Food Reduction (W/ MBD)

[Rango_TheManEater]

From what I’ve gathered… I believe Rango is maybe 5-6 months old (4 when I got him maybe 2 months ago), but my poor veiled has MBD.

Each bug is coated in calcium powder unless it’s time for Reptivite, which is about twice a month.

I’m aware that adult chams do not find food in the wild often, which provides means for reducing their food in captivity as well. From what I’ve seen, I believe this is at about a year old or so?

Anyway, because Rango has MBD, I am a bit worried about his future food reduction. Do I have to feed him calcium another way to keep his bones healthy, or should I keep feeding him anyway? I’m not sure. Does anybody have an idea?

(Pic of Rango for age estimate if needed! This is the most recent one I have. Apologies for the quality.)

 

[Beman]

Food reduction would not happen until 10-12 months. they will curb down on their own around 8-9 months... Once they hit the 12 month mark he needs to be on an every other day feeding schedule of 3-5 insects. Have you upgraded his uvb lighting or the cage yet? The supplements alone will not stop the progression of MBD.

 

[Rango_TheManEater]

Food reduction would not happen until 10-12 months. they will curb down on their own around 8-9 months... Once they hit the 12 month mark he needs to be on an every other day feeding schedule of 3-5 insects. Have you upgraded his uvb lighting or the cage yet? The supplements alone will not stop the progression of MBD.

Hey, Beman!

We are in the process of collecting materials for his new cage. For a project like this, it could easily take a few weeks to build the frame after materials have been gathered. We’re working on it, though!

As for his UVB… one of his bulbs has blown out as of this morning. I will be traveling to a pet store to purchase a new one, so I may as well purchase a T5 kit. Will it overload him, since he’s in a glass tank?

It’s a snake tank; unfortunately NOT where he should be homed, but I didn’t do much research before purchasing him (my dad convinced me this “cage” was fine).

 

[Beman]

Hey, Beman!

We are in the process of collecting materials for his new cage. For a project like this, it could easily take a few weeks to build the frame after materials have been gathered. We’re working on it, though!

As for his UVB… one of his bulbs has blown out as of this morning. I will be traveling to a pet store to purchase a new one, so I may as well purchase a T5 kit. Will it overload him, since he’s in a glass tank?

It’s a snake tank; unfortunately NOT where he should be homed, but I didn’t do much research before purchasing him (my dad convinced me this “cage” was fine).

So T5HO with a 5.0 or 6% bulb is a have to essential item. It has to be a T5HO, make sure you do not get a T8 fixture accidentally. Without this the MBD is going to continue to progress. I am not sure what you are using as a cage top right now. This makes a difference in the UVB penetration into the cage and how much it is reduced. If you show me pics this would help me to help you set it up so that it is as on point as possible. While a tank is not ideal because it is the wrong format and does not provide the needed airflow you can put a T5HO on it.

 

[Rango_TheManEater]

So T5HO with a 5.0 or 6% bulb is a have to essential item. It has to be a T5HO, make sure you do not get a T8 fixture accidentally. Without this the MBD is going to continue to progress. I am not sure what you are using as a cage top right now. This makes a difference in the UVB penetration into the cage and how much it is reduced. If you show me pics this would help me to help you set it up so that it is as on point as possible. While a tank is not ideal because it is the wrong format and does not provide the needed airflow you can put a T5HO on it.

Absolutely! Thanks for the insight.

Here are a few pictures of Rango’s tank and the lights I used (featuring the man himself)!

The lighting is NOT usually this dark, but one of his bulbs burst this morning and needs replaced. Otherwise, this was what PetCo gave us the thumbs-up for. (Although, it’s been made apparent that PetCo/Smart are NOT cham-smart).

 

[Beman]

Absolutely! Thanks for the insight.

Here are a few pictures of Rango’s tank and the lights I used (featuring the man himself)!

The lighting is NOT usually this dark, but one of his bulbs burst this morning and needs replaced. Otherwise, this was what PetCo gave us the thumbs-up for. (Although, it’s been made apparent that PetCo/Smart are NOT cham-smart).

Ok left to right in the pics.. Your running 3 different domes... What is in each one? Looks like you will need to do a bit of measuring to add the T5HO. Might need to raise it up off the top. So you want a total distance of 8-9 inches to the branches directly below the fixture. What this means for you is that if the branches are 5 inches down from the screen you need the fixture to be raised 4 inches. Top of the cage looks to be a standard screen so this is good.

 

[Rango_TheManEater]

Ok left to right in the pics.. Your running 3 different domes... What is in each one? Looks like you will need to do a bit of measuring to add the T5HO. Might need to raise it up off the top. So you want a total distance of 8-9 inches to the branches directly below the fixture. What this means for you is that if the branches are 5 inches down from the screen you need the fixture to be raised 4 inches. Top of the cage looks to be a standard screen so this is good.

The silver one is a heat bulb (I forgot to mention this so my apologies). The tall black dome was the daylight blue (which is the one that broke) and the double lamp only had one functioning bulb slot, which held the reptisun UVB.

Overall, very chaotic. I was hoping to fix it all when the cage was ready, but in the mean time, Rango 100% needs proper lighting anyway.

 

[Beman]

The silver one is a heat bulb (I forgot to mention this so my apologies). The tall black dome was the daylight blue (which is the one that broke) and the double lamp only had one functioning bulb slot, which held the reptisun UVB.

Overall, very chaotic. I was hoping to fix it all when the cage was ready, but in the mean time, Rango 100% needs proper lighting anyway.

Ok the daylight blue is a good bulb. Note I would not use anything warmer than a 40-60 watt on the tank. It is going to hold heat. So buy the T5HO fixture and 5.0 or 6% bulb. They should have either reptisun kit or arcadia pro T5. Either would work. I would do a 24 in length fixture.