What MBD really is...and how Severe it is..

[Brad Ramsey]

draetish,

You are referring to proformed vitamin A (beta carotene)
The useable vitamin is preformed (animal matter)
It is not known if chameleons are capable of converting proformed to preformed ... as far as we know, vegetative matter is not a source of vitamin A.

-Brad

 

[kinyonga]

draetish said..."Isn't Vit A found in foilage?"...no. Beta carotene (prOformed vitamin A) is found in plants, veggies, etc. This has to be converted to vitamin A to be used. PrEformed sources of vitamin A generally come from animal products and are ready to go...its these that can build up in the system and cause problems.
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/VitaminA.html

There is a small amount of vitamin A in insects...its needed for vision. Some insects have higher levels...but there isn't much information on it.

There is still the controversy as to whether all/any chameleon can convert the beta carotene or whether they need a preformed source.

 

[Lindsey]

PrEformed vitamin A is in the form for the body to use right away and it can build up in the body if too much is given. Beta caroten (prOformed) won't because its converted into vitamin A as needed...but there is controvesy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it. Excess vitamin A can interfere with the D3 in the chameleon's system and push it towards MBD....so it does have to do with calcium absorption in that if it prevents the D3 from working with the calcium so that it can be absorbed the chameleon will lack calcium in its system and likely will end up with MBD.

Here are some articles that might help...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102

I didn't know that about vitamin A. Moral of the story is don't over-supplement, right?

Thanks!

 

[Jono]

Nicely summerised.

Remember there is nothing better than pure sunlight to avoid MDM. Even if its for 10minutes get the little guys out there as often as possible,

 

[KShook]

I Agree Natural Sunlight is ALWAYS the best! I have mine outside when it's not to cold...she's getting better now that I have her, slowly getting her strength back! Thank God for that!

Nicely summerised.

Remember there is nothing better than pure sunlight to avoid MDM. Even if its for 10minutes get the little guys out there as often as possible,

 

[kinyonga]

All the sunlight in the world won't prevent MBD if there is not enough calcium in the chameleon's diet/system. Sunlight is the best source of UVB for them though.

If a chameleon has MBD you have to bring the nutrient levels back into balance and at the same time learn to balance those nutrients so that once they have been brought back in line, they stay that way. The main players involved in this are calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A.