white crust on nose

[Elizadolots]

Handle her as much as you need to do her medical treatments...just don't sit and hold her. Eating out of your hand is wonderful. If she does that sitting in your hand, that's amazing. I'm just saying that you shouldn't hold her when you are not doing something with her.

 

[idontspeekgeek]

ok. no sitting and holding. im trying to learn as i go and read as much as possible. i rescued her from someone who wouldnt care for her. but i knew nothing about chameleons. i didnt think it was gonna be this hard. thanks for your help. i am trying.

 

[Elizadolots]

You'll get there. A big thing to remember is that they are solitary animals. They are not guinea pigs that will cuddle with you. Some do form attachments to their humans, but most seem to view their humans as "jailers" and, when you think about it, that's not far from the truth. I tend to try to create an environment the animal will think of as "home" and not violate that more than necessary.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

It's NOT excess calcium

I had this same problem. dont worry easy fix lower your calcium intake, that should fix it right up! Jade (my chameleon) has Mbd also. but its cleared a good bit up. Anyways, the white crust is just her body "shedding" access mineral's, vitimins, ect. Jade has no more crust. try this and it should be all fine.

Ps. it doesnt hurt the chameleon.

The white crusts are excess salts (chloride, potassium, sodium), NOT excess calcium. Do not change your calcium supplementation, especially if your cham has MBD! It could very well hurt your chameleon to do so.

See the 3rd question in this post for more information on this subject: https://www.chameleonforums.com/frequently-asked-questions-71620/#post668825

 

[Elizadolots]

I really think Dr. Hazard's research is being grossly misinterpreted by people on this forum. It is her study on reptile salt glands that is being used as "negative proof" to contradict those who have experienced white crusts going away after a reduction in calcium supplementation.

Being somewhat annoyed at being portrayed as "spreading myths" I read Dr. Hazard's report on the salt glands of Iguanas. You can read it yourself HERE.

I don't understand why people are concluding that she says "only" potassium chloride and/or sodium chloride can be excreted. I read the study to indicate that the salt gland of the iguana adapts to whatever salt is abundant during the animal's growth and that regardless of what salts the animal might be exposed to as an adult, it will continue to excrete the salt it grew up with.

She says.

An underlying, sometimes unstated, assumption of studies on marine species has been that their glands are adapted for sodium excretion, whereas the glands of terrestrial herbivores are adapted for potassium secretion. However, it is possible that there is little or no difference in the actual secretory capabilities of the glands of marine and terrestrial species, and that the sodium or potassium secretion observed in the field is simply dictated by dietary ion content.

I do not believe those specific ions are mentioned to be exclusionary but because she had access to colonies of the same species raised in both marine and terrestrial environments with correspondingly different diets.

I am not aware of a naturally occurring environment in which an animal would grow up exposed to an abundance of calcium carbonate. That is something which happens to our captive born pets because we sprinkle it all over their food.

This sentence, near the conclusion of her report, seems to confirm that:

The ontogeny of salt glands in lizards has not been studied, and it is possible that individuals exposed to different ions early in life may retain a tendency to secrete different ions in a laboratory situation

I have to admit I am unable to grasp how "different ions" is being interpreted as "not calcium" but that does seem to be what is happening.

I have sent Dr. Hazard an e-mail asking if my interpretation is correct. If she is gracious enough to respond (which ever way she does) I will post that on the board.

 

[idontspeekgeek]

well i sprayed her crickets with calcium yesterday after i wiped her crust on the nostril and no more have come back today. i did not reduce the calcium but i did move her uvb light to the top of her tank (it was on the side shining through the glass). hope this helps her mbd.

 

[lindawaz]

That is good since the UBV does not go through the glass good job