Very sad case of MBD..
- Thread starter Sancho
- Start date
codiwatkins
New Member
soooooooo sooooooooo sad
dragongoddess
Established Member
It's hard to believe they even live to get like that when people are obviously taking such bad care of them.
Gluuvan
Established Member
Man peoples ignorance is so disheartening. I cant believe that anyone in their right mind could allow a animal to get in such shape. I wish all the advice that goes through this forum, could be shared with everyone that purchases such creatures. It should go with any animal though. Really upsetting!
CleaTheChameleon
New Member
Oh my goodness poor little thing.
Chameleoco
New Member
i took a baby veiled from a pet shop with arms like that, she had hypercalcemia though, and is actually doing fine now! her owner had fed feeder insects calcium and dusted heavily. Its frustrating though as the owner obviously thought he/she was doing the right thing by providing so much calcium to such a small little thing
laurie
Retired Moderator
I worry that as much as we all stress calcium, calcium, calcium, that we could be causing people to use way too much calcium. Boht too much or too little are bad and for a new person it is hard to know the difference.
How do we convey what the right amount is???
Chameleoco
New Member
I agree, calcium is one of the things that is constantly refered to and usually one of the first things people are told when purchasing. the right amount is hard to administer, i think that much more information needs to be given, I have to take the chameleon back to the pet shop
as the owner asked me if there was anything I could do for it but not that I could actually keep it! I hope that this chameleon doesnt get sold, because her bones are weak and she needs special care and observation, which someone buying her for a cool pet (most likely) will not particularly want to do (im guessing).I have prepared a sheet for the pet shop with the care and treatment I have provided for her but can only hope they follow it and pass it on to any new owner. I worry about when she starts to cycle eggs as i doubt she will make it through it
I might buy her!
Do calcium supplements in the US refer to the dangers of too much calcium, because the two brands I constantly use do not, which makes me think that unless you know the dangers then there is nothing to tell you. All they reccommend is "dusting at every feed"
Chameleoco
New Member
Also, i think the right amounth depends very much on the environment the chameleon is kept and his diet and even personal requirements from chameleon to chameleon, making the correct amounts even harder to gauge
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes. many factors. Type of chameleon, Gender, type of feeders offered, diet of feeders, ....
Fearaffect
Avid Member
Yea, I use to over supplement......now I only use D3 once or twice a month. Use to use every time I fed with calcium.........
The amount of D3 supplement you give the chameleon IMHO plays a part in how much calcium results in an overdose too. Its harder to overdose the calcium if you don't overdose the D3...and don't forget vitamin A and phosphorous play a part in it all too. So...IMHO its not just the amount of calcium you have to look at when looking at hypercalcemia.
jadeaudio
New Member
So how often do you guys use the powders on your insects? I have Rep-Cal Herptivite and the Rep-Cal calcium. How often should I dust them? I've only had my chams a couple months and nobody said anything about how often it should be. The directions on it only tells you how to do it and not how often. Some people say mix the two and some people say not to. I want to hear how often you guys do it to give me a good idea.
Gluuvan
Established Member
Well Jade it makes a difference from the age of the chameleon. My male and female are both 5 months old and i dust 3 times a week 2 times with calcium with d3 and 1 time with d3 and herpavite. As they get older i am going to back the dusting to only a couple times a month. From what i have gathered what you gutload with can make a difference in the intake you need to do. I am new to this also and i am sure there are a lot of people with tons more experience than i do with calcium and dusting.
For veileds (and some other species) I dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder (usually Rep-cal) regardless of age or sex. Because hatchlings are fed more often they get calcium more often.
I dust twice a month with Herptivite and twice a month with Rep-Cal with D3 regardless of age or sex.
I gutload and feed insects nutritious (natural) diets. Crickets, roaches, superworms all get a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, escarole, endive, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc.)
All I can say concerning whether this is right or wrong is that my veileds generally live long healthy lives.
I dust twice a month with Herptivite and twice a month with Rep-Cal with D3 regardless of age or sex.
I gutload and feed insects nutritious (natural) diets. Crickets, roaches, superworms all get a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, escarole, endive, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc.)
All I can say concerning whether this is right or wrong is that my veileds generally live long healthy lives.
warpdrive
Avid Member
to Jade and any other newbie to chameleons,
there realy is no right or wrong anser.
the best I can say is what works for others and for me...yet I'm a newbie too.
with that said, here is my advice:
gutloading your feeders with calcium rich foods such as kale, dandilion, and even romaine (lower then the two listed, but not bad) as well as other vitamin and mineral rich foods help the most.
crickets, roaches, and even superworms need good gutloading of both wet and dry foods.
for dry foods, I crush up kashi "heart to heart" cereal and add in a few other things like kelp, spirolina alge and bee pollin.
dusting should be done for your feeders depending on age and requirements of the chameleon...
a baby panther or veild needs calcium each feeding as they grow so fast.
others that grow slower need every other day or even less.
vitamins such as D3 or multi vitmins can be dusted only twice a month...just for a boost to what is in the gutload.
I personaly don't dust silkworms or butterworms as there is little need and giving a break from dusting is also good.
I just dust crickets and sometimes superworms as they have a high phos rates.
my panther is now almost 7 months old.
as he gets older and starts to slow down in growth I can dust less with calcium.
D3 and multi vitamins still need to be dusted but also could be reduced to just once or twice a month.
remember, that dusting is just a boost to what you should be feeding your "feeders".
Harry
there realy is no right or wrong anser.
the best I can say is what works for others and for me...yet I'm a newbie too.
with that said, here is my advice:
gutloading your feeders with calcium rich foods such as kale, dandilion, and even romaine (lower then the two listed, but not bad) as well as other vitamin and mineral rich foods help the most.
crickets, roaches, and even superworms need good gutloading of both wet and dry foods.
for dry foods, I crush up kashi "heart to heart" cereal and add in a few other things like kelp, spirolina alge and bee pollin.
dusting should be done for your feeders depending on age and requirements of the chameleon...
a baby panther or veild needs calcium each feeding as they grow so fast.
others that grow slower need every other day or even less.
vitamins such as D3 or multi vitmins can be dusted only twice a month...just for a boost to what is in the gutload.
I personaly don't dust silkworms or butterworms as there is little need and giving a break from dusting is also good.
I just dust crickets and sometimes superworms as they have a high phos rates.
my panther is now almost 7 months old.
as he gets older and starts to slow down in growth I can dust less with calcium.
D3 and multi vitamins still need to be dusted but also could be reduced to just once or twice a month.
remember, that dusting is just a boost to what you should be feeding your "feeders".
Harry
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