Calcium in Water?

[LJean]

If you have calcium and minerals in your water do you still need to use a cal supplement with the chams? (hard water that leaves that dreaded white deposit on everything) Would using a supplement cause an overdose? Should a different water source be used? (not that I think it's feasible to do so) Should we use less cal supl?

Could not find this anywhere online.

'new owner to a baby veiled cham'

 

[Heika]

Hi LJean,

This is a really interesting question. My house has well water, and it is very hard. Lots of minerals and calcium in the water. I still dust my animal's feeders, but my dusting schedule is a lot less frequent than other people's. It always surprises me to see that people dust their cham's insects daily or every other day. For my adult panther, I dust with minerals once a month and calcium once a week. When he was a smaller cham, I dusted more frequently. He seems to be a healthy boy. I am not sure if anyone has done a study on this, but it would be great to know if the type of water used affects the chams at all. Without doing some pretty extensive testing, I am not sure that question can be answered.

Heika

 

[ChameleonsTree]

i would wonder what the phosphorus level in the water was and have that checked out.

 

[lowendfrequency]

i would wonder what the phosphorus level in the water was and have that checked out.

I've always wondered why chameleon owners put so much stress into making sure their supplements are phos free. Last time I checked phosphous was responsible for maintaining a healthy metablolism, healthy muscles and strong bones as well as aiding in calcium absorptoin and body chemistry. Phos deficiencies can result in anorexia, appetite loss, fatigue, irregular breathing, kidney failure and nervous disorders.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

well water can contain such a variety in levels depending on where you live...not all well water is the same. For example where i bought property has an unusually high content of salt. So knowing all well water can be different i would ask for for a study to be done...which any health dept would do...and they can tell you levels of most minerals and bacteria and chemicals you are getting in your well water.

 

[Frank Castle]

I've always wondered why chameleon owners put so much stress into making sure their supplements are phos free. Last time I checked phosphous was responsible for maintaining a healthy metablolism, healthy muscles and strong bones as well as aiding in calcium absorptoin and body chemistry. Phos deficiencies can result in anorexia, appetite loss, fatigue, irregular breathing, kidney failure and nervous disorders.

I read somewhere (Dont remeber where, I have read so may diffrent things) that the 2:1 Calciumhosphorus was good for chameleons. I have also just read that the 2:0 Calciumhosphorus is the way to go. So I am a little confused right now? Anyone help us out here?

well water can contain such a variety in levels depending on where you live...not all well water is the same. For example where i bought property has an unusually high content of salt. So knowing all well water can be different i would ask for for a study to be done...which any health dept would do...and they can tell you levels of most minerals and bacteria and chemicals you are getting in your well water.

I agree with Chameleonstree. If you havent had a Water Analysis done I would get it done. The company that works on your water well should be able to provide that service to you. I worked in the water well industry for 5 years. All wells are diffrent. I have worked on many High Calcium wells before. We use to do the water analysis for wells, I never saw a water well report containing Phosphorus (Wasnt in the water, Wasnt tested for, dont know). The other thing to watch out for in the water is the Bacteria Content, they can get really high. Another thing is that there may be Arcnic(sp) Fecal Mater, and a lot of other Nastie stuff in there too. Its not uncommon. If anything is found in your water, there are many treatments to fix it. Some cheap, some not so cheap. If you have any questions about wells, send me a PM and I will try to answer it to the best of my knowledge.

Frank

 

[LJean]

Thank you for all the input. While we do use well water it is through a local company. They have to keep up with any type of bacteria etc because they are regulated. Hard to explain, LOL.. I will get some info from them.

 

[Brad]

phosphorus

A proper phosphorus/calcium ratio in a chameleon's diet is very important, and as lowendfrequency already mentioned it plays a role in calcium absorption . The reason for the concern, I believe, is that most feeder insects are already high in phosphorus. This is not the case for calcium.

 

[Brad]

fluoride

This is something else you may want to think about. Honestly, I don't know if there is enough fluoride in my water to affect my chameleon. However, I do know that fluoride can be very toxic to animals in high doses. My area is also know for having above average amounts of fluoride. The government long ago thought it would be a good idea to add it to our water... I guess they don't have faith in our brushing abilities. The subject is often debated in my area.