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RE: a few questions

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Posted by: kinyonga at Mon Dec 13 03:38:55 2010  [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by kinyonga ]  
   

You said him in one sentence and she in another...which is it??
I'm betting female since it loves the pothos.

You said..."im using a reptibark for the substrate"...many substrates if ingested can cause an impaction or (if woods)can contain toxic oils...so I don't recommend the use of any.

You said..."I mist it 2-3 times a day. she is in a screened enclosure, so keeping a moderate humidity level it tough. will this be an issue?"..with a veiled as long as it gets enough to drink the humidity isn't as crucial.

You said..."lighting/ heat I use a ceramic heat source that heats the hot spot about 80-85...good temperature, but a chameleon recognizes light as a source of heat and won't likely move close to the ceramic heat source if its cold.

You said..."there is also a 10.0 uv bulb that i turn off at night"...the most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.

She should get enough fluids from the insects, the veggies/greens and the mistings.

Here's some information you might like to read.....
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Young veileds can heat up and cool and dehydrate more rapidly than an adult can so I keep the temperature in the cage more moderate (in the low 80's).

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light...as I already said. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

When keeping a female, she can/may lay eggs even though not mated so its important to provide an opaque container (minimum size - 12" deep x 12" x 8" of moistened washed playsand in the cage once she is sexually mature so that she has a place to dig to lay eggs if necessary.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/


   

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