How to make Chameleon drink

[dodolah]

Oh my god! Thank you so much kinyonga.

I have been feeding crickets with FLUKER'S cricket diet. but some people here said that Fluckers is chicken food. so I am dizzy now. I am going to make nutritious food by myself or find new gutload here. Anyway I will improve my cricket's food.

The brand of my UVB is ZOOMED and EXOTERRA, The cage is EXOTERRA, UVA and others are ZOOMED(supplement). I know ZOOMED is not the best of the world. But it is the best I can find out in China. so......

Your chameleons don't get any sunlight unually. Do you provide UVB to it? It rely on Calcium with D3 only?

sunlight is the best off course.
but if you plan in keeping them inside, a vitamin D3 is needed for your chameleon.
flucker's diet is ok.. but it is best if you add fresh vegetables and fruit.

here is a a very good cricket gutload recipe that i download from Kristina at her melleri's site:
(some of the ingredients might be hard to find in China)
Kristina’s Cricket Gutload

This is what I currently use for the crickets my melleri consume. I am not responsible for use or misuse of this gutload. All keepers are encouraged to assess their unique animal and read the nutrition information on products. It is a good idea to feed two separate boxes of crickets on slightly different diets, and record results. Proper maintenance and nutrition is up to each individual keeper.

The mix, piled up in one side of the container:
Natural oats (1 minute variety OK)
Rice baby cereal
Soy flour
Barley cereal (like Grape Nuts)
Dry nonfat milk

The fruits and vegetables, rotated to always include one fruit, one tuber, one dark green leafy vegetable:
Collard greens
Mustard greens
Turnip greens
Carrots
Yam or sweet potato
Orange or other mild citrus in quarters, leave peel on
Organic prickly pears, seeds removed, in season
Strawberries, in season
Banana, no peel

Condiments, used in rotation and replaced as necessary:
Whole flaxseed meal (keep in refrigerator until ready to use), a source of Omega-3's, replaces salmon below
Bee pollen (also keep refrigerated when not in use)
Ground unsalted sunflower seeds

A good cricket substrate is crisp rice cereal. It can be bought in bulk bags, it is healthy if they nibble on it, and it raises their foot traffic off of the feces. Dry feces fall between the kernels and to the bottom of the container.


I haven't tried this for my veiled chameleon.
but, i'm guessing it will work for your panther..
Hope that helps

 

[dectr6]

HI DNA, You said your UVB is zoomed but what type of zoo med? It should say something like repti sun 5.0 or repti glo 10.0. That is the important part. That tells us how strong the UVB is. David

 

[kinyonga]

You're welcome.

DNA said..."I am going to make nutritious food by myself or find new gutload here"...here's a recipe for a gutload that is recommended by lots of people...
http://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/gutload.html

You said..."Your chameleons don't get any sunlight unually. Do you provide UVB to it? It rely on Calcium with D3 only?"...I use Reptisun 5.0 tube lights on their cages usually. If a chameleon gets its UVB from either sunlight or UVB lights it allows it to produce D3 and as long as the chameleon can move out of the UVB when it wants to it should be able to regulate the amount of D# produced. If you give it D3 from a supplement its hard to regulate because we don't really know how much it too much. The D3 from supplements is ready to use and any excess stays in the system and can cause problems.

Here's a little more information on the relationship of calcium, phosphorous, D3and vitamin A....most of the insects we use as feeders for our chameleons in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous....so dusting with a phosphorous-free calcium powder helps to balance this.

Vitamin A from beta carotene sources (like veggies and greens) won't build up in the system so its safe to use a vitamin powder with it in as a source of vitamin A. However, there is controversy over whether all species of chameleon can convert beta carotene to vitamin A. Some people give a little bit of preformed vitamin A because of this. Preformed vitamin A can build up in the chameleon's system though and excess preformed vitamin A can stop the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD.

D3...I've explained already.

Phosphorous is readily available to the chameleon...so its not necessary to give it any phosphorous supplements.

 

[DNA]

kinyonga
Thank you a million for explaining their relation.
As far as know, Chameleon only produce pro-D3, Pro-D3 can convert D3 under UVB help. So Calcium with D3-free is better than Calcium with D3. right?

You said "....as long as the chameleon can move out of the UVB when it wants to it should be able to regulate the amount of D# produced....."
Must I make chameleon move out of the UVB? Some of my chameleons always exposure UVB because of it is basking. it only open its mouth when it feel hot. Some people said that it is only stupid, not ill. but it exposure UVB when it bask, so what will happen to it if it exposure UVB long time ? Will UVB hurt it?
If UVB is used long time, Can Chameleons aware that UVB has attenuated?
How long I must change a new one? one people told me four months but the other told me UVB will attenuated after eight months. which one is correct ?

preformed vitamin A= beta carotene right?
I know that excess Vitamin A can cause a disease that chameleon have big neck.

To dectr6
The UVB I am using is ZOOMED's IG 5.0 ( ZOOMED Reptisun 5.0 is more expensive than ZOOMED IG 5.0).
Only one of my UVB is 10.0, It is the frist I have bought. But it is bad brand, so I think that it is fast to attenuate to 10.0.

 

[dectr6]

DNA, the reptisun ig 5.0 is exactly the same bulb as the reptisun 5.o. They market it to iguana dealers under a different name but it's supposed to be the exact same bulb. DAVID

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."As far as know, Chameleon only produce pro-D3, Pro-D3 can convert D3 under UVB help. So Calcium with D3-free is better than Calcium with D3. right?"...I use calcium without D3 most of the time but twice a month I dust with calcium with D3.

You asked..."Must I make chameleon move out of the UVB?"...no, you just have to give it a place in the cage where it can get away from the UVB if it wants to or needs to.

You asked..."If UVB is used long time, Can Chameleons aware that UVB has attenuated?"...I don't know if they are aware of it exactly but the UVB bulb will weaken with use. Chameleons will seek to sit in the UVB if they need it from what I have read.

You said..."How long I must change a new one? one people told me four months but the other told me UVB will attenuated after eight months. which one is correct ?"...most people say every 6 months.

You said..."preformed vitamin A= beta carotene right?"...no...vitamin A that comes from animal sources is called "preformed". Vitamin A from carotenoids or beta carotene is called proformed. (Notice the slight difference in the words..."e" in one "o" in the other.) Preformed vitamin A can build up in the system and cause problems but proformed (beta carotene) can't.

You said..."I know that excess Vitamin A can cause a disease that chameleon have big neck"...preformed vitamin A can cause the swelling of the neck but beta carotene can't.

You said..."Some of my chameleons always exposure UVB because of it is basking. it only open its mouth when it feel hot. Some people said that it is only stupid, not ill. but it exposure UVB when it bask, so what will happen to it if it exposure UVB long time ? Will UVB hurt it?"...some people say to put the basking area separate from where the UVB is. I don't...but then my UVB light is only a Reptisun 5.0 and I don't think they would overdose from it....just my opinion from my own experience. IMHO if they were overdosing from it then the vitamin D3 powder I am giving them twice a month would be overdosing them even more and I should see signs of it.

Re: you question "what will happen to it if it exposure UVB long time ? Will UVB hurt it?"...it has been said to cause skin tumors and cause eggs to fail to hatch in panther chameleons and sort of a sunburn. It also can cause eye problems and damage. (This was covered in that article that I gave you the link to before. I really recommend you read as much as possible from that site.)

 

[Scotty]

Howdy,

From http://www.drinkswap.com/drinks/detail.asp?recipe_id=10329

I couldn't resist :

Green Chameleon Drink Recipe
This drink is a variation of
Chameleon Drink Recipe

Ingredients:
cubes Ice
glass (Fill With) 7-Up
30 ml Creme de Menthe
1/2 glass Orange Juice

Directions
Pour Creme de Menthe over ice cubes in a Highball glass. Add Orange juice and fill up with 7-Up. Stir. Garnish with orange slices and mint leaf.

What's going on Dave, I gave my veiled the drink and he fell off his perch 4 times....
Just a little Aussie humour...

 

[DNA]

kinyonga ，You said...

If Chameleon catch the swelling of the neck, what should I do ? Can it lead to death ?

My hands work under UVB long time whether UBV can cause my skin tumors ?

I have really collected many article about chameleon,and I really really really want to read over in one night. But.... I hate my poor English. I need take more than one hour to read and reply one thread.(just like this thread, I stayed to read your reply at PM 9:15, now it is pm 10:09). If have many reply, I need spend more time to read. There are so many words I don't know when I read, I need consult a dictionary. There are so many words I have never remembered when I write, I need consult a dictionary too. It comprise consulting verb of preterite, sentential form etc. I need spend time to care my chameleon, remember words, go to work ...now I only take 6 hours to sleep ..So I read the article over till all chameleon are die. I have to ask with getting touble.
I must apologize for makeing trouble for you.
Thank you so much.
Qiang

 

[DNA]

I guess that the reason for dying is she was choked by water. I don't know how to describe her after drink. She reached her neck upward. next day she died. Do you think water getting into lung is why she died ?

 

[Dave Weldon]

I guess that the reason for dying is she was choked by water. I don't know how to describe her after drink. She reached her neck upward. next day she died. Do you think water getting into lung is why she died ?

Howdy DNA,

The word is "aspirated". She could have easily had water get into her lungs if it was being delivered by means of a squirt directly in her mouth. It's easy to happen with sick chameleons receiving liquid food or medicine. It is often fatal.

 

[DNA]

Thank you for your word DAVE

If I inject water or medicine into cricket 's body and then feed chameleon with this cricket. How do you think of it? Is it possible? Can chameleon aspirate cricket into the lung?
thanks

 

[dodolah]

Thank you for your word DAVE

If I inject water or medicine into cricket 's body and then feed chameleon with this cricket. How do you think of it? Is it possible? Can chameleon aspirate cricket into the lung?
thanks

i say inject the meds, vitamins, or whatever you want to inject to silkworm, instead of crickets.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...If I inject water or medicine into cricket's body and then feed chameleon with this cricket. How do you think of it? Is it possible? Can chameleon aspirate cricket into the lung?

Howdy DNA,

Injecting water or medicine in food items works. One warning is that if you are using a medicine that has to be very carefully dosed then it is possible that it could build-up in the system if the crickets don't get digested and the medicine absorbed before the next cricket with medicine is eaten the next day.

 

[DNA]

I can pry her mouth off without hurting it. DAVE

Why is silkworm better than cricket? David

 

[dodolah]

because it is easier to inject without killing the feeder.
also silkworm does not jump, so it is easy to inject.
Plus, chameleon tends to like silkworm more than crickets.

 

[DNA]

It is hard to get silkworm in winter.
I only get Superworm and Mealworm now.
Can I inject water into this worm?

 

[dodolah]

It is hard to get silkworm in winter.
I only get Superworm and Mealworm now.
Can I inject water into this worm?

yes. The squishier the body, the easier to inject.

 

[DNA]

can I feed female with superworm ? I was told that superworm can kill it? right?

 

[dodolah]

can I feed female with superworm ? I was told that superworm can kill it? right?

hmmm... i don't know anything about superworm can kill female chameleons.
I am a bot skeptical about it, but maybe some other experience people can elaborate on this fact.

I do know that superworms can fight back.

 

[DNA]

at least I think superworm's skin is hard to digest to chameleon. it may make chameleon die!!!