vitamin A defficiency... how to correct this?

[PicassoTheVeiled]

my new veiled had a swolen eye, and somewhat a decreased appetite. so i took him to the vet and he said he may have a vitamin A defficiency. the doc gave him a vit A shot and said to come back in a week for another one...

so my question is: what can i feed him that will be better than what the person i bought him from was feeding? he is eating crickets gutloaded with baby cereal (which i switched to real cricket food and water gel with calcium) and the meal worms gut loaded with oatmeal.... i dust with calcium daily, (btw, is that too often?)... what else can i give him that would have vit A in it? the lady said he doesnt really like eating anything that is not living, but i can try some veggies and fruits if there are some that would be good for him. is there a multi vitamin with vit A in it? i looked at the petstore and i didnt see anything that specifically said high in vit A.

PLS HELP!

 

[draetish]

Let your vet handle the Vit A, it is easy to overdose and can cause MBD like symtons. Gutload your crickets with leafy greens like collard and turnip greens, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and oranges. You can also buy some Cricket Crack from one of the members. How old is your cham? Babies and adults have different supplementing schedules.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

Zoomed's Reptivite has Vit A in it . Rep Cal's Herptivite only has beta carotene form of Vit A.

 

[pantherlover]

gutload the feeders with fishflake containing vit a.. since the vet already gave him a shot of vit a, iwouldnt do this for a bit but once a month you could put a tiny dab of liquid from a vit a gelcap on the back of a feeder once a month. be careful not to overdose tho! a gelcap contains around 10000 iu. if your gonna use this method, its attempting to administer about 200iu a month. so do so extremely sparingly. keep in mind that convert betacaotine into vit a. if the vet alread gave him a shot of it id suggest not to add any more vit a into the diet yet or ask if it would be ok good luck.

justin

 

[draetish]

gutload the feeders with fishflake containing vit a.. since the vet already gave him a shot of vit a, iwouldnt do this for a bit but once a month you could put a tiny dab of liquid from a vit a gelcap on the back of a feeder once a month. be careful not to overdose tho! a gelcap contains around 10000 iu. if your gonna use this method, its attempting to administer about 200iu a month. so do so extremely sparingly. keep in mind that convert betacaotine into vit a. if the vet alread gave him a shot of it id suggest not to add any more vit a into the diet yet or ask if it would be ok good luck.

justin

I disagree - Vit A is easily overdosed and can do more harm. Also the cham stores Vit A to be used when needed and cannot expell the extra. Vit A is a once a year thing if at all.

 

[pantherlover]

fair enough donna. im only speaking from my own experience. proper gutloading & reptivite are the safest & best way to go, no doubt.

 

[GoFast]

In addition to what everyone else has said, you may want to steer clear of those meal worms. They have a lot chitin and can cause impaction.

 

[draetish]

fair enough donna. im only speaking from my own experience. proper gutloading & reptivite are the safest & best way to go, no doubt.

Justin, guess what? We are both correct. Preform Vit A is what I was talking about which is straight Vit A that can be easily overdosed. Proform Vit A is found in supplements, fruits and veg which is what you were talking about and is safe to use in that manner.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hello PicassoTheVeiled

Having the vet provide an oral vitamin A supplement once a year, based on the chameleons weight, is a perfectly safe way to go.

You might try expanding the prey choice to include more choices (silkworms, roaches, grasshoppers, stick insects, terrestrial isopods, moths, etc.); Thus increasing the chances that the prey will provide what your chameleons needs. And pay very good attention to proper gutloading.

edit: I personally feel that the wide assortment of bugs I offer, plus good gutloading, is why I never need to provide preformed A to my chameleons.

You could also indirectly provide preformed vitamin A, with caution. As has been stated, it is possible to overdose your chameleon with preformed A. Also levels of vitamin A need to be balanced with D and calcium. Moderation and balance is key. You could use a supplement that contains some preformed A, but use is sparingly, maybe just a few times a year. Or just feed the crickets, roaches etc a little something with preformed A, such as egg, avian (bird) food pellets, even a little dog kibble or fish flake food. Be mindful that egg, meat, fish food, cat food etc should NOT be a regular gutload item - too much animal source fat and protein is a bad thing.

More info regarding supplements and Vitamin A can be found mid-way down this page:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html

 

[dodolah]

and for the future, you might want to add reptivite to your supplement regiment.