MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Your vet may need to give him an injection of some D3 and may also prescribe a special form of it to give, at least for a short time. Do refuse if they try to give any vitamin A injections, as if you’ve been giving the ReptiVite, he has been getting preformed A. It’s essential that you remember or write that down to tell your vet as there are two different forms of A.
Basically, almost all of the functions of the body in some manner rely upon calcium, whether for bone strength, muscle contraction or nerve conduction, etc. But…the body is unable to absorb and utilize calcium without any vitamin D to convert it. One of the sources for vitamin D is sunlight - either real from the sun or artificial from our UVB lights. While we can come close to recreating a natural outside sunny environment for our chameleons and other animals, it possibly/probably isn’t close enough. This is why we supplement as we do…to ensure our animals are getting enough of all they need. We do have to be careful though, as vitamin D (and preformed vitamin A) are fat soluble and stay in the body longer, meaning they can build up if overused to dangerous levels. The D which we synthesize from sunlight is a bit different and we don’t overproduce it.
If you already knew all of this, pardon me for thinking that you might not. It’s hard to know what others already know or need some help with.
Basically, almost all of the functions of the body in some manner rely upon calcium, whether for bone strength, muscle contraction or nerve conduction, etc. But…the body is unable to absorb and utilize calcium without any vitamin D to convert it. One of the sources for vitamin D is sunlight - either real from the sun or artificial from our UVB lights. While we can come close to recreating a natural outside sunny environment for our chameleons and other animals, it possibly/probably isn’t close enough. This is why we supplement as we do…to ensure our animals are getting enough of all they need. We do have to be careful though, as vitamin D (and preformed vitamin A) are fat soluble and stay in the body longer, meaning they can build up if overused to dangerous levels. The D which we synthesize from sunlight is a bit different and we don’t overproduce it.
If you already knew all of this, pardon me for thinking that you might not. It’s hard to know what others already know or need some help with.
