Too Much D3?

[MeAndBean]

I recently got a baby veiled chameleon two days ago. He appears to be about a month old. He has a UV light, and I know with the UV he will produce his own vitamin D3. But the calcium I have been giving him says with D3. Is there such thing as too much D3?

~a paranoid chameleon owner

 

[MeAndBean]

My baby veiled chameleon has a UV light, and I know with it he will produce his own D3. The calcium I have been giving him says with D3. Is there such thing as too much D3?
~a paranoid chameleon owner

 

[Dez]

Yes you can over do the D3. ... d3 overdose can cause symptoms similar to MBD ( I have read this but have not expearenced it myself)

Look for calcium without D3.

A good dusting schedule would be

1st and 15th of the month dust with calcium with D3
28th of the month dust with a multivitamin

And dust with calcium WITHOUT D3 at all other feedings.

 

[Dez]

I just replied to your duplicate thread

 

[MeAndBean]

Thank you so much!!!

 

[Reganold]

i have a 4-5 month veiled and i was doing with d3 every other day and no plain calcium. as soon as i learned you could over do the d3 i changed immediately

 

[ClubFauna]

Good job Reganold on catching that mistake... yeah too much calcium with D3 can be worse than having no calcium with D3

 

[Reganold]

Good job Reganold on catching that mistake... yeah too much calcium with D3 can be worse than having no calcium with D3

Yeah stupid pet store lady. its a good thing i don't trust pet stores too or i wouldnt have bothered to join the forum

 

[leedragon]

I have been told that for a yemen chameleon who lives in the desert is quite imposible to overdose the D3

 

[Venutus1]

Some one may know the brand?
But I think someone makes a calcium supplement with just a smidge of D3 in it for reptiles with UV light.
Personally... I cut my calcium that has d3 ( or repashy Calcium plus) with just plain 'ol micro-fine calcium carbonate powder.

That way they get a trace without going overboard.

Cheers!

 

[Olimpia]

I have been told that for a yemen chameleon who lives in the desert is quite imposible to overdose the D3

This is not true - All chameleons (including Veileds/Yemens) can overdose on how much vitamin D3 we provide them via diet. It will accumulate in their system, interfere with calcium absorption (so they will not absorb regular calcium properly) and it will actually lead to calcification of the soft tissues over time.

So it is possible for chameleons to overdose on D3 supplements. However, with vitamin D3 produced naturally in the skin via UVB exposure is a different story, and not a problem.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I recently got a baby veiled chameleon two days ago. He appears to be about a month old. He has a UV light, and I know with the UV he will produce his own vitamin D3. But the calcium I have been giving him says with D3. Is there such thing as too much D3?

~a paranoid chameleon owner

Yes, likely this is too much D3.
what brand of supplement? how much D3 is in it?

 

[MeAndBean]

It's Zoo Med's Repti Calcium. It says it contains safe levels of Vitamin D3 when used as prescribed.

 

[MeAndBean]

So I should be giving him calcium every day? I heard only once a week.

 

[MeAndBean]

Yes you can over do the D3. ... d3 overdose can cause symptoms similar to MBD ( I have read this but have not expearenced it myself)

Look for calcium without D3.

A good dusting schedule would be

1st and 15th of the month dust with calcium with D3
28th of the month dust with a multivitamin

And dust with calcium WITHOUT D3 at all other feedings.

I should be giving him calcium every day? I heard only once a week.

 

[fluxlizard]

I think you guys are right to limit the d3, BUT I'm just stopping in on this thread to point out that it is more difficult to overdose than you might believe. I used to use rep-cal with d3 every feeding back in the 1990s and never identified a case of oversupplementation. I had lots of chameleons in those days and a vet helping me with necropsies after animals passed away from time to time to get a general idea of how my husbandry was going as well...

I'm not saying do what I did, only saying that it isn't something that has to panic someone.

Too much is worse than too little, but the next question is how much is too much? Making things even more complicated, how long does it stay on the feeder insect before it is eaten, how much adheres in the first place? mineral for example has far less d3 than rep-cal, but adheres far better to the insect and remains on it far longer...

However, with vitamin D3 produced naturally in the skin via UVB exposure is a different story, and not a problem.

That's because the skin stops producing it when it has enough for the lizard, making it impossible to produce too much. That is also why, a modest amount of dietary d3 combined with the lighting will not push a lizard into overdose from the light itself. Only dietary d3 will cause an overdose, the light will not play a role - the lizard will just produce less and less from the light as the amount from the diet goes up until it produces none at all and then the overdose is always the result of the diet.

 

[fluxlizard]

Oh- and for a baby veiled- they grow so fast they are especially susceptible to weak bones. Don't skimp on the calcium and if it were mine I would not skimp on the d3 either. This is just me, but I would recommend you use calcium every feeding except 1x per week when you use a good multivitamin and calcium with d3 a couple of times a week. Once he's grown up a bit, you can slack off on the calcium, the d3 and the multivitamin.

Others on here may disagree and have different approaches that work well for them and if they sound more reasonable it won't hurt my feelings a bit if you follow that advice. If it works it works. This works for me and is based on over 20 years with veileds.