Calcium deficiency

[Refused]

Well i think my GF veiled chamelion has Metabolic Bone Disease... There is a new UVB light and a new UVA light so that shoulent be a problem... crickets are feed day.. and mist 2 times a day... I dont take care of it my GF does and now this problem just pops up... I dont know if this has been an on going problem cause Im not the care taker for it. It has been doing great or so it seems... Its about 6 months old and now looks like its taking a turn for the worse... PLEASE HELP any info would be great... Need to know how to help this poor guy out..
He is on the bottom of the cage now cause it dosent seem like he can climb.
These are some crapy pics


I dont want to stress him out by moving him or picking him up

THANKS AGAIN IN ADVANCE

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[Refused]

I have read it could use a calcium suppliment...... What kind is what im looking for, where to get it, ect.
Thanks again

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[amercnwmn]

Has the g/f been dusting the crickets with vitamin supplements ??

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[amercnwmn]

An excerpt from http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymounta.../RMHveiled.htm

Veiled chameleons, as mentioned before, are primarily insectivorous but will take some plant matter in their diet. Providing feeder insects with the correct balance of calcium to phosphorus is of critical importance in the veiled chameleon captive diet. If reptiles are not provided with a balanced diet, they will develop a dietary deficiencies such as a condition called metabolic bone disease. Metabolic bone disease is a calcium deficiency that results from an improper diet, and may also be caused by the lack of vitamin D3. Veiled chameleons require a diet that has a 2:1 calcium to phosphorous ratio. To provide this, it is necessary to fortify the insects before they are fed to the animal. Domestic crickets are the staple of the veiled chameleon captive diet; however, crickets only have a 1:1 calcium to phosphorous ratio. There are several ways to improve the calcium content of crickets and other prey items. The first is a procedure called "gut-loading".......

.....Variety is extremely important in captive reptile diets, and as such, it is important to vary the gut-loading material fed to feeder insects as well. Here is a sample gut-loading regimen: week 1-Collard greens, oranges, tropical fish food flakes, week 2-Mustard greens, melon, crushed dry iguana diet, week 3-Crushed alfalfa pellets, carrots, crushed high quality cat food. This may seem rather elaborate and a pain, but it is important in providing the chameleon with as wide a variety of nutrition as possible. Varied diets lessen the chance of a dietary deficiency, and contribute greatly to the overall health of the animal. Other insects may be offered to the chameleon as well including: king mealworms, mealworms, nightcrawlers (yes, veiled chameleons will eat them, but it makes a mess!), cockroaches, waxworms, pill bugs, and houseflies

**The site above has some great information on Veiled Chams...Hope this helps get it back into great shape **

[jvillereptile]

(Edited...deleted actually by Julius...Completely uncalled for)

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[amercnwmn]

Hmm I guess MY help wasnt REAL help??

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[amercnwmn]

Originally Posted by Refused

I have read it could use a calcium suppliment...... What kind is what im looking for, where to get it, ect.
Thanks again

Pet stores or www.lllreptile.com should have your calcium powder...Just dust the crickets prior to feeding. You should also offer the varied diet as mentioned in the previous excerpt..

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[Adrya]

Your GF should have done the proper research before getting the animal, if she hadn't done so already...

The information that amercnwmn provided is the best.

These are the vitamin supplements you want to use. I use them and it's the best stuff you can buy. If your little chameleon is still eating, dust the crickets (or other food) with calcium first, then the next feeding, feed the multivitamin powder.... just alternate the calcium and vitamin powder for each feeding.

Multivitamin powder
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=550

Calcium ultrafine powder w/ D3
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=553

Regular calcium powder w/ D3
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=556

Calcium
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=559

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[Adrya]

Originally Posted by jvillereptile

deleted here too...not worth repeating

Dude, you might want to watch what you're saying and how you say things.

You're treading on really thin ice enough as it is.

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[JuliusSqueezer]

Here's a little tidbit about UVB lighting that people don't tend to absorb well from general reading and researching care sheets or talking to pet store employees or whatever. UVB helps metabolize calcium and it converts cholesterol/inactive vitamin D into vitamin D3. It doesn't create anything. They still have to eat the right vitamins before they can metabolize them. So it's not one or the other. If they need one, they need both. Good luck with the little guy. I would say take it to a vet but the car ride would likely kill it. All you can do is dust some crickets, keep the humidity up, the cage misted, the ambient temp cool and make sure there's plenty of ventilation and no traffic or activity around the cage. No cats, no dogs, no kids and very little you.

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[jvillereptile]

i didn't try to say any thing wrong

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[Adrya]

Oooooooo... but you DID.

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[JuliusSqueezer]

One other thing...check your bulb. UV bulbs don't last long at all. There's a good chance that it's still giving off light but very little if any UV.

[Htdg666]

okay man, im not an expert at all, but i do have a baby veiled, i would see a vet but i had a question, do you put those crickets in calcium powder? i dont think that can help a whole lot now, again man see a vet if this is really important to you

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[Adrya]

take a plastic ziplock bag... put some calcium in it... throw some crickets in it... blow some air in the bag... close it up, and shake.

Instant dusted crickets.

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[amercnwmn]

I usually just dust the crickets with the powder just prior to giving them to the lizards You can just sprinkle it on, the best way is to get a ziplock and put some calcium powder in and add crix and shake them up a bit to coat them well and then give them to the lizards..

OOPs...sorry Adrya...double post...

	Crickets Crix

[JuliusSqueezer]

As good an idea and as obvious as it seems to take a sick chameleon to a vet, It probably wouldn't survive the trip due to how easily they stress and really isn't worth the risk when it's obvious what went wrong and what to do to correct it. It may be too late as it is but maybe it isn't.

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[jvillereptile]

if you don't want to move him to much call a local vet and see if you can get some liquid calcuim that you can use a dropper for and drip it onto his mouth. right now that might be the best way becuase cricket right now will stress it out a lot. does it open it eyes at all and does it move around.

[Htdg666]

Originally Posted by JuliusSqueezer

As good an idea and as obvious as it seems to take a sick chameleon to a vet, It probably wouldn't survive the trip due to how easily they stress and really isn't worth the risk when it's obvious what went wrong and what to do to correct it. It may be too late as it is but maybe it isn't.

GOOD IDEA, that didnt even cross my mind at all, i hope your girlfreind doesnt handle him alot... they just get stressed so easily; i have only handled my guy twice, getting him from his container from the petstore into his new habitat, and taking him out when the branches got ruined--

[jvillereptile]

i handle my veileds all the time. stress is no only a factor becuase it is sick. handleing your chameleon is good becuase without out it they will be very mean

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