metabolic bone disease

[Tydis]

the florescent bulb does not give heat right?
my boyfriend suggested i leave the uvb on overnight?
would that be ok? or is to much bad

I would suggest turning it off, overexposure to UV can be just as harmful as underexposure.

 

[kinyonga]

Has the imbalance in calcium been corrected or is it being worked on?

 

[superstiney]

Has the imbalance in calcium been corrected or is it being worked on?

it is being worked on - i have to give him a calcium fluid eveyday

 

[royden]

I would suggest turning it off, overexposure to UV can be just as harmful as underexposure.

On top of that - reptiles need a rigid cycle of light hours to dark hours. My vet hates it when people even use the "night heat" bulbs that are red or blue. Reptiles have a higher sensitivity to colored light, and they need set amount of dark hours for their secadian rythmn.

 

[Yso]

Furthermore, their skin needs a rest period at night when not exposed to UV lighting, when the proper, complementary reactions can be done to keep metabolic balance in the skin.
You wouldn't want to sleep in a solarium either, well, neither does he

 

[dodolah]

i highly suggest introducing phoenix worm as it contains 8155 calcium ppm. while super worm only have 124 ppm.
the calcium phosporus ratio is also higher (1.52) compared to super (0.05).
It is a great feeder for chameleon that has MBD.
(don't forget to prick it if you are afraid it's not going to b digested well).

 

[superstiney]

i highly suggest introducing phoenix worm as it contains 8155 calcium ppm. while super worm only have 124 ppm.
the calcium phosporus ratio is also higher (1.52) compared to super (0.05).
It is a great feeder for chameleon that has MBD.
(don't forget to prick it if you are afraid it's not going to b digested well).

yes i am looking in to those. i hope he will get off the wax worms

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Don't hope ... just take him off them.
Silkworms will be a good substitute for the waxworms.

-Brad

 

[Kevin1873]

How do the mealworms compare to the silkworms as a feeder for Veild's, or are they the same thing?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Mealworms are an extremely poor choice for chameleons.
Silkworms are fantastic!
No comparison.

-Brad

 

[superstiney]

i live in florida... does anyone know of a good place to buy worms that are not sold by the thousands

 

[dodolah]

i live in florida... does anyone know of a good place to buy worms that are not sold by the thousands

coastalsilkworms.com sell silkies by pod and some phoenix worms.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Mealworms have a high ratio of shell to meat.
This means that they are a lot of crunchy exo-skeleton and not much nutrition.
They have been known to cause prolapse and impaction problems when a high % are fed to the chameleon.
Silkworms are soft and juicy and packed with moisture, protein and calcium.
Every bit of the silkworm is easily digested and very nutritious.

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

coastalsilkworms.com sell silkies by pod and some phoenix worms.

And .... they're in Florida!

-Brad

 

[superstiney]

haha thanks!

 

[Kevin1873]

Thx for the advice Brad, I'm glad I didn't order any of those. I understand you should only dust the crickets no more than twice a week at the most with a caclium D3 supplement. What feeder should or shouldn't you dust so that I'm not confused on the subject as I read on your site that Crickets, Cockroaches, Zophoba worms, Silkworms are all good feeders for the Cham and each one should be fed in a rotation so that the Cham doesn't get too much of one thing over a period of time. Like should you gutload just the same on a day you happen to dust the crickets or skip one or the other? All very curious questions I have about the feeding process of Veild's. Maybe it would help if you explained your weekly feeding process if that's not too much trouble. Thx again.

Kevin.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

That is so case to case with these animals and a lot of times will depend on what they want, or are at least willing to consider.
You can dust any feeder. I just recommend taking a "less is more" approach.
As far as mixing up what you offer ... absolutely! As much as you can. Your chameleon may decide, however, to only eat Zoophoba worms for two months ... what are you gonna do?
Gut load them well and dust a few once in awhile.
If you're talking about a female ... we may be able to get more specific ...particularly when it comes to controlling the diet to curb egg production.
That article will be published soon.
Trust your instincts ... how much to feed, and # of this or that, and how often is a difficult thing to chart.
If your adult chameleon is getting 2 to 5 insects every other day or every couple of days ...I think you're okay. If it goes on a hunger strike for a week or 10 days (or more?) I still think you're okay.
Juveniles are a completely different matter and will (and should) eat a crazy amount.

-Brad

 

[superstiney]

what if they like to be hand fed?

 

[dodolah]

most will probably hate being hand fed. and probably do so because there's no other choice. If you cupfed or better yet let him hunt by himself, you need to leave him alone sometimes.
My chameleon often drinks and eat when i am not around.
Although now he starting to get used to me.

As far as dusting your feeder, i agree with Brad's "less is more" approach.
a good general rule of thumb is by looking at their calcium to phospor ratio.
for example:

Mealworm's ratio is, i believe, 0.04
superworm is 0.05
silkie is close to 0.8 -i think-
while crickets has 0.08
Phoenix worm has 1.5

Ideal calcium to phosporus ratio is 2:1
Therefore the idea of dusting your feeder to boost their calcium ratio.
I don't dust silkie because some time the dust can block their air vent.

hope that helps

 

[superstiney]

i do cup feed
-2 types of worms in the cup
- crickets lose in the cage

then also...now and then being hand fed- i just like to see him eating to make me feel better