supplements

[ellie5]

Hey all!

I went to the vet recently for a vitamin A deficiency with Gilbert my 4-5 month male veiled and have been doing much better about suplements- however I still have a few questions.. When I first went to get Gilbert the pet store also sold me zoomed reptivite multivitamin with d3. This has vitamin A and phosphorus but no mention of beta carotene. Is it okay to use this powder or does the d3 really need to be a part of a straight calcium mix? Also, vet told me to stay away from beta carotene as research doesn't show that chams can actually properly digest it the way mamals do(?) thoughts on that? currently I'm using a Calcium w/o d3 everyday and the multivite about once a week, is this a good schedule?

 

[eat2muchrice]

Sorry I’m not experienced enough to answer your question, but would like to ask you about your chameleon with Vitamin A deficiency. How did you know your chameleon had a deficiency and is there any deformation on his casque (head fin)? Could you also be able to provide a picture of his casque for me to inspect. I have been doing research on casque deformations and would really like to know. Thanks!

 

[junglefries]

They have a hard time breaking it down to useable A.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

A Vit A deficiency manifests itself usually as an eye problem.

 

[ellie5]

Deficiency

Yes it was a major eye problem. His left eye became totally swollen shut- lots of rubbing and it would swell with fluid to double the size and take a long while to drain on it's own as he was trying to clear out the eye himself. He definitely was a bit dehydrated too. Basically my husbandry was very underpar- there was a pretty steep learning curve for myself.. The vet gave him a Vitamin A injection initially and prescribed an anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, and liquid calcium (as I hadn't been supplementing at all).
He was so little that the hunting down free range crickets wasn't going so well (I was lucky if I could get him to eat 3 a day and 2 supers from my hand) now I've switched to cup feeding and he'll eat anywhere from 12-18 crickets a day ! The vet told me that it was best to get him on just crickets- supers as a treat only. Should I listen to this or try and vary it up a bit more?
He's sleeping now but I'll definitely upload a picture tomorrow! His casque looks great- as far as I know but I would love any and all opinions.

 

[junglefries]

Variety is VITAL to health. Not something you can cheat on. Crickets, roaches, locusts and grasshoppers for main staple. Superworms and hornworms should be limited to maybe twice a week. Silkworms maybe 3-4 times a week. Mantids, walking sticks, moths, flies, bees (minus stinger), phoenix worms can all be mixed in, also. (Always use the freshly molted feeders when possible.) Good luck.

 

[ellie5]

Great that's what my research showed me so I'll definitely start switching it up again! Gil loves raspberries but limiting sugary fruits of course. Also making sure to mix lettuce/shredded carrots in there too, maybe even squash if he'll take it?Any thoughts about the d3 as part of the multivitamin vs. calcium combo? and is my supplementing sched ok?