Posted by:
kinyonga
at Wed Mar 11 20:14:11 2009 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by kinyonga ]
What brand and type (compact or long linear tube) UVB light are you using?
You said there's a fan in the room...is it blowing on the cage at all? Is the cage near a window?
You said..."I dust with repcal phosfree with D3... like every two months really. I do dust with reptivite occasionally though.The Crickets eat collards (easy for me to grow) and zuchini mostly with the occasional yam"...I dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous in most feeder insects.
I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. D3 from SUPPLEMENTS can build up in the system and cause problems so don't overdo it.
I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene (prOformed vitamin A) can not lead to an overdose like the prEformed can. Preformed is exactly that...comes to the animal already formed and ready to do its job. It comes from animal sources and man-made sources like palmitate and acetate. Excess prEformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. Now comes the problem...it has not been proven that all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene to prEformed vitamin A. Because of this some people give a little to them evey once in a while.
Gutloading crickets...I use an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrot, sweet potato, squash, zucchini, sweet red pepper, etc.). The wider the better the chance that the chameleons will get what they need IMHO.
Calcium, D3, vitamin A, and phos. are all important players and need to be in balance. You need to look at what you feed the insects, the chameleon and what supplements you use when trying to balance them.
Once the females are about 5 months old you should put a suitable place for them to dig in the cage since they can lay eggs without mating.
The eye problem...it could be from a vitamin A problem or it might not be. If you were to give it a little prEformed vitamin A it might work...but then it might also cause problems (like organ damage). I can't tell you what to do about it...I'm not a vet. A vet should be able to run some tests to find out the levels of vitamin A.
Sorry I can't offer you more help. ![](images/smiles/sad.gif)
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