ME AND CHAMOMILE TEA
Chamomile Tea has a great number of helpful properties. The most commonly known is its properties for soothing jagged nerves. My introduction to its usefulness was with Jazzmine and finding thelandofvos ~ a fantastic Ekki site. The biggest challenge I have with keeping 6 large parrots in the dining room is to keep the volume at an acceptable level. The tea does work wonders in that capacity. Not perfect, but I definately notice a difference when I have not been using it regularly. Chamomile will take a few days to build and take effect.
Chamomile will also sooth itching and relieve some minor pain. Great for minor cuts and skin irritations. I will use this in a spray bottle for bird baths in combination with a pure aloe vera product. Both are ingestible.
A few months ago I heard that it was a product used by many Red Eyed Tree Frog keepers as a bath for frogs suffering health issues. Chamomile also has anti fungal qualities. I have found very little that frogs will tolerate. They can be extremely fragile in the wrong environment. Frogs suffer frequently from fungal infections that manifest themselves by skin blisters and disintegration of tissue. Water quality and humidity levels are the nemisis of keeping frogs healthy in captivity. I have begun using the Chamomile in the spray bottle a couple of times a week as a preventative measure and in their water sources as well.
Recent studies on birds have shown it having an effect on yeast fungi and certain staph bacteria.
My "recipe" is simple. One teabag in an 8 cup container. Steeped for 24 hours. During the season and the fall I use fresh flowers....which are stronger. Chamomile flowers are small. I use about 20 in the same amount of water, same time period of sitting. I don't want to artificially over come the difficulties but rather give a little help to the reptile's immunity system. I want to be pro active instead of reactive.
If the birds can use it. Birds are very sensitive when living in a captive environment. And the frogs can use it. They being so tiny and also fragile when husbandry requirements are not met. Many of the products recommended for lizards cannot be used on a frog. (ie. neosporin ) I'm confident it will have the same positive effects for the lizards.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Chamaemelum+nobile