice. I hope Alex reads your comment and finds a vet that partners up with him.

[@erichamcgee8682]

I understand your concerns but as a veterinary assistant at an animal hospital we will absolutely prioritize a dying animal over one just there for medications. True, they did not handle your situation very well but your attitude towards vets, in general, is not helping your situation. Not all vets are this bad However, it is much more common in exotics.

[@holly22972]

Poor Arnold, I’m glad he’s getting the help he needs. However, also as someone who works in ER med and wants to go into the vet field, I just want to say something in defense of the staff for giving the injections and pulling up meds. I fully understand that you know how to and are comfortable doing it but it’s literally such a liability issue for the stuff to “just give you” the antibiotics and let you do them yourself. This is an emergency clinic which means they don’t see regular clients so they don’t know you or your chameleon. I can’t even begin to tell you some of the stories of people who come into the ER I work at and how they think they know everything, and we know absolutely nothing. It happens literally ever day and it’s usually the cases where their pet is suuuper sick. While I understand it’s annoying that it has to be this way, if they were to just give the meds to someone and say “have a nice day” and an animal ended up dying because of it, that clinic and the staff would be responsible. As far as “prioritizing” pets that go into the building, I highly doubt they were picking favorites. I know it can seem that way especially when you’re worried about a pet, but at the end of the day you don’t know what’s walking through the door. Sure, a dog may walk in looking ok but the truth might be it’s a bloat or a cat brought in might be blocked both of which are serious and life threatening and must be seen immediately. Yes while your chameleon is super sick, the sucky part of ER medicine is determining which sick patient must be seen first based off of need, because they’re all sick and need attention. They’re all just trying to do their jobs, everyone in the vet field (vets/techs/assistants/receptionists) are already so burned out and working as hard as they can. Totally understand where you’re coming from though, just wanted to give the other perspective. I hope Arnold does ok and feels better soon!!

[@elizabethziegler9841]

Bud- I really appreciated the bit of introspection about your relationship with vets- But then you were back at it- they don't have magic x-ray vision, and without x-rays or bloodwork making a diagnosis is tough. We go to vet school not Hogwarts. We can only do the stuff the owner approves for the patient. When you bring vets a patient without diagnostics- we really only have the physical exam findings and the history. And for your animals- because they just came into your possession- you don't have a super concrete history to give. As far as the dog- when someone says a dog is dying at an emergency vet- they mean like actively bleeding out dying. As in if we see the chameleon first the dog will be dead in the meantime. That is how triage works. It works that way in the human ER too- even the person with a flip-floppy broken arm is gonna have to wait for a heart attack patient to be seen- cause they are not gonna die of a broken arm in the next 6 hours where-as heart attacky could pass-on. That isn't species favoritism. You chameleon is hella not ok- but it is stable. Just- ug- I wish you could shadow at a vet's office or something and see what actually goes on.

[@CaraHolman]

They literally said it needed to be hospitalized and would die but yes let's see several others first...and yes he denied things but they also said he denied things they never even asked him about.

[@erichamcgee8682]

@@CaraHolman I work in an animal ER (not with exotics I just keep them personally) there's a difference between an animal that is actively dying and one that is stable but will die without proper care. We will absolutely prioritize an animal who is actively dying over one that is stable and whose owner just wants medications. We always offer hospitalization with animals in this bad of shape because most owners cannot properly care for the animal. We always give recommendations but we can't force you to do anything. We have to offer these things so if an owner declines and the animal dies, they can't blame us because we offered the treatment we believed would keep it alive but the owner declined.

[@CaraHolman]

@@erichamcgee8682 you don't need to tell me nothing because I've worked for a vet. But we are all assuming they told the truth. The problem I have with that is if they lied in the documents. And I'm not okay with that. You don't put owner denied without asking. Period. Even if he said he would deny on video they still didn't ask and assumed. So I wouldn't be able to trust their word.

[@letyp9500]

@@CaraHolman they probably put denied because he denied any bloodwork or diagnostics. If he walked in with his arms crossed asking for medications I guarantee you he didn’t wanna hear anything they had to say. Vets aren’t psychics. They need to rule out things. Without proper history they start at square one. People are so concerned about cost and I don’t get that. I have a Persian cat and I took on the responsibility of being able to give him a home. With that breed I also took on the responsibility of his health. Same thing with my cockatoo! It’s expensive to have exotics. Period. They are not meant to be cheap by any means. Having exotics he needs to find a vet he can trust and understand it will never be cheap. Most exotics aren’t even meant to be pets so expecting to not do anything for vet care or expecting care to not be expensive is ludicrous.

[@tracywebb5315]

I’d love for him to shadow an emergency vet. Your job is stressful. You have to make split-second decisions that could result in an animal making it, or not. And contrary to Alex’s beliefs, vets really do care about the animals. That’s why they went into veterinary medicine in the first place. He has a lot to learn about veterinary medicine, I just hope his ego will allow him to do so.

[@Hawkpelt94]

I work at a vet clinic. You have to understand what we go through on our end. We see an animal like that chameleon come in and they say "oh, it was a rescue" Far too often, that's a lie. We see a dying pet, and we know it needs help. The vast majority of people don't have the experience or setup to care for a critical animal. That is why we encourage hospitalization. We don't make much money on ANYTHING. Vets and their staff are not in the field for money. As to the remark of not prioritizing your reptile over mammals, the fact is that mammals crash faster. Yes, he's in really terrible shape, but there was probably an animal who needed CPR or something who came in. Yes, that animal is going to take priority. You can't get mad at vets for prioritizing other animals, and say that they needed to prioritize yours. You have no idea what they have going on in their back room, and every animal there is someone's loved pet. I take some issue with your statements, as you have a large platform, and lots of people see your videos. People then form their own biases against vets without having ever taken an animal to them. This is very damaging, and will result in hesitation to go to a vet, often leading to a pets death because the owner waited too long. (Also, ceftaz is kept in the freezer. The air bubbles are in the syringes to accommodate expansion so you don't lose medication.) I hope I don't get shit on too much here.

[@samanthaswann5071]

I agree with u, Alex can be really harsh on vets and it makes me really mad because I know everything he’s talking about is based on opinion and not facts. They wouldn’t prioritize a dog over a chameleon just because people like dogs more?? Plus he said vets don’t know what they’re talking about, and it can just be googled, then just google what’s wrong with the chameleon if it’s so easy.

[@mikeyaustin7526]

Underrated comment

[@beardiemom]

Yeah, I was thinking that Alex doesn't understand triage when he made that comment. The sickest patient gets seen first, that is normal. When my cat was screaming when I touched him and I called up a vet for an emergency visit, she checked him over before going back to her patient that had an appointment to make sure he wasn't going to die while she took care of her other patient.

[@janemh5866]

He very clearly couldn’t give a shit about how it actually is on the other end, as it would hardly have taken any mental gymnastics to be able to figure it out. It’s comes across as disturbingly arrogant and (what a shocker) people don’t respond well to being spoken down to by someone in no position to do so.

[@beardiemom]

@@janemh5866 Yeah, that offhand comment about the dying dog "probably being dead by now" rubbed me the wrong way, too. Alex literally only cared about the chameleon in his care and expected the vet to do the same as if other patients didn't matter.

[@Larissa-qg9se]

In the vets defense most people don’t have the time or the experience to be able to take care of an extremely sick animal. If you worked full time out of your house or if you had never rehabilitated animals (which is the majority of people) it makes sense that they wouldn’t want you to take the reptile home in his condition. Working in healthcare lots of people lie about how much they know and their experience. I wouldn’t blame them wanting to hospitalize Arnold fully because of the money. I think they assumed that you are overestimating your abilities and not going to be able to properly care for an extremely sick animal, like most owners. Maybe the vet just didn’t want him to die.

[@jase123111]

Or maybe the vets wanted to make money, even thought they did not even know the poor animals was dehydrated.. which any experience reptile keeps would notice straight away. If they can't even get that right, or do a basic think like putting the creature on a drip to hydrate it, then I would have no confidence in their ability to treat it.

[@heydont1048]

They also left bubbles in the syringe. A fatal flaw. I don’t blame him one bit for being pissed at them. If Arnold were my pet I would be just as upset, too.

[@jamiezingsworld5887]

They left air bubbles in the syringe...I don’t think they’d be able to properly care for Arnold either lmao

[@baileyduprey3159]

They didn't even give him any advice on doing this himself, left bubbles in the syringe they clearly don't care about Arnold then they took their sweet ass time getting his syringes while hes basically dying and needed treatment asap

[@FukaiKokoro]

Idk, after my last cat passed away I hate most vets. They kept her alive and suffering to rape me. I paid 2,000$ keeping this cat alive that should have been put down the same day I brought her in. The vet should have straight up told me she needed to be put down. They even manipulated my husband and I making it seem like she was doing better. The day we put her down we actually thought we maybe able to bring her home. That’s how bad they manipulated us. I would have had to have bill gates money to fully treat her. And they said a year of hardcore treatment. Like yeah I would have loved to do that but 2,000$ was at my limit. She literally was suffering and they kept her alive to suffer. I was so fucking angry.

[@caycedakon7093]

Emergency medicine is not “first come first serve.” We triage all pets and prioritize the ones that are not stable. Be thankful when you have to wait hours because that means your pet is not the one currently getting CPR and emergency meds.

[@TeenDream888]

yeah, I was kind of surprised that he didn't know that. it's like in human ER, like someone comes in with a broken leg, but is stable, and then you have someone right after arrive with multiple gunshot wounds, vitals dropping rapidly. and then after _that_ , some kid impaled himself trying to jump over a fence with a pointed edge. yeah, the broken leg person is going to have to wait. they'll be placed on a cot and given some pain meds, but they may not be seen until the other two patients that came in are stable.

[@designateddoser7651]

But it sounds like they didn’t consider how fragile reptiles are and how awful a condition the chameleon was in, and just paid attention to other kinds of animals like mammals.

[@caycedakon7093]

@@designateddoser7651 obviously the chameleon was stable enough to wait and the staff knew that

[@rebecka7883]

👍, seems like he dont know that. Dont get how he can hate the vet just becuase they dont prioritize reptiles, of course they wont treat the stable chameleon before the dog that cant wait

[@ayaye1918]

boosty boost

[@BooksToAshes]

I went to college for animal care, I learned a lot but it's nothing like actual work with real animals. I was lucky enough to have a lot of experience before college, but there were students in the class who had no idea how to do basic things. You need hands on experience to actually learn or else all you have is knowledge, which isn't enough to do real, clinical work. The vets should have just trusted you in what you knew since you have far more experience with the particular species than a lot of them. It just seems they wanted to either fill their wallets or prove that somehow they knew more. That being said I had to bring my rabbit into an emergency vet twice, once for a neurological issue (eye darting) and another for abdominal (laying flat on her stomach). I knew the underlying issue but couldn't give her what she needed. They saved her life twice, so honestly there are good ones out there, just don't let vets overcharge you if you think you know what's wrong and trust in your own judgments.

[@smexipenguin]

I studied Animal Husbandry & Management at college and the material was about 15 years out of date. Once I was finished I had to wipe my mind and start from scratch. They didn’t even know calci sand causes impaction, we lost several beardies and they never learnt the lesson. They couldn’t even sex their own reptiles. Biggest waste of 10 grand in my life.

[@BooksToAshes]

@@smexipenguin That sounds horrid. A lot of curriculum sadly seems so outdated (this goes for high school too). Considering college is so expensive you'd THINK they would update it every *year* not every few decades, but I guess not 😑 It's not even like we're lacking in the information. It's readily available and constantly being updated every year. There's no excuse for that.

[@smexipenguin]

@@BooksToAshes I always do a refresh and read up to date info on any species I’m working with, it stops me from getting too stuck in my ways and challenges me to constantly learn more and provide better lives for the animals I work with.

[@justinganzeboom]

Most important part for any vet (or medical practitioner in general) is to admit when you don't know something. The vet i work for is one of the best vet's i know, but she also admits when she don't know something, if somebody wants to let us check there reptile we send them to another clinic in a different city where we know the best and most experienced vet in reptiles works. However your part about they should trust them cause you know the animal i strongly disagree with, even if for this case it may be the truth. We have some clients with rare breeds of dogs or breeders who all think they know best wich just isn't true, i can give you some examples if you like. End of the day, normal vets don't deal with reptiles enough to know alot about them, but i also think Alex thinks he knows more then he actually does, but i can be wrong.

[@aalynnodell9809]

This is exactly it and the same goes for personal primary care too. If your doc don't listen you need another one. I literally see mine just for prescriptions because she listens to me, verifies whats wrong or orders the tests to show whats wrong and treats me. The only time she insisted on something i didnt want was an xray for when i broke my leg and she was right. It was definitely broke. Bone broke clean off the knee but wasn't weight bearing so i just thought bruising. Anyway my point is a good relationship with communication open is needed with any medical professional. Not a one upper doc who has to always know better than you because they went to school for it. Most are experience lacking.

[@feather-duster-cat4307]

Okay ill preface this with I love you and your channel but the vet hate has got to stop. At an emergency vet YOU DONT WANT TO BE THE ONE FIRST IN LINE. if you're pet is their #1 priority that means it is actively dying. Emergency rooms work on a triage basis. This isn't a wait list at chili's. Those dogs they were caring for were probably hours or minutes from death, and even though your little guy was not doing well at all, they knew he was not a critical case for them. Vet offices, especially emegency, are severely under staffed and over worked right now. Many working 20h+ shifts. They are trying their best to care for your pets as fast and efficiently AND CHEAPLY as they can. I've watched doctors put in their own money to try to save pets when the clients cant/won't pay for it. They really do care and try to cater to your financial situation. I know it is expensive but I'll tell you there are very slim margins in vet med, they arent trying to gouge for money, they are just trying to do what is best for your pet. Were all on the same team, trying to do the best for the animal.

[@feather-duster-cat4307]

Also, they likely left the air bubbles in the syringes to prevent you from accidentally injecting/wasting some of the product from knocking around the plunger. If we give our syringes with the needle primed and ready to go we have pets not getting the correct dose from people accidentally pressing the plunger before injecting or trying to prime it themselves. Also they likely wanted to hospitalized him so he could be supervised by professionals were he to go down hill and could likely get medications in forms not available to you at home such as IV.

[@AngelaRoseRyman]

@@feather-duster-cat4307 what size catheter would you recommend for a chameleon ?😂

[@Pandagopanda]

I just....you are welcome to your own opinions. But as an RVT and someone who has worked in an emergency clinic, you have no idea what they're handling at the same time. Yes, Arnold is in a bad way and I hope he gets better, but he is stable (mind you stable doesn't mean healthy, it means there are no rapid changes in it's condition) a dog that is actively coding, having a seizure, has a birthing emergency, was hit by a car etc... would take priority. Yes you paid for the services, but so did the other people there. Be a little more considerate towards other pet owners and the vet's who are trying their best. And please be careful showing people how to give injections, yes it's "easy", but if you're not specific enough in the how, where, what angles etc... you can do serious damage. Also at least get bloodwork to make sure the kidneys and liver are ok, cause you can give all the vitamins and antibiotics you want, but if those are shot and you don't support them, there's no chance

[@Hawkpelt94]

100% this.

[@slaayerr1]

Yeah it kinda pains me to see him being the typical toxic client we see all too frequently now. Not to mention him saying he knows what he's doing and how easy it is yet he's giving the injection in the wrong area for a dehydrated lizard.

[@Cocoroot]

I love your videos and your passion for reptiles. I am a CVT in the field, so I just wanted to highlight some things that might help you understand what the process is like 'in the back' of an ER. We don't do favoritism. If a hit by car, cardiac arrest, dog attack, seizures, etc. comes in it takes priority due to the simple nature that seconds matter in these instances. It is the same scenario in human medicine - a heart attack or car accident victim takes priority over a broken leg. A broken leg hurts - it sucks, but your broken leg isn't going to make you flatline - where a car accident victim losing blood rapidly very well will. Regarding radiographs, fecals, and blood samples. I respect your decision to decline, but these procedures tell us a lot more about what is going on internally. Especially the radiographs - calcification, foreign body blockages, bone loss, etc. Our doctors have to run tests to see what is going on, even when something seems DEAD obvious to us ( like the dehydration this chameleon is experiencing ) there may be further ailments underlying that the trained eye can't pick up on. These tests exist for a reason and we make next to no profit on them, IMO. Prices vary depending on your vet, or depending on what lab they use vs. running in house. Labs charge out the ass for pick up and pathology review. The syringes having an air gap in them is in case they get bumped in transit on the way home - that way the liquid doesn't get pushed into the cap of the needle. This isn't laziness, its something most vets do with injectables so clients don't have to come driving back and purchase more. Following up, I will admit the field lacks in true exotic vets. They are rare due to how much more schooling they need, finding one who truly specializes in herpetology is so difficult. I feel like most reptile specialists are primarily based in Florida. I hope in the future this changes as many, many households now have reptiles that they cherish as much as their cats and dogs. This comment is not meant to attack so much as give perspective, and sorry its a TLDR - there are a million good people in this field. It pays pennies compared to human medicine. If we didn't care about animals we wouldn't be doing it. I do recommend genuinely looking for a vet you can trust, if you don't trust them - you're always going to leave dissatisfied. Wishing the best, I really hope this sweet panther gets better. :(

[@Thy_Nel]

this is a good comment, constructive criticism and not just full on insulting him n calling him petty names, as well as giving your perspective on it. really hate when people are overly aggressive so I appreciate this

[@Cocoroot]

@@Thy_Nel I don't believe in attacking people. I like to offer other perspectives. Thank you.

[@alyssapearson8359]

thank you very much for writing this out. I feel like vet med is a pretty misunderstood field and it's disheartening (as a DVM-in-progress) to see misconceptions perpetuated in videos like this, even from creators that I respect.

[@ItsmeBish584]

Saying dog attacks, seizures, hit by a car, cardiac arrest, etc takes priority over a reptile who looks like they aren't living the last minutes of their lives sounds a little uneducated to me. Reptiles are better at hiding the severity of their illnesses than any other species on this planet. This hand evolution dealt them is what kept them around for millions of years. Reptiles evolved before trees!! They know how to mask injuries and illnesses better than any living thing. So next time take that into consideration. What may not look like an emergency to you could be much more severe than the dog that got hit by a car. It may not look as bad as cardiac arrest, there may not be blood, but they are different than mammals and dont show the severity of their illnesses. They show it in different ways. Seeing this cham in the video , it should have been prioritized. He is on his death bed. This is much much more than just dehydration. Which sunken eyes doesnt even mean dehydration to begin with. Its a symptom of extreme mental or physical illness and exhaustion. Chameleons look like this moment before they die. He should have been seen right away.

[@Cocoroot]

@@ItsmeBish584 Go off. I get your frustration, and I'm *not* saying reptiles don't take priority. I'm saying the general veterinary world is going to assess a hit by car before it will assess a reptile. Sorry if that makes you angry, that is the reality of vet med. It isn't uneducated when its what happens daily! There's a reason herp doctors cost a fortune! I hope they become more common.

[@alexanderbrown5425]

I am sorry that you had this experience and weren't satisfied with the care that you were provided. That being said, tere are a lot of issues with this video, you are spreading some dangerous misinformation. It sounds like this was an emergency clinic or visit.They didn't prioritize the chameleon because there is nothing that can be done for it that will immediately change its prognosis. Compare that to a different animal that was hit by a car, bitten by a dog, is unable to urinate etc, which needs immediate attention or it will die, imminently. You state "I just wanted this med and then to go home" but you also understand that you are not a doctor. While you may be a lot more experienced than most keepers or some general small animal vets, you do not have the qualifications to determine what meds this animal needs. If you are always so dissatisfied with general vets, you need to start scheduling a visit to a qualified exotics vet. They will cost more and may be a farther drive, but that is what your animals need.

[@millieh3179]

Just to add, the fact that he said he couldn’t pass a single test to become a vet, yet has the balls to tell the fully qualified vets what care the animal needs? This is so backwards to me and is promoting a very dangerous culture. I can see why he’s had troubles with vets if this is how he approaches every interaction.

[@gwennyfubitch]

I hope Arnold makes it. I’m surprised he has survived so long

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

Same here 💚

[@austin.584]

I like when he used the chameleon as a computer mouse at 10:35

[@kaitlando636]

😂

[@marg6883]

Triage is not a race you want to win at an emergency vet

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

This 💯💯

[@KaiSub]

My sisters friend's sister had a dachshund who had a slipped disc, the vets told her to keep the dog in a cage when unsupervised until it healed, but after 2 days she decided that the dog was well enough to run free when she was at work, she got back home and he had tried to jump up on the couch, this time the injury was so bad that he had to be put down. This story and thousands like it are the reason vets don't trust owners with even the most basic of treatments. We may know that you're very experienced, but the vets don't. It's not just that they want to get more money out of you (even if some vets clinics are definitively like that), most vets only want what's best for the animal.

[@edithnackers7127]

I am a dog behaviourist and some vets have some truly shocking misunderstanding of dogs. I know your pain and not taking everything they say as fact.

[@gopherasoda2492]

God, it's like doctors

[@gopherasoda2492]

God, it's like doctors

[@joeyjojos5839]

I feel this. I'm a former dog trainer and there are so many vets, dog breeders, and people who run shelters who say things that are blatantly wrong with so much confidence all the time.

[@vivianwinford3681]

Vets treat the physical body but don't delve I to the minds of canines or understand body language that the canine communicates by.

[@edithnackers7127]

@smol pom sorry to hear that. I hope your dog is thriving now.

[@Stimm002]

In any type of medicine you don't prioritise patients by the order they come in, you prioritise by need, sickest paients first, I get the annoyance about the rest for sure but saying you should do it by the order things come in is dumb.

[@XCryssieX]

Exactly, triage exists for a reason.

[@marikka9347]

He was not carrying on about his pet not requiring critical care and being pushed down the list by dogs requiring critical care. He recognized that Arnold was in such a poor state that he brought it to an emergency hospital and was (rightly) a bit miffed that there was such a lack of concern for his critically ill pet. Triage is a necessary component of care in an emergency hospital, however, either deciding that the chameleon was too far gone to worry about or showing a distinct favoritism for fur babies should not determine who gets care first. If the chameleon was too far gone, then why upsell and demand to hospitalize? Also, seeing the lack of concern or appropriate prioritizing methodology at play, I would not want to leave my pet in their care. I would think they would have cared for any fur animal first and then got to Arnold. I mean even just basic care, like put them in a room and start a drip for his severe dehydration while they wait to be seen.

[@Stimm002]

@@marikka9347 all that very long repeating comment is very true, for sure. Except he literally said they should be seen in the order they come in.

[@marikka9347]

@@Stimm002 I edited the 2 extra lines at the beginning out for you since you found it too tedious. He actually said that Arnold had been there for a few hours and they only gave him a shot, told the kid he was probably already dead and they had to attend to other cases. 2 or 4 maybe, but 3 hours? Then they got to a phone interview (covid rest?) after which it took another few hours to prepare the syringes. Yes, they were showing signs of taking great care by not even bothering with a drip. I am guessing when they did that first shot they did not notice his massive dehydration. I would attribute his comments/agitation more to being tired and waiting, separated from the chameleon, so no control, not knowing what is going on. I just did not think his frustrated comments should elicit criticism.

[@Stimm002]

@@marikka9347 like I said I agree with what you said but and I agree he was probably fed up and emotional, which i understand and sympathise with but that dosnt mean others are not entitled to their own opinion, call it criticism or whatever u like. Its in those moments that we can learn the most.

[@peasil3330]

From working at a vet clinic they prioritizes animals based on what they think is most in need (whose in the worst condition that they think has a high chance of surviving which puts exotics low on priority as sometimes nothing they can do). As for vets wanting to hospitalized it is because people usually don't do things properly or in a timely manner concerning giving them medication or monitoring their vitals. I think mentioning what you do and staying with the same vet would help as mentioning that yr rescuing and rehomimg means it's yr job to take care of them so you can monitor them and probably have experience doing it the necessities Also if you keep going to the same vet yll build trust with the vet so they will have an idea on yr ability to take care of the animal and will have an idea on things you would prefer.

[@rabbithatz]

Yeah I think a partnership with a exotic vet or school program would be good, you could just call them up anytime and they already know you, plus the vet would get exposure to the rare critters you get. It would be mutually beneficial.

[@joeyk9441]

Also, the staff can absolutely tell when you come in with the idea and attitude that you know better than they do, it puts people in a defensive position to deal with that kind of arrogance. It's very clear that you have no respect for the profession, and they can feel that.

[@gracejiang488]

Joey K yeah I think it’s interesting he says he doesn’t get along with any vets. Maybe it’s his own attitude that causes this. If you have problems w all of them, maybe you’re the common denominator.

[@lisamaynard9304]

Yes. It's the same in human medicine as well. As it should be!!! It's not like the line at the damn DMV 🙄

[@peasil3330]

@@lisamaynard9304 not quite, with humans they can't really just give up on them and let them die or just euthanize them so they don't suffer

[@themurrrr]

I hope he makes it. Poor thing. Either way, you’re doing your best. He’s beautiful, btw.

[@elizabethziegler9841]

That's the stress. They color up when they are stressed and uncomfortable.

[@themurrrr]

@@elizabethziegler9841 Oh no! I had no idea…. 😢😢😢

[@Wasteman365]

Nah he should've let him stay at the vet and not be so stingy

[@WEYffles]

I am a vet student, and frankly, compared to cat and dog vets, exotic vets are expected to see thousands of different species ranging from mammals to reptiles,birds and fish and thus have it harder than other vets. Also, the knowledge on exotic pets is constantly changing and the owners either come from very “niche” communities that have strong beliefs on how they should handle their animals or have no knowledge at all on the animal they impulse-bought. That, added to the fact that exotic vets earn less per consult and get too many complaints on people who don’t want to pay a 100 dollar surgery on a 10 dollar guinea pig(according to their logic) is the reason I am giving up on becoming an exotic vet.

[@coffeepot3123]

If Arnold makes it trough this the Hey Arnold theme will instantly play in his enclosure.

[@amemooress6291]

Honestly, I understand vets wanting to do care themselves when an animal is in such a poor state. Most do care imo and get just as frustrated with us as we are with them. Lol

[@gracejiang488]

Yes especially an emergency vet who he’s built no prior relationship with. They don’t know they can trust you have the skills and that you weren’t the one who did this to the animal in the first place

[@Official.kimoraaa]

Recent video titles have not been in the animals favor 💀💀

[@lisamaynard9304]

I agree! We literally speak things into existence!!! If ppl only knew how powerful their words are 🤭

[@serpentinewolf7085]

Love vids but yes, more extreme and hurt animals come first. Same with humans. Don’t be that Karen whining that the person with a collapsed lung and shattered ribs cut ahead of her when she’s just got a bad cold. In line of immediate needs, the worst goes first. Couldn’t tel you if it was biased or not, but make sure you don’t let your bias cloud your judgment.

[@crypticentomologist3634]

Right, imagine not knowing how triage works lmao. I have both reptiles and dogs and cats, and my dog got shot in the chest point blank with birdshot, id hope the emergency vet prioritized my dog with a gaping hole in her chest so deep i could see her heart beating over a stable reptile who just needs to be monitored

[@cadencesturgeon3561]

I honestly don't appreciate the vet slander. As a vet assistant at an exotic clinic, when our doctors reccomend hospitalization it's usually 100% neccessary. Alex said it himself that he doesn't have all of the medications that an emergency clinic has. If the chameleon were to crash, the hospital has the tech, staff, and drugs to handle it. I know you can save a few bucks by doing it yourself, and it's amazing that you've saved as many animals as you have. But the disdain for vets is honestly dangerous in my opinion. Not everyone is capable of intensive care, especially not for reptiles. Please be careful spreading sentiments like this. It's not just about the money, it's about the lives of the animals. Vets don't become vets to make money. The pay isn't great for how much school goes into it.

[@zadkiel2278]

I had the same thought tbh. How can you be an animal keeper and be "worried" about an animal, but the only thing it seems like you're thinking about ist the money? Imagine someone had a cat or a dog in a critical conditions like this and they would say the animal only needs vitamins and some antibiotics, without knowing anything about the situation.

[@cadencesturgeon3561]

@@zadkiel2278 Don't get me wrong, I love Alex. But his thinking around vets is extremely damaging and dangerous for all the people who think they know shit that they don't. I can't tell you how many animals die because owners think they know more than a vet. It comes off super shitty and rude, and has honestly changed my opinion of this channel a little. It shouldn't be about the money, but about the lives of the animals.

[@devinskelton331]

I'm sorry you experienced this with your exotic vet. I'm currently studying to become an exotic veterinarian and everything you described is completely unacceptable. I promise not all vets are like this. 😔

[@themurrrr]

I don’t have any exotic pets, nor do I plan to have one. But I really enjoy watching and learning about other people’s exotic pets. So, I am happy to hear you will become an exotics vet. Good luck with your studies! Wishing you tons of success!

[@crimsonminerva]

I'm 57.ive worked for 9 different Vets throughout my life. No, they're not all the same and like hens teeth, you will find the rare ones. I quit vet school in my 3rd year because so many instructors told me that animals don't have feelings and to not personify them with such. However, like you, nothing beats experience (and sometimes a friend whose alab tech or a good vet doc). Keep being the compassionate and devoted self u are...Arnie will make it/or not but at least his time is one of being cared for.

[@themurrrr]

@@crimsonminerva Was this meant as a reply to the channel?

[@aalynnodell9809]

Way to go on being a solution to the problem by studying to be an exotic vet and not just hanging in the comments complaining about vets. Im past my prime or id consider it. My sisters niece is also studying to be a veterinarian. She's almost done and has helped us a lit with our bearded dragons when we first got then. Now i know better and can do it myself.

[@candymanAM]

Wait till you have your heart vs your bills in an actual practice then what they do will make more sense.

[@linzyjensen7271]

I normally enjoy your videos, but this seemed like a lot of unnecessary vet bashing here. I love working in exotics medicine, and there are a lot of things that maybe didn't get communicated well for your situation. 1. ER is very different from primary care. Your primary care vet should have a relationship with you and understand what you are capable of as a pet owner. ER can't afford that level of time commitment. 2. Arnold probably didn't require the level of hands-on care that some other patient required that day, and not every vet or support staff was capable of treating him. Just because the dog/cat line moves faster doesn't mean that your pet isn't a priority. It may just mean that they are calling a reptile specialist or having to look up information on that type of chameleon. 3. Vets have one of the highest rates of suicide of any profession largely due to the enormous debt to income ratio. We aren't in it for the money.

[@inke9548]

That chameleon is VERY dehydrated. If reptiles can get IV fluids, then he really should get that. But don't go to a regular vet, they might not know that physiologic fluid for reptiles isn't the same as for mammals

[@lulucanpy3513]

They can, and they can get SubQ fluids as well

[@shortforsophie]

Yeah, this is actually what I was thinking too... Because of my Nursing background I know how devastating dehydration can be (it kills people dead...), and because I got a cat that was a real lemon with bum kidneys, I know that some creatures (*not* humans) can get maintenance/resuscitation fluids via subcutaneous administration instead of IV, which is a lot easier (albeit slower) than IV fluids. I gave my cat Normal Saline, just like I give my people patients, I just put it in a different, much easier place...

[@Theashleynicole771]

being a veterinary nurse I understand why they would recommend the hospital care just cause you never know if the “owner” actually knows what they are doing which is why it is often pushed but I understand why it isn’t needed in your case do to your expertise... I will agree that there are very few fully exotic vets.. many vets I have worked with are just terrified to work with owned exotics for fear of messing up. I also think from my understanding they don’t spend much time on exotics in vet school.. they certainly don’t in tech school

[@sevenup5259]

Lost my Cham to cancer couple months ago this breaks my heart , seeing him like this , when I would do anything if I could just see my lil guys face in the morning once more

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

So sorry for your loss 💚

[@sevenup5259]

@@NeptunetheChameleon thank you much appreciated

[@aldiun16]

I just saw how social they are when healthy and had to come back here to check if there's any news.

[@MagicMusicSbGl]

so i bought a really dehydrated chameleon from an expo once (she died after a couple months) however the dehydration for a super lethargic cham can be fixed if you use a flunker's dripper and have the drops land right on their mouth. this will help with the sunken eyes. kinda surprised the vet didn't notice that, as a dehydrated chameleon is super easy to spot

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

All great suggestions. But I think there are much bigger issues going on here than just dehydration 💚

[@PikaRaichupikapika]

I'm hoping that he pulls thru and makes it

[@bronnie8661]

I know with covid I’ve been able to see specialists I wouldn’t normally have access to virtually. Maybe you could find an actually helpful vet out of area?

[@elizabethziegler9841]

As a rule- vets don't love doing telemedicine. Just because we can't ask our patients how we feel- that hands on physical exam component is vital. We also can't do any diagnostics over a telemedicine consult. There really isn't too much that we can ethically do without putting our hands on a patient first. It is a shame- if we were Dr. Doolittle telemedicine could increase access to vet care- but there isn't a way to do it and keep the quality of care passible when you are practicing medicine across a species barrier.

[@larab5214]

Admire you so much. You'll know when you find a good vet when they will tell you "I don't know".... Or "I don't have experience with this...". I've only met one, and then he retired.

[@Neffectual]

Exactly the same as doctors, in my experience as someone with multiple chronic illnesses. It's always better to hear "I'm not sure on this" or "I need to do more research and get back to you" or "I need to refer you to someone else" over just "take this and I'll see you next month to see what happens".

[@reaganlewallen02]

Also, they need a Linear UVB bulb, not a coil. The group has all of the basic care for chameleons!

[@lizard_eli]

I just got on vet highschool, and will be specializing on exotics literally because of the same reason you don't like them. I want people to know they can go in and rely on me. I feel like the vets don't even like the animals..

[@ticklord]

A large problem seems to be that most veterinarians seem to only be interested in the fluffy mammals, and don't really regard "exotics" as real pets. At least in my anecdotal experience.

[@blufoot-wi8zu]

I mean you dont spend as much money as you do to become a vet to care about animals its about money always not always the case but 75 percent of the time that's why

[@ticklord]

@@blufoot-wi8zu You kinda have to care about animals to be a vet. That's like, how the job works.

[@AlienTheCat007]

@@ticklord this should especially ring true for vets because their pay is horrible. At least here in the states it is, not sure about elsewhere. But here, you get paid dirt so I don't get why people would get into it if they don't love animals. It's actually HARDER to get into vet school here than it is to get into med school, plus med school pays a lot more. smh I don't get it.

[@justinganzeboom]

@@AlienTheCat007 yeah true, here in the Netherlands veterinarian is the second worst university job in terms of pay, and it also has one of the highest suicide rate.

[@onlyjuan100]

I love how on the exterior you seem witty and straight forward, but you have this side of you that really cares for all animals and you will stay up all night for a reptile you just unboxed. You’re an amazing kind hearted man is my point, thank you for sharing that side of you.

[@ausilliam]

Notification squad for my chipotle addict :)

[@oliviavalentine140]

Sameeee

[@ninja1antelope]

😑emergency for large animal vet starts at $450 in my area... for my cat/ dog $250. Your vet bills are comparable. Smaller the animal... like a lizard, smaller the cost. Treatment goes by weight. Ok injectable solutions sent home are always shipped with an air layer to prevent loss of volume thru transit..... I would diagnose extreme dehydration

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Ah yes, opening the window in a room with creatures from HOT environments... *I am smort*

[@BedrockIsGone]

Avery hi

[@AxxLAfriku]

You dislike the stuff that gets uploaded by my fingers clicking upload? Are you just a h8er boi? I say see you l8er boi. Don't watch the stuff that gets uploaded by my fingers clicking upload anymore. Your dislikes are damaging my good good GOOD reputation. I am a superstar, dear av

[@bigtwix1016]

@@AxxLAfriku Hi, I have been told by management to tell you to shush. I was also told to say that no one cares about your channel that relies on being cringe in comment sections. Thank you for your time.

[@magicmagenta2945]

@@AxxLAfriku shush your mush

[@lizardherbalist2153]

@@AxxLAfriku the fuck are you :,D

[@Leo_Exists]

I am a lucky bastard, the vet I interned under helped me out and taught me a lot about how to "play the game" with difficult vets among other valuable lessons

[@powersprecioussnakes4755]

I plan on becoming a veterinarian (starting pre-vet in my first year of college next year) and I am extremely passionate about reptiles (snakes specifically) and I hope that I am able to get the right education to be able to actually help reptiles as a veterinarian.

[@emilywerner6390]

Idk where exactly you are in NC but there is an incredible exotics vet in Huntersville. Her name is Dr. Powers at Carolina Veterinary Specialists. She’s an avian and exotics vet who’s board certified in both. She has treated 2 of my reptiles (one being a cham) & has done such a great job. She does what’s best for the animal, not what’s going to make her more money. They are an emergency vet but I believe they double as a regular practice too. My poor babies were misdiagnosed by vets closer to me who claimed to treat exotics but actually had no real experience other than owning a bearded dragon and were really just grabbing at money. Dr. Powers fixed them up in a 10 minute visit. I don’t trust most vets with my reptiles either but Dr. Powers is really great

[@tornfeather1]

Dude, you should go and get your vet degree (or whatever it is) and become a reptile expert. It seems like your personal reptile experience is more insightful than most veterinarians.

[@elizabethziegler9841]

I hate to say this but.... I don't know if that is a realistic or... beneficial option for Alex. It would be at least 8 years of schooling. And 8 years of school debt. And the education mostly tests on dogs and horses- so he can't get through vet school with just his understanding of reptiles. The price of just the vet education- just vet school is from 120K for an instate school (not including cost of living for 4 years) - to 250K just tuition for a private or out of state school. And that isn't even counting the cost of an undergrad degree- or the GED if he doesn't have his GED already. Plus vet school is an ordeal to get into. He would need to get veterinary hours, which means spending time with vets. He would need to get a vet to write him a recommendation letter.

[@kahlanstewart]

Poor Arnold :(

[@sadturn1740]

How is Arnold doing now?! Hopefully better🥺❤️

[@jessicanavarro8169]

I wanna know too

[@tasha_111_]

Hope to see him feeling better in the near future 🙏 Its hard having exotics.. I had a hell of a time finding a vet for a rat a long time ago.. They were all like "Im sorry you have a pet what?!" I can't even imagine trying to find vet care for a chameleon. He's got the best chance now so I guess, like anything else, it's a waiting game.. Good luck Arnold 💕

[@kioku119]

That's so weird to me that that's so shocking to them. A lot of comments here are hard to read.

[@alt_goose797]

My veiled chameleon (actually a veiled) had the same kind of issues After about a year after he had MBD he looked exactly like this for a while and no vet said or did anything helpful. I don’t know what happened but suddenly one day he passed and I found him on the bottom of his enclosure

[@victoriaelaine462]

I had a veiled and i did everything i could to give her a good life and i still dont know why she died either egg bound cause she was around the age and size or dehydration which Im leaning towards but i gave her sprays the day before and she was fine but when i woke up the next morning and did my animal check she was at the bottom RIP Oink:/

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

Chameleons hide their illness and go down hill fast. Usually by the time we notice the the signs of sickness, it’s too late 😢

[@victoriaelaine462]

@@NeptunetheChameleon yeah mine wasnt skinny, dull and his eyes weren’t sunken UNTIL he died:(

[@victoriaelaine462]

@haku yeah she was a suprise gift so i didnt know alot about chameleons:(

[@victoriaelaine462]

@haku aw, sry:( i just lost a betta that i had for 2 years:(

[@GhothBaddie]

You were in my dream last night. We were talking then you just grabbed my shoulders and started a long demonic inhale scream and your jaw unhinged. I woke up crying.

[@kagehikari4281]

I had it with a lot of regular vets my self. I dont have a cat anymore right now but the next time I do when I pick out my next vet, I'll test them with one question. Declawing. That right there will tell me everything I need to know. A good vet is hard to find, even for cats and dogs. Poor little guy, hope it pulls thru. Glad its made it this long at least.

[@kagehikari4281]

@@luvmypolly Its mutilation, yet the VAA LOVE it because its there cash cow and protect it and actively push it. They even endorsed foie gras. So messed up

[@pain002]

I am absolutely shocked that we didnt get a Video proclaiming Arnold's death. If he ever makes a recovery and opens his eyes again I think I will cry of Joy. -Pray for Arnold everyone

[@MissDeviancy]

Man if I brought in my dying dog and learned they prioritized a lizard over my dog id be absolutely furious. Just saying. Hope this little guy makes it out ok, though.

[@HaHaHannah1369]

Are you keeping Arnold? Because if he survives I want that sweet baby if he ends up being a special needs case. If he’s healthy and everything I’d put him up on the site like normal but, if you have trouble finding someone willing to do the work, I would gladly take him in. Obviously at whatever cost he could be. I’m not asking for a free chameleon here. You can check the credentials, see my house and set up for him and everything. Just putting it out there instead of bombarding your messages.

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

Love this 💚

[@ratspaghetti4909]

boosting!

[@lisamaynard9304]

Pls send him as many messages as you can to ensure he sees it!! Email, Twitter, IG, any platform he uses! Someone willing to give him their all is exactly what this baby needs! What he deserves 💕 Thank you!

[@possummilk2971]

Boosting! Good luck Hannah! 🦎

[@boatman783]

boosting

[@jackpowers1262]

It's been almost four months now, any update?

[@Miss65boo]

The reason there are exotic vets available is because they have studied the anatomy and etiology of reptiles, yet you chose to diagnose and decide what treatment the animal needs? I have enjoyed your videos but you are young and like you said you've not been to college, so perhaps you need to listen a bit more to those who have far more experience then you do. You would not let the vet get bloodwork or run tests that could have determined what exactly was wrong and yet you complain they didn't do anything? You can't tie someone's hands and expect them to do a thorough job. Please, please realize you have a lot you need to learn and be open to it. Thank you.

[@williampabon8288]

Coming from someone who's been scammed by vets, I think you're wrong. He knows the issue. He said it in the beginning of the video. Vets are out for your money. Plain and simple. I've had taken multiple feral cats to vets and they've charged me for multiple tests and injections and a majority of the cats passed or never recovered. And yes. They have been different vets. There was no need for me to pay $700 for my cat to die anyway and have the vets tell me they did all they could while people less experienced knew the issue from the start.

[@rorybarradas822]

So is he still alive

[@joeyjojos5839]

I really wonder why so many vets are like that. My ex had a beardie that someone gave to them that was neglected and had an infection that needed antibiotics to clear up. The vet basically just said she was going to die but gave the medicine anyway. I can't imagine any vet saying that about a cat or dog. It's really unfair. The beardie was totally fine by the way.

[@princessuwu69]

Alot of vets do to normalise and ease the pain of death if they are sure it will die , but they shouldn't just go "haha it's gonna die lol" but they should NICELY inform you about the chance it can die

[@joeyjojos5839]

@@princessuwu69 I think it comes down to the fact that they probably see dead/dying animals every day and they have to be that way in order to cope with their profession,. Not saying it makes it okay to be so matter of fact about death but they could at least try to care about the animal when the person who cares about it the most is trying to save it.

[@rs.zsalma]

How is Arnold doing now? Was hoping to find an update on your channel but doesnt seem to be a video. Would love to know if you've managed to bring him back to health, its lovely to see.

[@dehydrated3075]

I don’t think the chameleon was eating or drinking he looks very dehydrated and starving sunken eyes is a sign of extreme dehydration and I’ve never seen a chameleon with such sunken eyes hope he gets better!

[@SomeoneBeginingWithI]

Part of the problem you're having with vets is probably that if you go in thinking "vets are useless, I already know that they're going to prescribe these three things, I just need to get them to prescribe those three things and then get out", the vets will probably be able to feel some of that in the way you talk to them, and they won't feel respected by you. If they don't feel respected by you, then they will feel bad and treat you with less respect, and that re-enforces your feeling about vets so the cycle repeats the next time you see a vet. It's frustrating because this will happen even if you're factually correct that a lot of exotic vets don't have much experience of reptiles, that exotic vets have a very limited number of medications they could potentially prescribe, that you have enough experience to be able to accurately predict what they will prescribe in a particular situation, and that you can do the necessary animal care competently yourself. It's not about you being factually wrong, it's about how the way you talk to the vet makes the vet feel. If you want vets to treat you better, the way to achieve that would be to talk to the vets in a way that allows them to feel like you respect their expertise, which is obviously hard to do if you genuinely don't respect their expertise. And even if you do talk to them well, you still have the chance of getting someone who is grumpy or having a bad day or has their own attitude of not respecting owners. I think it probably is possible to break this cycle of you not respecting vets and vets not respecting you, but it will be difficult. For cases like Arnold who is a species you are not as familiar with in a really awful condition, blood work and X rays might genuinely provide helpful information. If all you let them do is a physical exam, then it sort of makes sense that all they would be able to do is describe the same things you can see yourself, because you and the vet have access to the same sensory information. I know you've had experiences before of blood work not being useful, but in some cases blood work might give information that you couldn't get otherwise. If you're able to get some genuine humility about how much you do know, and how much you don't know, that might help your relationship with vets a lot. You have a lot of experience of practical animal care for very sick reptiles. Vets have less practical experience with reptiles, but they do have training on anatomy and physiology, which you don't have. In a case like this, their physiology knowledge might be useful in combination with blood work and x-rays. If you let them do the exams they recommend, they might surprise you by prescribing a treatment you aren't as familiar with.

[@ericaalvarez877]

Ikr... He should respect their expertise... And he makes a lot of money out of youtube so there's no way that he can't pay

[@herefortheshrimp1469]

It’s interesting how he said he would never be able to pass the tests required to do what they do…..so there’s a super high chance he’s missing some stuff, huh?

[@deliciapineda8632]

I'm sure you'll be able to get Arnold feeling better. He's beautiful now can't wait to see updates!!

[@HelenaaMinerr]

As someone who works at an exotic vet, it saddens me to hear you speak about them the way you do. In reality it tends to be cheaper to treat an exotic pet due to them being so small and needing such little doses of medication. Not everyone has handled sick pets like you have and do need that veterinary help. No vet is going to prescribe antibiotics without an exam or some sort of diagnostic test. You make it seem like exotic vets are not reliable and not needed. Maybe for you, you just need the prescriptions, but for most people they need that help from the veterinarian and staff to help heal their reptile. You can give all the treatment at home yourself, that’s great! But not everyone can. Please don’t assume your vet has not seen that species before. Vets are not trying to make money off you. They are trying to treat your pet and still get paid practically for the work they are doing. In reality, most workers in the vet world get paid nothing near what they should be earning. Stop making vets look bad because you can do the treatment on your reptiles at home.

[@jennabryant7684]

I second this as a current vet tech student

[@bethann2699]

Is there any update on Arnold? I was looking, but didn't see any videos.

[@crowbr33ze]

I'm thinking it's likely he sadly died

[@kawaiibitch827]

As a licensed vet tech, I 100 percent agree with your call to not hospitalize. It is a sad reality of exotic vets that when they hospitalized exotics there is not much they can do like with dogs or cats. CPR is not much of a thing with them so if you have supplements and pain medication from the vet take the baby home. I had a guinea pig who got GI stasis, was hospitalized and died overnight. They had no overnight staff and guilt tripped me into her staying. I did all diagnostics, sedation, bw, xrays, CT scanning, meds care ect. I could've taken her home and did what you had done but they really guilt tripped me for her to stay. I will never allow that to happen again and I am so sorry that you were being pressured too!!! Much love for Arnold.

[@shellymb]

I fully understand your frustration with vets. I think the best you can do is develop a working relationship with one vet clinic so they understand your priorities and they will see your relationship as a client / vet. Right now many vets are over whelmed with patients. Numbers of people owning pets is skyrocketing and vets are leaving the profession in droves. They try there best with huge college costs and high stress job. They see animals every day that they could save but the cost makes that not possible. Some of the highest suicide rates amount any professions. Just keep trying to fond one you can understand and work with. .

[@tt4days346]

The vet were probably looking at the case of the dog cause it was more dire? They already knew what the course of action was for arnold but the other pets that were arriving had yet to be assessed.-. I feel like u just dont like vets cause you think you know more than them 🤷‍♀️

[@annamarienicholas1226]

Wow super early, hello I hope Arnold pulls through and your doing good work for these animals!

[@Cicada11011]

Update?

[@lilborat5312]

Any updates ?😞

[@slaayerr1]

Hate to tell ya bud but it sounds like everything they did is pretty standard. They have to do an exam before giving you medication so you don't sue them later on and they lose their license. They obviously know it's an issue of husbandry so their description is spot on but the only "advice" is to not have shit husbandry. So you are out of luck there. As you said there also isn't too many "approved meds" for them either. You're going to an emergency hospital. Triaging a critical animal is top priority and a dog potentially takes much more staff if it needs care. A chameleon takes a single person. You aren't doing cpr, fluids, emergency injections, blood work, hit by car x rays, etc on this guy. It's not a matter of not prioritizing the lizard, they have to triage what comes through the door at that time. You also say "anyone can do it" when it comes to injections and medicating. This is false. I have seen many owners completely incompetent to take care of animals in critical health. Taking off ecollars to let them rip open incisions, injecting air instead of insulin resulting in extremely unregulated diabetes, etc. Some try but can't handle giving fluids and injections at home. It's not for everyone. I mean you're giving injections in the back leg while it's usually always recommended to give them in the front half for lizards. I'm not saying all vets are great. There's some real crappy places out there. It's just they have to cover their asses legally because people are shit nowadays. The staff generally makes nowhere near their human nurse/doctor counterparts while always getting called crooks because people don't like the bills like you here. The staff picks up on that attitude you have real quick and it doesn't help your relation with them when you actually need the help from them.

[@guy8646]

Vets have no way of knowing whether you or any other pet owner has the skills to administer those shots or medicine (or maintained constant checkups and emergency care) despite your reassurance. It’s their job to advocate for the animal. Sure, there may also be a financial motive, but I don’t think it’s strange at all that a vet would recommend that an animal on the brink of death like that chameleon stay overnight. Your skepticism in this scenario is misplaced, especially given that at the start you said you only went for medicine and nothing else and then complain later that the vet didn’t offer or ask about radiographs/x-rays.

[@franceIonhonhon]

I agree. You wouldnt expect human doctors from hospitals to just send you home with a diy kit so why do you expect if from vets? As for the price, from what i heard vets in the US are expensive af but just think about all the costs that go into the clinic. If you are not willing to pay a vet visit dont go or don't work in a field that requires frequent vet visits. I've been following this channel for a while and watching almost all videos but this one really ticked me off :( it lowkey encourages people not to trust vets...

[@WolfanTerror]

@@franceIonhonhon Why are you still here if you don't like watching him then..

[@cart0n1219]

@@WolfanTerror it was only this one video that ticked them off

[@emely2green]

If they were truly advocating for the animal they would have attended it ASAP and offered free care.. but they make money off of the hospitalization.. and yes you do get a diy kit from dr’s.. antibiotics infertility medicine insulin… are all diy.. in the end it is also very irritating for them to insist on hospitalization and then saying he’s going to die just so you know.. that is clear guilt tripping someone into leaving their animal there.. that is going to die anyway?? I took a week off from work and stayed up every day to nurse my dog through parvo.. some pumpkin purée and chicken broth was all she needed the vet bill would have been $800 a night.. with no guarantee.. how would I even know if they did the best they could ? At least with her in my care I could constantly monitor her and if she passed she would pass in her home loved until her last breathe.. Not all vets are bad but it’s clear when one is not experienced or caring and are just in it for the money.. Alex is doing great work.. I recommend everyone to question and research any procedure done by a vet or dr.. it is after all your And your pets life at steak..and he literally says it might be me who is the problem when it comes to vet interactions..

[@nordicnugz]

So, what happened with this little guy? I didn't see any update video.

[@empathytobacco2008]

Uh.. I assume it didn't make it? Rest in peace Arnold 🙏

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

What is a chameleon's worst enemy? A tongue twister

[@ItsSharkzInit]

K jong-un KZbin is illegal in ur area, u are going to prison

[@sheogorath1524]

Bad bot

[@goneforever949]

@@sheogorath1524 no

[@flesh.pedestrian]

I wonder if he has brain damage from the fall? i mean that's a pretty big fall and dips or rises in temp can do that to reptiles, no? i guess if not, the dehydration comments are what most people are agreeing on as part of the issue + mouth rot

[@leslie1085]

I was kind of thinking that too. Him not being able to move much, open his eyes, or have a grip on anything sort of seems like its neurological. I've never seen a reptile that bad, though. Hope he makes it :(

[@nessasimmons5465]

I had to bring my Veiled Chameleon into the emergency vet on June 16. Luckily my experience was great. I wasn't allowed to go in due to covid but the vet called me multiple times to let me know what was going on. I wish there were more experienced exotic vets.

[@NeptunetheChameleon]

Good luck with your chameleon 💚

[@smashingmirrors3151]

Honestly. He looks better. I only trust one vet with my reptiles and she's pretty decent, but he looks like he has hope.

[@evilqueen13]

Maybe there's a license you can get for your work. Something that lets you work with vets who are used to working with rehabilitators or even a local zoo. Another option is to have a conversation with a vet ahead of time and let them know what you can and can't do and feel them out so they understand your needs better before they even see an animal of yours. It's a working relationship, you just need to find someone willing to work with you. Or start taking veterinarian classes.

[@Thestoneofdoom]

Hit up Bill Strand. He’s awesome with panthers! Poor Arnold is so dehydrated. He clearly hasn’t drinked anything in a long time

[@AtoZAnimationsandStories]

Just based off my time watching your channel, if anyone can get him back on his feet, it's you. Good luck!

[@snager80]

You're so kind to take such good care of this chameleon knowing full well that you're not about to turn a profit on him you're just wanting to save him and that's really nice dude

[@CricketsMa]

He looks terribly dehydrated. Can you do sub q fluids with a reptile? How can he not be suffering? So sorry for him.😢

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

You can, but you can only give them so much at once since they're little. When my mom had cancer and I was away at school, she couldn't put my beardie Luna in the shower to lap up water as much as usual, and she got a little dehydrated so the vets gave her a saline shot when she went in for some stuck shed removal that my mom didn't feel comfortable trying to do herself. Looked like she had a little dome under her skin for a little bit before it spread out.

[@tracywebb5315]

We had to give my chameleon subcutaneous fluids every second day for two weeks, because they can only get so much at once.