carnivore care... anyone use this before?

steelheadchaser said:
He doesn't enjoy it, but he doesn't run when he sees me coming. Feldman used to try climbing up my arm most of the time I had my hand in the cage.

He looks at the various bugs I offer but seems to get bored and walks away, usually right over the tops of them. He was back to eating silks and butterworms a few weeks back but refusing his former favorite, superworms. Now he is refusing everything.

At one point he was down to 90 grams, from a starting point of 120g and was quite listless. Over the last several months he has gained weight on the Carnivore Care and grown a 1/2" or so (very hard to measure these guys with any degree of accuracy. He is now up to 145g as of yesterday.

His meds consist of Hepasil and Glipizide daily and Metacam every-other day, all by mouth. Prozyme enzyme powder gets mixed in with his Carnivore Care. Getting him to open his mouth is the hard part.
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First off WOWW 145g now from 90 what a big difference :D! When I took Diego to the vet at 7 months he was only 29 grams... he's about 8 months now & I'm not sure of his weight.

I'm going through the exact thing food wise with him. I was holding a worm trying to get him to get it & he grabbed onto it to climb up my arm. If I put him down & have the worm in front of him then he'll step right over it/them & keep going. I keep telling my husband I think maybe he's blind! No reaction what so ever... like he doesn't even see it. Same thing w/ crickets in his cage... no reaction.

I feel bad but to get his mouth open I have my hubby hold him, he wrapped his hand around Diego & Diego get pissed & opens his mouth. I then squirt the stuff in real fast & we put him right back into his cage... might not be the best technique but I don't wanna pry his mouth open.

BTW not sure what those meds are... are any of the vitamins? What is it you mix in with the Carnivore care? TIA
 
Feldman is a solid little chunk of chameleon now. He is 12.5" + now at approximately 14 months old.

I mix Prozyme, a digestive enzyme in with the C.C. My Vet set me up with a ball tipped needle and syringe for feeding. This insures that the food gets in the stomach without any chance of aspiration. I give the meds slowly using small syringes without the needles. I do it slowly in order to minimize any chance of aspiration.

I have to patiently roll a wooden swab between his lips until he finally loosens his jaws enough to gently slide the swab a bit farther back perpendicular to his mouth. Then he gets the ball tip feeding needle. Feldman is very good at pushing the swab back out of his mouth if given half a chance. It is a one shot deal; if he gets the swab out before I can get everything in I won't be able to get his jaws open for hours, if not until the next day. I also have found it a bit easier to work with him early in the morning, before he has a chance to fully warm up.
 
steelheadchaser said:
Feldman is a solid little chunk of chameleon now. He is 12.5" + now at approximately 14 months old.

I mix Prozyme, a digestive enzyme in with the C.C. My Vet set me up with a ball tipped needle and syringe for feeding. This insures that the food gets in the stomach without any chance of aspiration. I give the meds slowly using small syringes without the needles. I do it slowly in order to minimize any chance of aspiration.

I have to patiently roll a wooden swab between his lips until he finally loosens his jaws enough to gently slide the swab a bit farther back perpendicular to his mouth. Then he gets the ball tip feeding needle. Feldman is very good at pushing the swab back out of his mouth if given half a chance. It is a one shot deal; if he gets the swab out before I can get everything in I won't be able to get his jaws open for hours, if not until the next day. I also have found it a bit easier to work with him early in the morning, before he has a chance to fully warm up.
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Wooden swab, okay.. I'm picturing either tongue depressor like thing or Qtip. I definitely need to find another way to go about getting Diegos mouth opened.
I'm gonna go to your profile to see if you have any pics of him... I would love to see Feldman.
Best wishes for you & Feldman. Sounds like he's well takin care of ;) Thanks for everything!
 
jamncristian said:
you should try this calcium dust for diego
http://parazap.com/absolutecalcium/absolutecalciumindex.htm

it is an organic calcium product derived from plants instead of rocks or oyster shells (ex. calcium carbonate) so it should be absorbed by the body better

it wont hurt to try
I hope diego feels better soon
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Thanks.. just bought it!!!! Sounds like a great product... well worth a try. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I can't wait to receive it in the mail! :)
 
Dawniegirl said:
Wooden swab, okay.. I'm picturing either tongue depressor like thing or Qtip.
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Yes, like a q-tip but longer and with a wooden stalk. A tongue depressor would work also, but would be harder to work around as it blocks off much more of the mouth.
 

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Thank you. I take him to the vet again on Wednesday for a blood draw to check his blood sugar levels. Hopefully the glipizide is working.
 
As log as this thread has been revived...

Feldman, after all this time is still refusing live food and is still getting gavaged with carnivore care. He is now about 173g and is otherwise thriving. I continue to tempt him with various creepy crawlies but to no avail.
 
steelheadchaser said:
As log as this thread has been revived...

Feldman, after all this time is still refusing live food and is still getting gavaged with carnivore care. He is now about 173g and is otherwise thriving. I continue to tempt him with various creepy crawlies but to no avail.
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I wouldnt use Carnivore care for a chameleon, which is NOT a carnivore.
 
Sooo glad to hear he's thriving and getting bigger! I got slapped on the "Carni"vore care too in my new thread. I had stopped bug juice cause I think I ran outta the "Bugs" and waited to see if he'd try to eat on his own but then somehow I forgot about the bug juice thing and when he didn't eat on his own I grabbed the Carnivore care and continued with this cycle. I would give him some for a few a bit then wait to see if he ate then do it over again cause he wouldn't eat. Diego has gotten way too skinny and I'm very worried. I've went back to force feeding and have been giving him Waxworm until my other worms arrive in mail. I'm hoping it's not to late to turn him around :(. I started new thread on this https://www.chameleonforums.com/help-not-eating-many-months-now-64475/. I would love to keep in touch and see how your Felman is doing.

Btw I was given the Carnivore Care from my Vet as well.

steelheadchaser said:
As log as this thread has been revived...

Feldman, after all this time is still refusing live food and is still getting gavaged with carnivore care. He is now about 173g and is otherwise thriving. I continue to tempt him with various creepy crawlies but to no avail.
Click to expand...
 
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steelheadchaser said:
It was prescribed by the herp Vet here in Seattle.

As you know, panthers aren't herbivores. Panthers are, in fact obligate carnivores. Insectivore is sub-class of carnivore.
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Yes but carnivore care is designed for the strict sense of carnivores, like cougars and hawks - things that require red meat and the high amount of protein and certain vitamins that go with it.

Insects do not have those levels of proteins or vitamins, they are closer to herbivores. Excessive animal meat proteins can cause renal failure and uric acid buildup as gout in animals not designed for it, like herbivores. Chams kind of fall in the middle. There is an insectivore critical care product that would be much better suited for your use that I suggest you try.

Herp vets are not always correct unfortunately. This is one that may not be well known without much experience with it.
 
Is this the product every one suggests is better... http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...kers-repta-aid-insectivorecarnivore-formula/?
Thanks

ferretinmyshoes said:
Yes but carnivore care is designed for the strict sense of carnivores, like cougars and hawks - things that require red meat and the high amount of protein and certain vitamins that go with it.

Insects do not have those levels of proteins or vitamins, they are closer to herbivores. Excessive animal meat proteins can cause renal failure and uric acid buildup as gout in animals not designed for it, like herbivores. Chams kind of fall in the middle. There is an insectivore critical care product that would be much better suited for your use that I suggest you try.

Herp vets are not always correct unfortunately. This is one that may not be well known without much experience with it.
Click to expand...
 
My experience with Carnivore Care has been positive. Feldman is healthy, active and robust. He has put on weight and grown in length. He does not suffer from gout.

As for the statement;

"Herp vets are not always correct unfortunately. This is one that may not be well known without much experience with it."

Feldman's vet is Dr. Adolf Maas. He has been an exotic and herp vet for 20 years. He is well known and respected in the Pacific Northwest's herp community. I have no reason to start second guessing his course of treatment at this point.
 
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