Article in support of insectivores needing PREFormed Vitamin A

[Extensionofgreen]

www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Diagnosing-and-Treating-Dysecdysis-aka-Retained-Shed/

 

[CJ's Exotics]

That's interesting. So is preformed vitamin a literally vitamin a that is already vitamin a and not beta carotene? I've heard that for Carpets that you should give them vitamin a drops, so I am trying to learn more about it. Should I give my Panther Chameleon Vitamin A drops from those capsules?

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Yes, PREformed A is already A and not beta carotene. Some people use cod liver oil capsules and squirt a drop on their feeders twice a month and others use powdered supplements with A in them. A is stored in the liver and can be overdosed, which is why it is only given on occasion and sparingly. l use Dendrocare for dart frogs once or twice a week, in place of calcium, as it has small amounts of A and D3, as well as calcium and is designed for daily use with small frogs and l also use a Repashy product with PREformed A, twice a month. I’ve also used Reptivite in place of the Repashy, but on the same schedule. Only lightly dust your feeders with anything you dust, even calcium. You should hardly see the powder on them. l’ve use a makeup brush to dust feeders with, since few products come with a screened pour.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Totally! Thanks for sharing!

 

[timw1]

Here is another good article about vitamin A http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=3027

 

[kinyonga]

In the link timw1 gave it says..."These species, because of the vegetable matter in their stomach and intestines, provide much higher levels of vitamin A. In addition, the insects they feed on have generally not been nutritionally deprived, as are some purchased insects"...vegetable matter in the stomach does not contain prEformed vitamin A... so if chameleons can't convert the beta carotene in vegetable matter then they aren't getting any from that...they're just getting whatever was already prEformed in the insects body.

Here's an interesting article..."some reptiles may be able to convert carotenoids to retinol and Dierenfeld et al (2002) quoted unpublished information from Ferguson GW, that suggested that panther chameleons (furcifer pardalis) might be one such species. Ferguson at al (1996) quoted unpublished information from Talent LG suggesting that insectivorous lizards can utilize beta carotene to overcome vitamin. A deficiency"...the rest of this article is very interesting too...
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267390589_Vitamin_A_in_Reptiles

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Does Herptivite by Repcal have preformed Vitamin A?

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Herptevite does NOT contain PREformed A.

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Herptevite does NOT contain PREformed A.

Okay. Should I give my guy Reptivite w/o d3 or a drop of Vitamin A from the capsules?

 

[Extensionofgreen]

l agree that PREformed A does not come from vegetable matter and is gained by consuming other Arthropoda and small vertebrates.

I’ve never seen a clinical representation of HYPERvitaminosis A, but have seen many instances explained by lack of Vitamin A or PROformed A. Those who have success without PREformed A are getting it into their chameleons somehow, I’m sure of it. I’m not sure where the vitamin A is coming from, whether some feeders convert Beta Carotene to A ( my CB melleri still suffered deficiency when relying on insects fed beta carotene alone ) or some the gutloads or supplements contain PREformed A that isn’t listed or was missed on the label. I’m convinced that chameleons need some PREformed A.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Whether you use a drop or Reptivite shouldn’t matter. Both options achieve the same thing.l think powdered supplements are easier to deal with.

 

[kinyonga]

Some people do use cod liver oil to provide vitamin A to their chameleons. Cod liver oil has prEformed vitamin A and vitamin D3 in it though so you're increasing both...and if the chameleon is already getting D3 in supplements then it might cause an imbalance in those 2 vitamins...so be aware that adjustments might have to be made.

Dr. Kenny Lopez wrote about vitamin A being antagonistic to vitamin D3...so they need to be in balance.

"Vitamin D requires a small amount of vitamin A (retinol) in order to work correctly.
But vitamin A and vitamin D attach themselves to the same cell receptors.
If you have too much vitamin A, it grabs those cell receptors and leaves no room for vitamin D."...
https://www.vitamindwiki.com/Vitamin+D+needs+some+vitamin+A,+but+not+too+much