Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday my 2 male veiled chameleons got in a fight. They both have small woulds on their bodies, it looks like the scales have been ripped of. is their any thing I can do for them, Maybe like put polysporin on the wounds? The real kick in the pants is their isnt a vet in our area that knows any thing about lizards. So if you know what i can do for them please reply, and dont put "take him to a vet"

why did you have the two males together. obviusley they were going to fight...
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1.0 Ambanja Panther
1.1 Leopard Gecko's

ditto to pernads...

the first thing you learn is to never have two males together and best not to house any together. I surely hope you have separated them. As for a vet - yes, I do believe it. You really should have thought long and hard about this before getting a cham - especially two. What if something even more serious happens and you need emergency help? What will you do? Even with a good herp vet there is often loss (I speak from experience). I have linked a site and maybe you can at least find the closest to you - be prepared to travel for your cham. Just like any other companion animal that we purchase/adopt we are responsible for their health and well being. Would you get a cat or dog with the closest vet 2 hours away?

I am sorry, I don't mean to preach or sound harsh, and the last thing I want to do is alienate you from getting support from the forum, but I just get frustrated when folks don't plan ahead or pay attention to the info they get. it is there for a reason.

Please look here for a vet as you are SURE to have problems in the future or at least need an ocassional fecal.

lele
vets by state and country

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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica the j sisters were sent to freedom last month
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia (MIA
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

i agree, never have two males together, but we really need more information i think
were they living in the same cage? (veiled chameleons dont like conspecifics) or were they just both out, (i let mine out to play on a large tree thats in my living room and i thought maybe your case was similar)
how old are they?
from experience i know to do my own herp vet care because all the vets around here are horse doctors(literally), so i can understand you on the vet thing.
as long as its not bleeding terribly just make sure to correct your housing(if that was even the problem) and keep the scratches clean
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1.0.0 Bearded Dragon "Duke"
0.1.0 Ball Python
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
2.0.0 Cockatiels "Afro" and "Sunshine"
1.0.0 Bourkes Parakeet "Kerpal"
1.0.0 Mississippi Map Turtle "Atlas"
0.1.1 Painted Turtles "Artist"=the female
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko "Claire"
0.1.0 Veiled Chameleon "Sassy"
0.1.0 Doggy "Sheilah"
0.0.1000 assorted crickets (decreasing at a rate of 15/day)
Misc. Amphibians
Misc. Fish
Several Russian Dwarf Hamsters

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Well in my living room I have 2 large ficus that i put my chameleons on, these trees are not even close to each other. My large male made it over to the other tree and seen my smaller male and another female, I asume he saw the small male as a enemy.
The small male is 6 months the large is a year .

if the scratch isnt that bad id just try to keep it clean maybe a dab of antibiotic ointment just becareful not to let them ingest any sorry about people messing with you about a vet they must be made of money i personally dont think its very cost effective to pay a vet bill of around $300.00 for a 50 dollar veiled if you dont have to i'm sure you learned your lesson for putting males together (even though it brings out their best colors)the same happens sometimes with males and females being put together for breeding so be carefull and close if you decide to breed them. here's a good site http://208.239.240.151/~sligh/veiled.html

There's a big difference between being "made of money" and simply being prepared for vet bills if and when they might come up. If you keep pets at all you need to be ready. Put some in a savings account with every pet you take on. Doesn't matter WHAT your particular pet cost initially. A $50 animal is entitled to the same amout of vet care as a $500 animal. Sometimes the pets that cost us the least (ie rescues) are the most valued and beloved.

LOL....I knew someone would reply to my post
what i had said was basicaly why tell someone to go to the vet when its only a scratch isnt this forum to help out our fellow herpers? also im not saying that a fifty dollar chameleon isn't deserving first rate care but let's get real if you cant afford it does that mean that you shouldnt have a pet?
are you saying that POOR PEOPLE (MONETARILLY CHALLENGED)for those of you who would like me to be politicly correct SHOULD NOT HAVE PETS?

Not exactly. I'm saying that if you don't have money to pay a vet you shouldn't have pets. You might have all the money in the world but don't choose to use it on pets. There are lots of "rich" people out there with all the trappings (huge house, latest car, every luxury in the book) who don't vaccinate their purebred dog for parvo or rabies because it's not important to them.

At the risk of starting a "CHAMELEON FIGHT" (pun intended)lol
I feel that pets should not be restricted to "people who can afford a vet" that's just my oppinion I have been keeping and breeding pets my whole life and in those many years i have had to make some hard choices when they fall ill sometimes i possess the knowledge to make them better sometimes i seek out the knowledge to make them better sometimes i am denied the knowledge to make them better and they DIE! so i will live by the golden rule and try not to deny the knowledge i posses to those who seek it who knows maybe by helping him he may help me back in the future and i wont have to go to the vet and spend my hard earned money and thats just my oppinion

CANT WE ALL ...JUST GET ALONG?

Thank you for the help ful tips. I put polisporin on the wounds and since then they have looked better and are less red in color.
You also make some VERY good points, You told him!

Who's fighting? I have priorities for my money just as you do. It seems they are different. A pet's vet bill gets paid first regardless of what animal it is. I've worked in reptile specialty shops, done a lot of rehab and rescue for birds, herps, and captured wildlife and see many animals who suffer at the hands of owners who got in over their heads with pet care costs. Most were unintentional. So, I try to help and educate. Some were just plain stupid. I bite my tongue, take their unwanted animal and write them off. If someone brings an animal to me that is near death or truely suffering and can't be helped I have it humanely put down rather than deny it needed care.

A story: Back when beardies were new and novel I was working in a herp shop. People brought in a stinking plastic laundry basket with a huge gaunt beardie who was limp as a rag from malnutrition. It had a gut full of sand, no muscle tone, rubber jaw, etc. Amazing that it was still alive. At that time they would have paid at least $100 for it. They said it didn't do anything interesting anymore and just laid around. When we asked them why they didn't ask us about proper care or go to the vet they said "we spent all the money buying it and didn't have any money for...the fancy light, the book, a vet". Criminal. But, that beautiful German giant morph licked baby food off a finger, ate anything we gave it, and after months of correct lighting, TLC and simple hand feeding is now the pride and joy of a friend in Colorado.

Nuff said.

That was a nice story! Thank you for it!
I am wondering though "that beautiful German giant morph licked baby food off a finger, ate anything we gave it, and after months of correct lighting, TLC and simple hand feeding is now the pride and joy of a friend in Colorado" Did you take it to the vet? Or did you use your knowledge to help him? Either way my point is if we as fellow herpers on this forum possess knowledge to help a lizard, Be it a chameleon or a bearded dragon, Shouldn't we do so? In order to save eachother some money!
Maybe learn something from eachother, Isnt that what a forum is for. Or is it to show off our pets? Please correct me if i'm wrong!!!

Yes, I did take it to a vet. It was pretty obvious what treatment was needed (correct light, temps and good food), but I was not sure how to deal with all the sand in the gut and was concerned about impactions. It was touch and go for a few days. If in doubt I use a herp vet. We work as a team. I may know my animal, but the vet has access to drugs and diagnostics I don't. If the best vet is an hour drive away so be it. I'll find a way to deal with it. Of course forums are there to help herpers treat when they can. But the forum can't see the animal, has to trust what the poster tells us about setup info and symptoms that they even notice, or they ask for help much too late. Then their animals are in such serious trouble that a vet would be needed for prescriptions, interossial rehydration, or sensitivity testing for antibiotics, egg binding, etc. I can't do it all and neither can a vet...it takes teamwork.

LOL... I dont know anymore ways to say, If someone asks for help that we at this forum can give, We should!!! And not say go to the vet for a simple scratch! Im not saying vets are bad, Im saying why go to the vet and spend the money when we dont have to!!!

"and thats all i have to say about that"