I know this image is unclear but it gives a general idea of whats going on. When I woke up today my baby veiled had a white crusty on her right nostril. It fell off and I wasn't concerned about it until later this afternoon I saw she had more on both nostrils. Now I know things like this could be respiratory infection which ussualy comes from low humidity or low temps, but her ambient temps are around 85 and her basking temps are around 95. She makes her way around her cage pretty good, she will bask for about an hour, then wander for about an hour. As you can tell she is nice light green and I do not beleive her to be stressed. She eats like a pig and has grown since I got her a week ago, so what could these white crusties be?
This white crusty stuff you are seeing around the nostrils is likely salts that the chameleon is blowing out its nose. This is how they get rid of excess salts in their system. It could be that you are oversupplementing your chameleon or that you are not hydrating it enough. What do you do in the way of supplementing and hydrating it? Please be specific.....like, I use this product this often...etc.
Sorry, I'll be more specific. She is getting rep-cal dusted on her crickets every other day and reptolife dusted on her crickets twice a week. Her crickets are fed flukers calcium enriched water gell and a ground mixture(made by my feeder supplier) of soy, wheat and some other grains. I hydrate her with a spray bottle probably 5 times a day and I watch her lap it up too. The humidity in the room is generaly around 50% most of the time. I also sometimes use a sokaed cloth on top of her cage to drip down on the leaves.
is this right or wrong? I was aked to provide this information last week and no one has told me if this is okay or too much. she stopped blowing the crusties out her nose, but I dont want it to happen again so could someone tell me if I am doing something wrong? thanks
TomTom - I don't think it's that no one cares - it's just this is a VERY quiet forum and I know myself, I've actually been curious to find out what advice can be offered in terms of your post, so I've been waiting along with you *LOL* If I had the answer for you I'd give it up! Christy
When I asked you to be more specific it was in case you were under-hydrating or over-supplementing. You didn't seem to be doing either so I really couldn't offer you any other adivce. I also have a lot of other things to do so I can't always get back to answer right away. (50 or so reptiles to look after, a family, about a dozen forums to check each day, etc. keeps me busy!) Also...since you said you have only had her for a week, maybe the problem came from her care before you got her? Do you have a water softener on the line that you get the water from? Since I'm here now, all I can suggest is that you continue to hydrate her well and hopefully it will go away. Also..not really to do with your question, but still important in chameleon care...you said you use reptolife... Is this the one?... http://www.amazon.com/TETRA-HOLDINGS-INC-R...s/dp/B0002APQKC The reptolife shown in that site has vitamin A and vitamin D in it. If the vitamin A comes from beta carotene it won't build up in the system....but preformed vitamin A can. D3 from supplements can also build up. I'm assuming that the Rep-Cal you are using is the one without the D3? Gutloading and feeding your insects a nutritious diet is important. On the ADCHAM site I listed (below) there is a gutload that is often recommended. Appropriate temperatures are important so that a chameleon can digest its food and thus absorb the nutrients better. Phosphorous, calcium, D3 and vitamin A all play a part in bone health and other things in the chameleons body...so its important to have a balance. Since most insects we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous, I dust with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings. I also use a vitamin powder twice a month that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. There is some controversy as to whether any species of chameleon can convert beta carotene to vitamin A so some people give a little preformed vitamin A to them once in a while. Excess PREFORMED vitamin A can build up in the system and prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD. Because my chameleons only get UVB from UVB tube lights and don't get direct sunlight as a rule, I also dust with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month. D3 from SUPPLEMENTS can build up in the system....so caution is advised. Exposure to UVB from either UVB tube lights or the sun allows the chameleon to produce D3 which allows it to use its dietary calcium. The UVB from either must not pass through glass or plastic. Here are some sites that you might like to read.... http://adcham.com/ http://www.chameleonnews.com/ http://www.uvguide.co.uk/skintests.htm http://web.archive.org/web/20060502074401/....Vitamin.A.html
Thanks for the tips. I actualy changed from reptolife to herptivite, I know herptivite is way better but its way more expensive, but I went all out on it haha. Yah I know about the vitamins and the calcium, and no there is no water siftener on my water system. I am currently feeding my crickets a mixture of soy and other grains I get from my feeder supplier, and I also throw in carrots, asparagus and other safe veggies every once in a while. I also dont think the problem arose from her previous caregiver as the crickets in her cage were about half inch crickets and she was only about 3 inches when I got her. She has grown about an inch these last 2 weeks, but she is still blowing out the crusties every once in a while. I also built a homemade rain simulator, a washed bottle with an aquarium air house connected to it, holes poked in the house and strung along the top of her enclosure. It works pretty good, I am pretty proud of it haha. I apologize for the way I "demanded" a response. I did not mean at all that YOU (kinyonga) needed to give me answers but I thought maybe someone else could help me in deciding if the supplementaion is correct. I was just worried about my Cham and did not want to continue something I might be doing wrong. Thanks for the info though.
Hola tomtom, Too many hours at work, too many chameleons, and too many bugs to feed the chameleons, in addition to caring for a father with dementia and running a household all combine to keep me from responding as quickly as I would like. I know the frustration of asking a question and not having it responded to promptly, and I apologize. Kinyonga has it right.. usually the crusties are oversupplementation of some sort. I haven't used the first dust that you mention, but I do strongly believe in supplementing with preformed vitamin A, and keep dusting powders that provide it. If your insects are well gutloaded, and it sounds like you are doing a nice job with that, she should only need a vitamin supplement once a week or so at her age. As she grows older, you can back that off to once a month, especially if she is eating vegetables and fruits. Her food needs to be dusted lightly with calcium every other day or so, and if the dusting is excessive, that could be the cause of the crusties. When you have a little extra cash, you may want to invest in dusting powders from this company: http://www.rocksolidherpetoculture.com/ind...2&Itemid=94 They were specifically designed with chameleons in mind by one of the most knowledgable veterinarians in the United States. While you are there, you could take a look at the library link, which has some great information about nutrition, including articles about vitamin A.
tomtom...I understand your concern completely and I know its hard to waiting for an answer...I just wanted you to realize that most of us are busy and post when we can.
Thanks again for the tips, Im sorry for my impatience, I know how it is to be busy, I should have thought about that before I became impatient. Thanks though, I have been dusting with herptivite twice a week now but I will probably pull that back to once a week
