Possible D3 Overusage/Rehomed

[kirekameleon]

I rehomed this beautiful turquoise calyptratus. Some of the husbandry is sketchy. Only fed crickets and they used D3 every other feeding. He had some swollen joints that seem slighty less in only a week, could have this been "metastic calcification" or gout(with the swollen joints that appear to have subsided a small amount). I was thinking about not giving him D3 for a while. I was thinking maybe two months at least. Could he have hypervitaminosis from that amount of D3 intake? How long does anyone out there think I should wait before reintroducing D3(I have reptisun 5.0 18").



Chameleon -Calyptratus,1+ unknown, Male, 1 Week
Handling - Once a day (10-20 minutes)
Feeding- Still working on a weekly regiment, owner before fed nothing but crickets. I have crickets, mealworms, dubias, superworms, waxworms
Supplements - Rep Cal Herptivite Multivitamins with Beta carotene (have not used, probably will do the 1st and 15th of the month), Reptcalcium w/o D3 for every feeding (Zoo Med, phosphorous free), Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 (have not used).
Watering- Drip Cup- 1 second drip onto fake vine onto big pothos leaf into waterbowl (original owner had no drip system, said he drank from the water bowl), Misting Twice a day for 30 seconds
Fecal- dark (brownish to black), rolled and solid, some body parts with fecal like cricket legs, Urate was pure white but I did notice some light yellow so I am working on little dehydration, Parasites- I have a friend who is a Vet Tech Teacher and she will check in for me in the beginning of July.
History- Apparent Burns on Veil and most of back, most likey treated by a Vet as it looks really good as in had some care., he was a rescue, then new owner, now he is in my care.

Cage- Screen 30" X 28" X16"
Lighting- Flukers 75 Watt Heat Lamp, Came with 13 Watt Zilla reptile bulb light, I have upgraded to to an 18" reptisun 5.0, 12 on 12 off, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time
Temp 6 inches off floor is 77.2, Basking is 89 degrees, Taylor Electronic Temp/Humidity monitor and cooking thermometers
Humidity- 54 degrees, Misting twice a day
Plants- growing pothos, getting ficus benjamina
Location- close to St. Louis, MO

 

[Duke]

There are some vets that monitor the forum and maybe they will chime in. I do think that is far too much for vitamins. I use calcium nearly every time and vitamins about 2 times/month. Another thing to make sure of is that the cham is getting plenty of water to prevent build up of uric acid and other naughty metabolites.

 

[Thompson]

Am I reading it wrong or is the chameleon 1 week old? Swollen joints could mean gout, a picture would help. I would get him some silkies and hornworms, helps flush outthe uric acid. He needs a vet ASAP from what you describe. Give him a lot of water, A LOT because he needs all these fluids in his body in order to flush out the uric acids out of his joints.

How old is he? We need to know in order to give you a proper dusting and feeding schedule.

 

[laurie]

i rehomed this beautiful turquoise calyptratus. Some of the husbandry is sketchy. Only fed crickets and they used d3 every other feeding. He had some swollen joints that seem slighty less in only a week, could have this been "metastic calcification" or gout(with the swollen joints that appear to have subsided a small amount). I was thinking about not giving him d3 for a while. I was thinking maybe two months at least. Could he have hypervitaminosis from that amount of d3 intake? How long does anyone out there think i should wait before reintroducing d3(i have reptisun 5.0 18"). I would not give him d3 for at least a month, then do an evaluation and decide



chameleon -calyptratus,1+ unknown, male, 1 week
handling - once a day (10-20 minutes)
feeding- still working on a weekly regiment, owner before fed nothing but crickets. I have crickets, mealworms, dubias, superworms, waxworms
supplements - rep cal herptivite multivitamins with beta carotene (have not used, probably will do the 1st and 15th of the month), reptcalcium w/o d3 for every feeding (zoo med, phosphorous free), rep-cal calcium with d3 (have not used). Just go with the plain calcium for a while
watering- drip cup- 1 second drip onto fake vine onto big pothos leaf into waterbowl (original owner had no drip system, said he drank from the water bowl), misting twice a day for 30 seconds up the misting to at least 3or 4 times a day about 2 or 3 minutes - yes your arm will fall off - sorry
fecal- dark (brownish to black), rolled and solid, some body parts with fecal like cricket legs, urate was pure white but i did notice some light yellow so i am working on little dehydration, parasites- i have a friend who is a vet tech teacher and she will check in for me in the beginning of july.
History- apparent burns on veil and most of back, most likey treated by a vet as it looks really good as in had some care., he was a rescue, then new owner, now he is in my care.

Cage- screen 30" x 28" x16" the best size cage for him is 24x24x48 smallest possible is 24x24x36 do this asap
lighting- flukers 75 watt heat lamp, came with 13 watt zilla reptile bulb light, i have upgraded to to an 18" reptisun 5.0, 12 on 12 off, 7 a.m. To 7 p.m. Central time looks good
temp 6 inches off floor is 77.2, basking is 89 degrees, taylor electronic temp/humidity monitor and cooking thermometers
humidity- 54 degrees, misting twice a day
plants- growing pothos, getting ficus benjamina
location- close to st. Louis, mo

could you post pictures of your new guy? He sure soulds pretty.

 

[Thompson]

Nevermind I see the chameleon in your avatar. He looks like he could be a year. I would get him as much sunlight as you can and not offer d3 , get to a reputable vet and ask him or her if this could be the cause and they should also take blood in order to see if he does have gout. If he does happen to have gout then they will prescribe you medicine to get rid of it.

I would only feed him about 3-6 feeders every other day. Keep off the roaches for a while since he might have gout and they are a little bit more protien.

 

[kirekameleon]

Am I reading it wrong or is the chameleon 1 week old? Swollen joints could mean gout, a picture would help. I would get him some silkies and hornworms, helps flush outthe uric acid. He needs a vet ASAP from what you describe. Give him a lot of water, A LOT because he needs all these fluids in his body in order to flush out the uric acids out of his joints.

How old is he? We need to know in order to give you a proper dusting and feeding schedule.

The 1 week is in reference to the "How To Ask" section for how long have had the Chameleon. I have had him for 1 week. I do not know his age, I am his third known owner. 1+ is all I know after that no info can be provided by previous owner on his age.

 

[kirekameleon]

Nevermind I see the chameleon in your avatar. He looks like he could be a year. I would get him as much sunlight as you can and not offer d3 , get to a reputable vet and ask him or her if this could be the cause and they should also take blood in order to see if he does have gout. If he does happen to have gout then they will prescribe you medicine to get rid of it.

I would only feed him about 3-6 feeders every other day. Keep off the roaches for a while since he might have gout and they are a little bit more protien.

Thank you, no roaches! Yes I take him outside after work to get some real sun and I agree about the D3, he had UVB light and a barren cage with two sticks in it to climb on when I got him. He had a poor diet as well, and only needed calcium w/o D3. From what they told me he was getting way too much calcium w/ D3 (every other feeding). They did not offer vitamins either so I am going to offer a little bit then start him on the 1st and 15th (sound good? Twice a month). He has a good light(?no tester) and gutloading insects with going outside in the sun, he really should not need any D3. I may be imagining but I am sure his swelling has gone down and look good. He is agile and climbing across the vines attached to the ceiling. He was bad at moving when I got him. He is all over the cage now. Working on the drinking part, the shower gets him to drink.

 

[Thompson]

Yes start with multivitamins, such as herptivite or the sticky tounge farms outdoor, twice a month. Could you post pics of his swollen joints up close? When you touch his swollen joints are they hard or squishy? I still think you should get him to a vet to get him checked out.

 

[kirekameleon]

Pictures

Here are some pictures, the last picture where he is darker and on the ground is the day I brought him home. Notice his rear right leg, looks swollen and wide; the other pics are today and it is not noticeable and his leg is much better as well as his other joints. He had some trouble on the branches the first two day as he legs seemed to have to of been restricted in movement, now he is good on the branches, hangs upside down, and swings on vines. I need to work on getting to drink, I think he is not drinking enough and I have rarely seen him drink. Once during misting and in the shower.

 

[Thompson]

He looks likes he's been burnt poor guys missing half of his veiled! He looks dehydrated and a bit under weight. He actually doesn't look a year in those pictures at all. I can't tell how old but I'm guess around 6-7 months old. So he needs to be fed everyday with atleast 5-8 feeders a day. Do you know how old the UVB bulb you have is? If you don't I'd get a new one just incase, the output could be low. I'd also lower his basking temps to 85 degrees.

 

[kirekameleon]

He looks likes he's been burnt poor guys missing half of his veiled! He looks dehydrated and a bit under weight. He actually doesn't look a year in those pictures at all. I can't tell how old but I'm guess around 6-7 months old. So he needs to be fed everyday with atleast 5-8 feeders a day. Do you know how old the UVB bulb you have is? If you don't I'd get a new one just incase, the output could be low. I'd also lower his basking temps to 85 degrees.

Yes he has most likely been burnt at one time, the previous owner said a possible fight, but that dont happen from a fight. Brand new reptisun 5.0 18".

 

[Duke]

Hey Kirekam

How is this little guy doing?

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."How long does anyone out there think I should wait before reintroducing D3(I have reptisun 5.0 18")"...do you mean D3 from light? If the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB it would self-regulate. D3 from supplements is a different story...you can skip it for a while.

If the chameleon has gout its difficult to treat. A test done by a vet is needed to be sure its gout. BTW..I don't see any signs of gout in his legs in the photos.

According to this site lack of water does not affect the excretion....
"In reptiles, uric acid is cleared from the blood through the kidneys tubules, dehydratation does not impair tubule excretion, but lower ambient temperatures does decrease renal tubule function. So provide the chameleon with temperatures ranges of 80-84ºF"...
http://www.reptilerepublic.com/university/stories/clinical-veiled.html
However...dehydration is a common cause of renal disease that leads to gout.

Thompson....there are no vitamins in Minerall....its minerals...
"There are no vitamins in MINER-ALL "...
http://livefoodonline.com/shop/arti...ral-suplement.html?shop_param=cid=10&aid=128&

 

[Psi]

You said..."How long does anyone out there think I should wait before reintroducing D3(I have reptisun 5.0 18")"...do you mean D3 from light? If the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB it would self-regulate. D3 from supplements is a different story...you can skip it for a while.

I disagree.

It's more likely he's D3 deficient then have been over-supplemented with Zoomed ReptiCalcium.
It just doesn't have enough IU/Kg to overdose a Cham.

 

[kinyonga]

Psi said..."It's more likely he's D3 deficient then have been over-supplemented with Zoomed ReptiCalcium.
It just doesn't have enough IU/Kg to overdose a Cham."...where do you see that the previous owner was giving it Zoomed ReptiCalcium 'cause I still can't see where it says that.