Help with supplemenation

[waterpolowes]

Can anyone tell me exactly what type of supplements to use for my panther. Like D/3 w/o D3 and vitamins & how often to use each of them after he gets better.?

Curly recently was diagnosed with calcium deficiency by my Herp Vet and was given vitamin A/D shots as well as a nutritional regimen (basically have to force feed him for a month.. poor little guy) to help him recover from his calcium deficiency.

this is him prior to him becoming sick ( ignore my colleagues stupid remarks )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUEwqFSAdfU

 

[carol5208]

Most everyone on the forum here supplements with calcium w/o D3 almost every feeding, and then calcium w/d3 twice a month and a multivitamin once or twice a month. Alot of people use Repcal(I use their multi vitamin and their calcium w/D3 and I use Sticky Tongue calcium w/o D3). Hope your cham gets better!!!!

 

[kinyonga]

I don't know why they gave your chameleon an A/D vitamin shot....but as you know...what has to be done is to get the balance of nutrients back first and then go on a maintenance supplement schedule.

Here's some information I hope will help once its back in balance...
The calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and they need to be in balance. You need to look at the supplements, the food you feed the chameleon and the food that you feed to the insects when trying to balance them.

Appropriate temperatures also play a part because that aids in digestion and thus indirectly in nutrient absorption.

UVB also plays a part because exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce D3 which allows it to use the calcium in its diet.

Gutloading/feeding the insects a good diet is important too. You can feed crickets, roaches, superworms, locusts, etc. a wide variety of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red peppers, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.)

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phos., its important to dust them at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder just before feeding them to the chameleon. By most I mean all the feedings but the ones that you use the D3 and vitamin powder at.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that they get some D3 without overdoing it and I leave them to produce the rest of the D3 from their exposure to the UVB. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause health issues. D3 produced from exposure to the UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene (prOformed) vitamin A will not build up in the system like prEformed vitamin A will. Excess prEformed (acetate, retinol, retinyl) may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. This way, if your chameleon does need prEformed vitamin A the amount given can be controlled by you.

I hope this explains it.

Here are some sites that might help too...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html

 

[waterpolowes]

I think he may have gotten sick because I may have been over supplementing him.

so twice a month with D3 and every other day w/o D3. and vitamins twice a month as well.

I really hope all of this treatment(force feeding) helps him. He is sooo terribly weak

 

[waterpolowes]

Just to be absolutely clear ( just want to make sure this never happens to my little guy again)

which of these will I need or basically which is more often used?

(the ultra fine or original formula?)

http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm#Calcium

Despite being a college student I am still confused sorry LOL