quick question?

[FranPhilip]

so i just held Philip today and i noticed out of his nose there was some white stuff surrounding his nose. not sure what it is but should i be concerned at all?

 

[Pilotman800]

so i just held Philip today and i noticed out of his nose there was some white stuff surrounding his nose. not sure what it is but should i be concerned at all?

He's either excreting salts (Which is normal) or you're over supplementing. How often do you supplement?

 

[FranPhilip]

He's either excreting salts (Which is normal) or you're over supplementing. How often do you supplement?

oh i give him calcium without D3 every day, with D3 twice a month and Multivitamins once a month (ive only had him a week but thats my supplement schedule for my veiled and im using for philip too)

thanks for the quick response
-Travis

 

[Pilotman800]

oh i give him calcium without D3 every day, with D3 twice a month and Multivitamins once a month (ive only had him a week but thats my supplement schedule for my veiled and im using for philip too)

thanks for the quick response
-Travis

How old is he/she? Male or female?

No problem.

 

[CamiGirl89]

Pilotman is right, my guess is it could be over supplementation. This is very common in chameleons, and just means you need to cut back on the dusting a little bit! Is the chameleon breathing ok? I have heard that sometimes they get little flakes of white when they have a respiratory infection, however, the signs and symptoms of that are noticable (wheezy, breathes through the mouth). Hope this helps

 

[FranPhilip]

How old is he/she? Male or female?

No problem.

male ambilobe 2 and 1/2 months old!

 

[FranPhilip]

Pilotman is right, my guess is it could be over supplementation. This is very common in chameleons, and just means you need to cut back on the dusting a little bit! Is the chameleon breathing ok? I have heard that sometimes they get little flakes of white when they have a respiratory infection, however, the signs and symptoms of that are noticable (wheezy, breathes through the mouth). Hope this helps

yeah he isnt having a hard time breathing its just surrounding his little nose. i thought it was dried up snot or something. nice to know its nothing serious thanks!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

It's NOT excess calcium. This is a myth - one that I wish that forum members would stop perpetuating. It is excess salts. Do not change your calcium supplementation as the buildup is completely harmless and not a cause for concern. Check your water for salt content and you may need to use distilled water. If they bother him then gently wipe them away with a moist q-tip.

"A number of species have nasal salt glands for excretion of sodium and chloride in response to an osmotic load. White crusty deposits may be seen around the nares of chameleons as well as green iguanas and other lizards and are normal findings. Certain species also secrete potassium as well as sodium, and chloride or bicarbonate. The system helps to conserve water while ridding the body of excess minerals."

I can find lots of sites that talk about nasal excretion of salts...but not one of them refers to a calcium salt.

Here are some of those sites...not about chameleons....but still about nasal salt excretion...
http://bio.research.ucsc.edu/~barrylab/Lisa/Pages/research.html
"The salt glands of lizards, unlike those of marine birds, sea turtles, or sea snakes, are unique in their ability to vary the composition of the secreted fluid, secreting potassium chloride as well as sodium chloride depending on dietary ion content."

https://ritdml.rit.edu/dspace/handle/1850/2517
"The teiid lizardAmeiva quadrilineata has a nasal salt gland that responds to NaCl loading by increasing excretion of Na+ (from 1.12 to 2.63 uM/100 gh), K+ (from 0.14 to 2.43 uM/100 gh), and Cl– (from 1.10 to 5.47 uM/100 gh). "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14074841?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

http://www.sdnhm.org/research/symposia/herpsym98ab.html

 

[FranPhilip]

It's NOT excess calcium. This is a myth - one that I wish that forum members would stop perpetuating. It is excess salts. Do not change your calcium supplementation as the buildup is completely harmless and not a cause for concern. Check your water for salt content and you may need to use distilled water. If they bother him then gently wipe them away with a moist q-tip.

oh awesome thank you so much that lightened the load alot. thank you very much for clearing that up for me and if it doesnt go away in a day or so ill wipe it with a Q tip.

 

[kinyonga]

Since you've only had him a week, it wouldn't be anything that you did that was causing it anyway...if would have been from before, IMHO.

 

[FranPhilip]

Since you've only had him a week, it wouldn't be anything that you did that was causing it anyway...if would have been from before, IMHO.

yeah thats what i was thinkin. plus it went away stupid salt makig me worry

 

[Elizadolots]

The ingredients in Exoterra's Calcium without D3

Calcium Carbonate, Oyster Shell Flour, Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Ferrous Fumarate, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide and Copper Sulfate.

calcium carbonate
n
(Chemistry / Elements & Compounds) a white crystalline salt occurring in limestone, chalk, marble, calcite, coral, and pearl: used in the production of lime and cement. Formula: CaCO3

OYSTER SHELL LIME consists of 96% calcium carbonate as well as small amounts of trace elements.

1. calcium sulfate - a white salt (CaSO4)

Iron(II) fumarate, also known as ferrous fumarate, is the iron(II) salt of fumaric acid, occurring as a reddish-orange powder, used to supplement iron intake.