My Jackson's Supplement Schedule

There are at least three reasonable supplement schedules commonly in use these days. The one bit of advise I would give for all of them is to not over dust the feeders. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Your feeder insects should never look like powdered doughnuts or that scene from Scarface. I strive to make my feeders only slightly lighter in color from the undusted ones. It should take a side by side comparison to tell one group from the other. Should you over dust feed half the number of insects to cut back the amount of supplement to be ingested. Calcium is the safest of these supplements but even with it too much can slow digestion and cause constipation.

The standard three supplement regiment of a phosphorus free calcium, a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin without D3 has been used successfully for many years. I will quote the version from the resources section of the forum "Feeder insects should be lightly dusted with powdered supplement before being fed to your chameleon. As a montane species (native to higher altitudes) Jackson's have decreased supplementation requirements compared to tropical species due to metabolism differences. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) twice a week, a multivitamin once a month, and calcium with D3 once a month."

I personally use a two supplement regiment of phosphorus and D3 free calcium mixed with powdered bee pollen and Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, the one with the Jackson's on the label. I don't know if the bee pollen is of any value but it seems harmless in very small quantities and probably at least provides dietary fiber. I consider it optional. My schedule is used with a T5 linear fixture with a 5.0 or 6% light. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I dust with phoshorus free calcium mixed with bee pollen 10:1. I have reduced the amount of bee pollen I use after reports of gular edema associated with its use. Twice a month I substitute Repashy Calcium plus LoD for a Monday's calcium. This way they get 2-3 doses of calcium per week and two doses of multi vitamin with a little D3 per month. Clearly the days of the week don't matter as long as they are every other and not more than three per week. When I keep my chameleons outdoors I modify the schedule to only one dose per month of the Repashy LoD and I'm only giving it for the multivitamins it provides.
Note: I feed daily. If you skip days you will need to dust only half of the feeders to avoid over dosing,

Arcadia makes the third supplement combo. I have never used it and can not give you any real insight. There was a time when it was more difficult to source in the US but it seems that has been resolved.
IMG_2611.jpg

Comments

There are no comments to display.

Blog entry information

Author
JacksJill
Read time
2 min read
Views
1,280
Last update

More entries in General

More entries from JacksJill

Share this entry

Back
Top Bottom