Metabolic bone disease is optionally described as osteoporosis, cage paralysis, nutritional secondary hyper Parathyroid, rickets, and paper bone disease. Actually imbalance between calcium and phosphorous is also one of the causes.In such case a well balanced diet will help with proper absorption and retention of calcium in the bones.



Pets suffer from diseases caused by deficiency of proper nutrients in the diet apart from diseases from infection from bacteria and viruses. A deficiency of vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus causes metabolic bone diseases. The major cause of this disease is due to improper care in dietary needs of animals. Ironically, this disease can also be caused by high consumption of proteins.

Animals out in the wild have lesser chance of developing metabolic bone disease. These animals get their prey as a whole which means the meat is taken in with so many other items like skin, fat, fur, bones, feathers, intestines, etc. Different parts of the prey provide different nutrients and the animal feeding on it gets a balanced diet by eating it.

Imbalance of calcium is THE major cause of Metabolic bone disease in exotic pets. Meat fed to Pets contains very less quantity of calcium and high levels of phosphorous. Phosphorous causes calcium deficiency by decreasing the capacity of the body to absorb the available calcium. Same result can be expected if the meat consists only of neonatal prey. Recommended ratio of calcium and phosphorous is 20:1. Historical evidence suggests that organs such as heart, kidney and liver will have calcium and phosphorus in the ratio of 1:44 which is quite alarming. Excess intake of vitamin A suppresses the absorption capacity of vitamin D and even of calcium, resulting in neuromuscular abnormalities and poor motor reflexes.

A well-balanced diet, and bones with scanty meat on it like ribs, necks, thigh bones, given twice a week will ensure proper health for your exotic pets. A more expensive method is commercially designed diets because it has the required composition. If you are worried about metabolic bone diseases of your exotic animals, you must understand these basic facts - calcium is necessary for proper bone growth as well as proper functioning of muscles. Calcium activates enzymes. The function of vitamin D is to maintain the proper ratio of calcium and phosphorous in the blood stream.