CasqueAbove
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have been doing some research on care in general, and why 2 animals seemingly kept in optimal conditions can have different outcomes.
One thing I have been seeing is that the concept of “dusting “ is always mentioned, but not explained. I believe that this may be one of the biggest factors in renal failure, gout and ultimately death.
One of the first things that is always skipped is hydration. But I thought we said “dusting”? That is because it is never explained how important hydration is to dusting, and it is essential. Without proper hydration, our supplements , even at the “proper” level, become overly taxing on the liver and kidneys. I believe this is significant because, in addition to this, a large percentage of captive chameleons eat far more than they would in the wild, with potentially higher levels of uric acid. All this adds up to slow buildup of gout and renal failure. I say a buildup because with both renal/kidney damage and gout, once it occurs it does not get better.
Ok, so now that we got that out of the way. How much to dust? Well, right now the only directions we have are “not like a powdered doughnut “. So let’s start there. Let’s assume we are talking about the same level of dusting. Now let’s say we have 3 owners- each with a Male Veiled.
One feeds 2 3/4in crickets per feeding
Another feeds 3 1/4in dubia roaches per feeding
And the last 2 1/2in crickets and a 1/2 dubia.
This is three different amounts. So now what? I think some basic logic can be used here and we can look at dusting as a dose. If we start out with a given amount of supplements that could be measured, we could more accurately supplement.
My technique is to use a small pinch, the maximum I would want him to eat in the cup and swirl it. I then swirl the feeders. The idea is that at least the max dose is limited and it creates a very light even spread.
One thing I have been seeing is that the concept of “dusting “ is always mentioned, but not explained. I believe that this may be one of the biggest factors in renal failure, gout and ultimately death.
One of the first things that is always skipped is hydration. But I thought we said “dusting”? That is because it is never explained how important hydration is to dusting, and it is essential. Without proper hydration, our supplements , even at the “proper” level, become overly taxing on the liver and kidneys. I believe this is significant because, in addition to this, a large percentage of captive chameleons eat far more than they would in the wild, with potentially higher levels of uric acid. All this adds up to slow buildup of gout and renal failure. I say a buildup because with both renal/kidney damage and gout, once it occurs it does not get better.
Ok, so now that we got that out of the way. How much to dust? Well, right now the only directions we have are “not like a powdered doughnut “. So let’s start there. Let’s assume we are talking about the same level of dusting. Now let’s say we have 3 owners- each with a Male Veiled.
One feeds 2 3/4in crickets per feeding
Another feeds 3 1/4in dubia roaches per feeding
And the last 2 1/2in crickets and a 1/2 dubia.
This is three different amounts. So now what? I think some basic logic can be used here and we can look at dusting as a dose. If we start out with a given amount of supplements that could be measured, we could more accurately supplement.
My technique is to use a small pinch, the maximum I would want him to eat in the cup and swirl it. I then swirl the feeders. The idea is that at least the max dose is limited and it creates a very light even spread.
.... I remembered I was here with powder everywhere about a month ago. I got the shaker ,tried dusting in cricket, and finally used the bag method . For my worms I just put in cup and sprinkle .
