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Um, no, not really. 1) If the animal was getting enough calcium, there'd be no need for calcium shots (ie. using shots to make sure calcium is present is a TOTAL indication that nutrition is not acceptable). 2) Too much calcium really depends on things like what type (too much powdered calcium taken orally can cause some issues, liquid calcium is definitely the better option) or if it is concomitantly supplemented with too much vitamin D3 (which tends to lead to soft tissue calcification).

Uh, no to this as well. Biotin is a very necessary micronutrient, it is required for the citric acid cycle, a process that generates energy during aerobic metabolism, as well as a number of other physiological processes. Biotin is present in the yolk of eggs (as well as in plants). You want your tegu to have biotin. However, egg WHITES have avidin, avidin will bind to biotin, making it unavailable for absorption. Cooking the egg white denatures the avidin (people say that using fertilized eggs avoids this as well, but this is somewhat of a myth).

You haven't answered some key issues, however. Doesn't matter where in the cage your UVB bulb is located (with respect to end, middle, front, back), it matters the distance between the bulb and your tegu, and whether there is ANYTHING between the bulb and your tegu. Have you had your UVB intensity measured at the level where your tegu would be receiving it?

Keep in mind that the issues you are experiencing may not be entirely diet related (although from what you've presented here, everything is calcium poor, you're only "dusting", so calcium intake is the most likely culprit). In the calcium absorption-metabolism pathway there are a number of key steps. First is clearly dietary absorption, which requires vitamin D3. Everyone likes to think the vitamin D3 comes from the UVB, but this is just one of the steps. Similar to calcium, it has to be absorbed via nutrition (well, the precursor form of 7-dehydrocholesterol that is), this gets transported to the skin via the blood, where it interacts with UVB in the 290-310 nm wavelengths to become (eventually) cholecalciferol. This gets taken to the liver where it is hydroxylated to calcifediol, which is then taken to the kidneys to be further hydroxylated to become the active calcitriol. Disease in any of these locations (intestine, skin, liver, kidneys) can interfere and inhibit vitamin D3 production and hence calcium metabolism. Likewise, other vitamins and minerals are needed for these chemical processes, such as selenium. Not only should you be using greater calcium supplementation than you are, but you should likewise be utilizing vitamin supplementation. For meat and organs, you should be using about 1 tablespoon of powdered calcium supplement per pound of protein. To this you can "dust" with vitamins. If this fails to correct the issue, then you need to go through other analyses to determine what parts of the pathway are being inhibited with your tegu. You may want to have it checked for parasites, some of these too can disrupt the calcium metabolic pathways.

<blockquote data-quote="Roadkill" data-source="post: 134724" data-attributes="member: 3844">Um, no, not really.&nbsp; 1) If the animal was getting enough calcium, there'd be no need for calcium shots (ie. using shots to make sure calcium is present is a TOTAL indication that nutrition is not acceptable).&nbsp; 2) Too much calcium really depends on things like what type (too much powdered calcium taken orally can cause some issues, liquid calcium is definitely the better option) or if it is concomitantly supplemented with too much vitamin D3 (which tends to lead to soft tissue calcification).Uh, no to this as well.&nbsp; Biotin is a very necessary micronutrient, it is required for the citric acid cycle, a process that generates energy during aerobic metabolism, as well as a number of other physiological processes.&nbsp; Biotin is present in the yolk of eggs (as well as in plants).&nbsp; You want your tegu to have biotin.&nbsp; However, egg WHITES have avidin, avidin will bind to biotin, making it unavailable for absorption.&nbsp; Cooking the egg white denatures the avidin (people say that using fertilized eggs avoids this as well, but this is somewhat of a myth).You haven't answered some key issues, however.&nbsp; Doesn't matter where in the cage your UVB bulb is located (with respect to end, middle, front, back), it matters the distance between the bulb and your tegu, and whether there is ANYTHING between the bulb and your tegu.&nbsp; Have you had your UVB intensity measured at the level where your tegu would be receiving it?Keep in mind that the issues you are experiencing may not be entirely diet related (although from what you've presented here, everything is calcium poor, you're only &quot;dusting&quot;, so calcium intake is the most likely culprit).&nbsp; In the calcium absorption-metabolism pathway there are a number of key steps.&nbsp; First is clearly dietary absorption, which requires vitamin D3.&nbsp; Everyone likes to think the vitamin D3 comes from the UVB, but this is just one of the steps.&nbsp; Similar to calcium, it has to be absorbed via nutrition (well, the precursor form of 7-dehydrocholesterol that is), this gets transported to the skin via the blood, where it interacts with UVB in the 290-310 nm wavelengths to become (eventually) cholecalciferol.&nbsp; This gets taken to the liver where it is hydroxylated to calcifediol, which is then taken to the kidneys to be further hydroxylated to become the active calcitriol.&nbsp; Disease in any of these locations (intestine, skin, liver, kidneys) can interfere and inhibit vitamin D3 production and hence calcium metabolism.&nbsp; Likewise, other vitamins and minerals are needed for these chemical processes, such as selenium.&nbsp; Not only should you be using greater calcium supplementation than you are, but you should likewise be utilizing vitamin supplementation.&nbsp; For meat and organs, you should be using about 1 tablespoon of powdered calcium supplement per pound of protein.&nbsp; To this you can &quot;dust&quot; with vitamins.&nbsp; If this fails to correct the issue, then you need to go through other analyses to determine what parts of the pathway are being inhibited with your tegu.&nbsp; You may want to have it checked for parasites, some of these too can disrupt the calcium metabolic pathways.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Roadkill, post: 134724, member: 3844"] Um, no, not really. 1) If the animal was getting enough calcium, there'd be no need for calcium shots (ie. using shots to make sure calcium is present is a TOTAL indication that nutrition is not acceptable). 2) Too much calcium really depends on things like what type (too much powdered calcium taken orally can cause some issues, liquid calcium is definitely the better option) or if it is concomitantly supplemented with too much vitamin D3 (which tends to lead to soft tissue calcification). Uh, no to this as well. Biotin is a very necessary micronutrient, it is required for the citric acid cycle, a process that generates energy during aerobic metabolism, as well as a number of other physiological processes. Biotin is present in the yolk of eggs (as well as in plants). You want your tegu to have biotin. However, egg WHITES have avidin, avidin will bind to biotin, making it unavailable for absorption. Cooking the egg white denatures the avidin (people say that using fertilized eggs avoids this as well, but this is somewhat of a myth). You haven't answered some key issues, however. Doesn't matter where in the cage your UVB bulb is located (with respect to end, middle, front, back), it matters the distance between the bulb and your tegu, and whether there is ANYTHING between the bulb and your tegu. Have you had your UVB intensity measured at the level where your tegu would be receiving it? Keep in mind that the issues you are experiencing may not be entirely diet related (although from what you've presented here, everything is calcium poor, you're only "dusting", so calcium intake is the most likely culprit). In the calcium absorption-metabolism pathway there are a number of key steps. First is clearly dietary absorption, which requires vitamin D3. Everyone likes to think the vitamin D3 comes from the UVB, but this is just one of the steps. Similar to calcium, it has to be absorbed via nutrition (well, the precursor form of 7-dehydrocholesterol that is), this gets transported to the skin via the blood, where it interacts with UVB in the 290-310 nm wavelengths to become (eventually) cholecalciferol. This gets taken to the liver where it is hydroxylated to calcifediol, which is then taken to the kidneys to be further hydroxylated to become the active calcitriol. Disease in any of these locations (intestine, skin, liver, kidneys) can interfere and inhibit vitamin D3 production and hence calcium metabolism. Likewise, other vitamins and minerals are needed for these chemical processes, such as selenium. Not only should you be using greater calcium supplementation than you are, but you should likewise be utilizing vitamin supplementation. For meat and organs, you should be using about 1 tablespoon of powdered calcium supplement per pound of protein. To this you can "dust" with vitamins. If this fails to correct the issue, then you need to go through other analyses to determine what parts of the pathway are being inhibited with your tegu. You may want to have it checked for parasites, some of these too can disrupt the calcium metabolic pathways. [/QUOTE]

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