Vegtables and fruit in a veiled chams diet!?

[JRM71085]

I've read on here that veggies and fruit are not good for a chameleons diet, but I recently went to a vet for my chameleon and the VET told me that I should feed him fruit and veggies and that he should be supplemented with calcium with d3 and hertivite once to twice a week. Ive read on here that chams could overdose with too much d3 and herptivite and the vet said that they could only overdose it was through injection? Im just looking for the best help on what to do for my chameleon
Thank you

 

[Fearaffect]

Get a new vet.....lol

To much D3 could/will cause "calcification" of organs......I only gave it once ever 2wks for veileds/panthers and once a month if even that for my montanes. This is when they were indoors during the coldest of winter and hottest of summer.......otherwise I gave it to them once a month since they spent most of the time outdoors. The best way for them to get the D3 is natural sunlight.....and they thrive better outdoors to.....

Veileds(not all though) will eat plant matter every so often(some all the time). Never heard of fruit though....talk to JannB about that though...shes far more experienced in the subject of Veileds.....

 

[kinyonga]

(Technically I don't think extra D3 will cause calcification without there being extra calcium.)

Veiled chameleons can/will eat greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.), veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc. ) and fruit (apple, pear, berries and melon, etc.).

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[Fearaffect]

(Technically I don't think extra D3 will cause calcification without there being extra calcium.)

My bad, should've included that......

 

[kinyonga]

Very bad!
You were close!

 

[Fearaffect]

Very bad!
You were close!

HAHAHA....whew.....tell me about it......well, I can blame my old age.....

 

[Hoj]

my veiled loves all fruits and veggies, esp, kiwi LoL has eating it quite regularly for almost a year now.

 

[kinyonga]

You're a lot younger than me!

JRM71085...D3 from supplements can lead to an overdose if its overdone whereas D3 from UVB shouldn't lead to an overdose as long as the chameleon can move out of it when it wants to.

 

[JRM71085]

So im going to feed him fruit and veggies and I know all about the supplementation so i will give him herptivite and calcium with d2 once every two weeks.

 

[JRM71085]

this is very contradicting because some people say do and some people say dont. I will trust a vet about the d3 not being able overdose the cham

 

[kinyonga]

Well..if you think D3 can't be overdosed from supplements, you may find out the hard way if your chameleon ends up with health issues. D3 from oral or injectable D3 can be overdosed.

"Excess Vit D3 and Calcium has been implicated in mineralization of large blood vessels, causing cardiac disease. 4. If we fry the kidneys with excess Vitamin D we cannot get the active form, 1,25 Dihydroxycholecalciferol. Of course, there are many other problems that come along with fried kidneys."...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html