Worth Reading: Chameleons and Vitamin A

A short and simple article that is worth reading for those that question their own supplements and supplement schedules. Validate this information yourself as with any info source, it is to be taken seriously, but understood that this topic is still not entirely verifiable.

Chameleons and Vitamin A
by: Holly Nash, DVM, MS
 
Could this be a forum sticky?

Great link, Will! Maybe Brad would consider making this a sticky so it doesn't get lost in bygone threads??? :D

lele
 
Speaking of vitamin A … does anyone know if insects (in general) can process it into the preformed? If so, on average how long would it take? I gutload insects the night before so if they can process it into the preformed then I would want to know the average duration to do so for obvious reasons.

-roo
 
That article is very very interesting. Thanks. So hoas anyone tried earthworms or pinky mice(heard pinkies are too high in fat so are not recommended but they say its ok to feed them, any opinions).
 
I've heard of pinkies being used as only treat. Maybe good only for once every six months. It also might be good for a female that has just went through laying a bunch of eggs.
 
In the wild they might catch small birds if they can why not pinkies like once month or so. I know I heard for females who have just layed eggs and need to recover wieght.
 
Whether insects contain vitamin A or not or can convert beta carotene to preformed needs more study....but this is what I have found...

Retinal is involved with vision of insects...it converts to vitamin A at times....so there is some vitamin A in insects.

However...this site says..."In the present study, house crickets (Acheta domesticus adults and nymphs), mealworms (Tenebrio molitor larvae), and silkworms (Bombyx mori larvae) were fed diets containing graded levels of calcium (Ca) and/or vitamin A-nutrients that are low or absent in most insects."
Read the rest of the abstract for more information...
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/104519742/ABSTRACT

This site, concerning house flies, says..."From larvae to pupae the Vitamin A content increases five and a half times"...
http://www.oregonfeederinsects.com/musca.htm
 
Thanks for the link Will ... added it to the link directory.


I found an interesting article yesterday about the cute and friendly house pet that all americans treasure, Periplaneta americana (american cockroach). This is not about processing beta-carotene into preformed vitamin A, but is very interesting. According to the article linked below, they can actually synthesize their own beta-carotene.
So American cockroach is able to synthesize beta-carotene. The scientists still do not know how. Perhaps, the cockroaches have necessary enzymes themselves, or some microorganisms, dwelling in the insects, perform the synthesis. Further research is needed to find the answer.

http://www.russia-ic.com/education_science/science/breakthrough/62/
 
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