starryskiezz
Member
Hello friends!
So a quick intro to the situation:
So recently I purchased a mate for my veiled chameleon Bames. She's a four month old baby who I named Rose (note that I don't plan on letting them mate until she's a few months older). I purchased her from Petland, which I typically really like. But holding her there and after buying her, I realized she does have an underbite and a couple kinks in her tail. Thus, I was concerned that she may have MBD due to a lack of proper calcium intake. I could realistically take her back to Petland, but I adore her too much already (she's so much sassier than my super friendly, sweet Bames)! So, I decided to try and just treat her myself so she can grow up healthy & strong!
I was doing some research and trying to figure out how to treat her myself. I am an immunology student who currently works in a medical lab testing drugs for treatment in cancer patients, so I decided that I could probably treat her myself rather than spending money on a vet (I will if I have to, but I really would prefer to save money if possible). Upon doing my research, I discovered that the calcium salt provided to chameleons doesn't matter- the most important thing is to consider the amount of elemental calcium. Because I can't buy calcium gluconate or glubionate in my local pharmacy, I purchased calcium carbonate (without vitamin D3, since chameleons can OD easily if too much D3 is provided). The pills are 1350mg, but contain 500mg of elemental calcium. So because Rose is approximately 40g and chameleons need about 66mg/kg PO (twice daily for 30 days then once daily for 30 days) to treat MBD, I dissolved 1 pill (500mg elemental calcium) in 20mL warm deionized water (ie. calcium carbonate is readily soluble in water) and plan to give her 0.1 mL of this 25mg/mL solution (she's small so I don't want to force her to drink too much) PO twice daily for thirty days, then once daily for 30 days.
I just want to confirm with a vet/scientist or experienced member if this dosage is correct and if this will be beneficial for Rose! I really care about her so I don't want to harm her.
So a quick intro to the situation:
So recently I purchased a mate for my veiled chameleon Bames. She's a four month old baby who I named Rose (note that I don't plan on letting them mate until she's a few months older). I purchased her from Petland, which I typically really like. But holding her there and after buying her, I realized she does have an underbite and a couple kinks in her tail. Thus, I was concerned that she may have MBD due to a lack of proper calcium intake. I could realistically take her back to Petland, but I adore her too much already (she's so much sassier than my super friendly, sweet Bames)! So, I decided to try and just treat her myself so she can grow up healthy & strong!
I was doing some research and trying to figure out how to treat her myself. I am an immunology student who currently works in a medical lab testing drugs for treatment in cancer patients, so I decided that I could probably treat her myself rather than spending money on a vet (I will if I have to, but I really would prefer to save money if possible). Upon doing my research, I discovered that the calcium salt provided to chameleons doesn't matter- the most important thing is to consider the amount of elemental calcium. Because I can't buy calcium gluconate or glubionate in my local pharmacy, I purchased calcium carbonate (without vitamin D3, since chameleons can OD easily if too much D3 is provided). The pills are 1350mg, but contain 500mg of elemental calcium. So because Rose is approximately 40g and chameleons need about 66mg/kg PO (twice daily for 30 days then once daily for 30 days) to treat MBD, I dissolved 1 pill (500mg elemental calcium) in 20mL warm deionized water (ie. calcium carbonate is readily soluble in water) and plan to give her 0.1 mL of this 25mg/mL solution (she's small so I don't want to force her to drink too much) PO twice daily for thirty days, then once daily for 30 days.
I just want to confirm with a vet/scientist or experienced member if this dosage is correct and if this will be beneficial for Rose! I really care about her so I don't want to harm her.
