Raising snails. Will these sufficie?

[cyberlocc]

Ehhh idk about that analogy with the jawbreaker. We lick the jawbreaker, we don't swallow it. I'm not disagreeing. Just a little curious how it would work... if something is sitting in your stomach for days, it would interfere with other foods you eat. Not to mention calcium often inhibits the uptake of other minerals and nutrients from my understanding. So my thinking is, couldn't having a constant calcium source in your stomach interfere a little?

I really don't know.

All we can do, is take what we know and go from there.

We know that WC Chameleons do not have MBD, on a massive scale.

We know that WC chameleons drink rain water which is devoid of calcium.

We know their diet includes snail's and Isopods, and the rest of it is fairly devoid of calcium.

They are getting Calcium somehow, and the only source I can see is snail's. And Sandra fed snail's for a long time with no I'll effects. People have been feeding snail's here since 2008.

That video doesn't convince me, I have snails, fed them to panther and Parsons, they were pretty confused by them at first and eventually used their tongues. I think the walking up and biting is either a jacksons or individual strategy rather than an instinct from the wild, but then again, I don't know for certain.

Its not a Jackson's only response. However are your Parsons and Panthers WC? Those Jackson's are. It could be the invetible loss of instinct in the CB Chams.

I have seen someone said their WC veilied did the same, and someone said a Mellers did it. The only thing in common was being WC. Jack said his WC still shoots at it, so it could be a personality thing as well.

 

[jamest0o0]

Ahh I see what you mean on the WC eating method. no my Parsons is only CH. Rather than snails, I think for the big chams at least, you're forgetting invertebrates. I'm sure snails are part of it, but I bet a lot of small rodents, birds, and lizards are too. I guess they would digest the same way as a shell though, so maybe you're onto something lol

 

[jamest0o0]

Also, I've been feeding snails for a couple years, I'm not against it. I think they're awesome feeders. Just don't know how to feel about a shell taking 3 days to digest in the stomach, when with people at least... Small doses are better, it allows uptake of other nutrients more easily, and saves space for more food.

 

[cyberlocc]

Ahh I see what you mean on the WC eating method. no my Parsons is only CH. Rather than snails, I think for the big chams at least, you're forgetting invertebrates. I'm sure snails are part of it, but I bet a lot of small rodents, birds, and lizards are too. I guess they would digest the same way as a shell though, so maybe you're onto something lol

Ya I think his link, stated a couple of lizards were eaten but not logged for some reason (I think they said that was a separate batch).

Your Parsons defiantly eat birds in the wild. But like you said, same applies.

I just don't see how else they are getting Calcium. I don't think there is some big duster in the sky lol .

On the vien on digesting. The calcium we eat takes awhile to break down too, unless your a vegaterian. Milk curds in your stomach, I am not sure the effects of the calcium or how fast it's digested, just the calcium. However milk itself is much much slower to digest than other foods.


Laurie had said in some older posts, that alot of the WC Chams they necropsy would have snail's in there system. From every Cham family, especially Jackson's.

Arguably I would think (though I don't know much about them) Jackson's would be one of the highest needs of calcium. Those horns have to suck down some serious Calcium.

 

[cyberlocc]

My main concern is their is still a flip side. While feeding too little calcium, feeding too much can also cause problems. So feeding snail's, and BSF larvae and Isos adds up, add it with dusting and you got an insane amount of calcium.

I think Sandra said on the days she fed snail's, she didn't dust, but did other days, but wouldn't it work in the other way? If it takes a week to break down and you add more calcium wouldn't that be bad?


To be clear, this is all speculative. If you are reading this, do not attempt it without Vet guidance, and experience. It could be very bad, very fast.

 

[jamest0o0]

Ya I think his link, stated a couple of lizards were eaten but not logged for some reason (I think they said that was a separate batch).

Your Parsons defiantly eat birds in the wild. But like you said, same applies.

I just don't see how else they are getting Calcium. I don't think there is some big duster in the sky lol .

On the vien on digesting. The calcium we eat takes awhile to break down too, unless your a vegaterian. Milk curds in your stomach, I am not sure the effects of the calcium or how fast it's digested, just the calcium. However milk itself is much much slower to digest than other foods.


Laurie had said in some older posts, that alot of the WC Chams they necropsy would have snail's in there system. From every Cham family, especially Jackson's.

Arguably I would think (though I don't know much about them) Jackson's would be one of the highest needs of calcium. Those horns have to suck down some serious Calcium.

I thought milk took a long time to digest due to the casein protein. I used to drink casein before bed and eat cottage cheese for this slowed digestion when I was all about the wightlifting lol.

I'm with you on this all, I'm just being a little critical for the sake of the discussion.

Too much calcium could definitely be negative, when my chams took isopods I didn't dust the other feeders. I try to dust my Parsons food with calcium very lightly every feeding. I also add bee pollen, spirulina, brewers yeast, moringa, kelp, and other powders I come by. I always wonder if the calcium is inhibiting some of the other minerals though since that seems to be the case with people.

 

[jamest0o0]

like foods with oxalates interfere with calcium absorption, that's why a lot of high calcium greens aren't utilized as well as dairy

 

[jamest0o0]

Oh and lastly, the calcium always puzzled me too. Snails and invertebrates make sense. Is there any other wild insects that offer calcium in abundance? What about smaller reptiles that probably aren't eating either?

 

[David Esparza]

I see he ate it shell first. That's a bit bigger than what I feed off but he seems to be handling it well.

someone please help me with my question

 

[hammerhead]

I had no clue we could feed snails ... Ive never seen these offered.