3-4 panther male eating/supplementation schedule

[BenJammin]

Hey everyone,

I just purchased a 3-4 month old panther chameleon from Kammerflage Kreations, and have had him for about a week now, and everything seems to be going great! I have been feeding him 8-12 crickets everyday, and also have some butterworms and superworms coming in tomorrow. I gutload the crickets and plan on doing so for the superworms.

Here are some things you may wish you know:

Male Panther Chameleon
3-4 Months old
Ambient Temp - 72-80
Basking Temp - 90
Humidity - 60-80
Cup fed and free range fed (most likely will use cup method more often)
Indoor chameleon setup, and will probably not be outside anytime soon.

My question is, along with the crickets, how many feeders should he get a day with the butterworms and superworms? I plan on getting dubia in a couple months when he is older being that they come in such various sizes.

Also, Kammerflage Kreations has given me this supplementation plan to follow:

Herptivite - Mondays an Thursdays
Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 - Tuesdays and Fridays
Miner-All outdoor version (since there is enough D3 in the Rep-Cal) - Wednesdays and Saturdays

Would this be too much supplementation? What are your opinions on what supplementation plan I should follow?

Thanks in advance to any and all replies, and I apologize about the long post!

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Here is some information that I hope will help....I realize that it includes a bit more than just the supplement schedule...but the other things all tie in with it...

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Temperatures needed can vary with the species and age. For hatchling panthers I keep the temperature in the warmest area in the low 80's. For older panthers I keep it in the mid to high 80's for the most part.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[BenJammin]

Great Info! I appreciate it Kinyonga!