idea , good or bad ?your feedback is needed ! thank you !

[martinbigmac]

hi , anyone know of any potential benifits/pitfalls of feeding a little cod liver oil to chamelions say perhaps once a week ? my idea would be to lightly dip a wax worm ,before feeding to my veiled ? i know its not the same thing at all,but ive been feeding my avairy birds it for ten years, its great for a lot of things, i.e. general health,good bones, stops egg binding etc,etc.

or am i being mental ?

regards,

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Martin,

Cod liver oil contains vitamins A and D. These are necessary vitamins for chameleons. The hard part is knowing what dosages you are delivering and what dosages your chameleon needs. Since vit A is stored in the liver, it's easy to O.D. on it. You'll probably want to do lots of reading about the subject to get a handle on it. I've got a few posts where I mentioned what one of the reptile medical books said about the subject.

Here's one:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/growths-body-eyes-2900/

 

[Brad Ramsey]

The theory is sound, although I don't have experience with using codliver oil.
I use the lowest IU of vitamin A capsule made for humans (incidentally the vit. A source is fish oil).
I put a tiny (and I mean tiny!!!) drop on a wax or silkworm once every 2 to 3 weeks.
There is a bit of a debate about preformed vitamin A as a supplement but my personal experience with this practice has been good.

-Brad

 

[Electric]

also, isn't there a theory about chameleons wanting to regurgitate because of the texture of anything oily? (or something along those lines)
If you are going to do it maybe injecting it into the worm would work

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I have not had a problem with this.
The amount is so small that it goes un-noticed by the cham, but you're right...any significant amount of oil would likely trigger this response.

I would like to add some thoughts (or my theory) concerning the need to supplement with preformed Vit. A:
I believe in a natural environment pre-formed vit. A is not an uncommon element occurring in prey that is either vertebrate or feeds on carrion (ie: flies, wasps, hornets, beetles etc.) Misquitoes gut-loaded with blood would also present a source of this vitamin.
Since I do not choose to offer any of the above, or gutload anything with an animal based product....I have determined it necessary to offer the supplement in the fashion that I do.
Again, I have good results, possibly due in part to this practice....I have certainly not experienced any ill-effects.

-Brad

 

[Chameleon Company]

Electric and others

also, isn't there a theory about chameleons wanting to regurgitate because of the texture of anything oily?

There is a theory, and it has a factual basis, in that chameleons react poorly, to include regurgitation and other complications, when larger quantities of oil are put in their mouth. As Brad mentioned, he has not noticed a problem with small amounts, and that is our experience here as well. But it is also our experience that there is a threshold, which will vary based on the size of animal and the individual rejection by the specific animal, but which seems to be 1-3 drops, where regurgitation and subsequent inhalation become more probable. One advantage of using a small amount, 1/10th of a drop or less for a mid-sized chameleon, which is all that is needed, is that even if regurgitation is induced, there is not enough oil there to cause additional problems. Several drops greatly increases the likelihood of additional colateral complications. And as noted, too much vitamin A is not a good thing.

I know several in the business who use fish oil with restraint and have seen only benefits from it. A touch to the back of a food item has never produced a negative reaction in our experience, although a Q-tip touch to the inside of the mouth works as well. Where you can calculate it, aim to keep the vitamin A to 150-200 iu's per week per 100G of chameleon. It seems to be enough, although we do not know where the "too much" line is.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Cod liver oil..........

I like cod liver oil too. A little dab will do you.........I like the idea of swabbing an insect with a tiny bit (less than a drop). I also like Jim's idea of swabbing the inside of the chams mouth with it. It's been used by bird keepers for a long time because they can be very prone to Vitamin A deficiency issues.

 

[martinbigmac]

thats a go then !many thanks!

regards ,martinbigmac!

hi , anyone know of any potential benifits/pitfalls of feeding a little cod liver oil to chamelions say perhaps once a week ? my idea would be to lightly dip a wax worm ,before feeding to my veiled ? i know its not the same thing at all,but ive been feeding my avairy birds it for ten years, its great for a lot of things, i.e. general health,good bones, stops egg binding etc,etc.

or am i being mental ?

regards,

 

[Chamero]

Ive never used the cod liver method before but after reading the discussion it sounds good. How old do you think your cham would have to be before you start adding it to his diet. How could I do it to crickets?

 

[Chameleon Company]

I would first have to quantify timing on when to begin VitaminA supplementation as more a product of size, and not age, as size seems to be more the determining factor in the maturity of the chameleon. In example, a faster growing female that is ready to breed at 6 months would have a greater need than a slower growing female not yet ready to breed at 10 months. My recommendation would be when the females reaches 7" total length, the male 8". As indicated by others, I would put a smear of it on a cricket (or other food item) being hand-fed to a chameleon. Otherwise, I would swab it directly into the mouth.