Adopting a Panther, Supplement Question. Pics of him!

rickd5

New Member
So I'm adopting a 9 month old Sambanja sired by Akuma from Screameleons.

He looks really healthy and I'm getting a good price on him :)

Anyways I've only owned veiled's and have never had a young chameleon.

My question is with supplementation, I know there are tons of post about this but I can't find a solid one from 2013 that answers my question.

Im used to: (feeding 4-5 feeders a day)
-Sticky tongue mineral-O (Nearly every feeding) (almost every feeder dusted)
-Rep-cal Herptivite vitamins(2x a month) (2-3 crickets dusted)
-Rep-cal Calcium with d3(2x a month) (2-3 crickets dusted

However I see that until a chameleon is 12 months old many owners dust Herptivite 1-2 times a week and d3 2x a week aswell. This seems like a lot but even Screameleons recommends this on their website.

What do you guys recommend if he 9 months. and when he gets 12 months should I just do what Im used to.

I want to follow Sandrachameleon's regimen of a 50/50 mix of mineral-O with repashy calcium plus but don't want to oversupplement!

Whats the simplest and best.

Now the owner told me this
"He eats mainly crickets as a staple dusted with calcium without d3 i feed around 4-5 large daily. He also eats silkworms, hornworms, superworms but does not eat dubai crickets i don't know why he doesn't like them. I give him herptivite twice a month but no d3 regimen because he gets regular sunlight through a screen door. I do not handle him a lot but he is friendly sometimes he gets grumpy before sheds. "

-the no d3 worries me but I have heard with exposure to sun everyday this is okay.
-is herptivite twice a month enough for this guy?

What do you guys think, from all my research I have done he seems like a keeper. I'm going to go seem him in person in a couple days.
 

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Im used to: (feeding 4-5 feeders a day)
-Sticky tongue mineral-O (Nearly every feeding) (almost every feeder dusted)
-Rep-cal Herptivite vitamins(2x a month) (2-3 crickets dusted)
-Rep-cal Calcium with d3(2x a month) (2-3 crickets dusted

This sounds fine to me for a cham that age and kept under UVB lighting.

I would ignore the advise to use D3 twice a week, at least not the rep-cal D3 product. With that one I would never go more than once a week MAX and twice a month should be sufficient. It is a very potent product/ has a lot of D3 in it. Other brands might be used more often, but not that one.

Okay to Herptivite every week if you want to, especially if you are not using a wide variety of well gutloaded prey. Some other vitamin products you would want to be more careful of.

Do try to offer a wide variety of prey that is well gutloaded, not just crickets. He may be interested in dubia if they are offered in a different manner - I find some chameleons only like them presented in a particular way, because they don't move enough otherwise.

If you later choose to use the Repashy Calcium Plus product (instead of the repcal with D3 and instead of herptivite), look for the new one with "low d," Or consider lessening the amount of vitamins (especially fat soluble ones like D3 and preformed vitamin A) per use by mixing it (as needed, in small batches) with a vitamin free product.
 
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This sounds fine to me for a cham that age and kept under UVB lighting.

I would ignore the advise to use D3 twice a week, at least not the rep-cal D3 product. With that one I would never go more than once a week MAX and twice a month should be sufficient. It is a very potent product/ has a lot of D3 in it. Other brands might be used more often, but not that one.

Okay to Herptivite every week if you want to, especially if you are not using a wide variety of well gutloaded prey. Some other vitamin products you would want to be more careful of.

Do try to offer a wide variety of prey that is well gutloaded, not just crickets. He may be interested in dubia if they are offered in a different manner - I find some chameleons only like them presented in a particular way, because they don't move enough otherwise.

If you later choose to use the Repashy Calcium Plus product (instead of the repcal with D3 and instead of herptivite), look for the new one with "low d," Or consider lessening the amount of vitamins (especially fat soluble ones like D3 and preformed vitamin A) per use by mixing it (as needed, in small batches) with a vitamin free product.

Thanks for the prompt reply! Yes that schedule you quoted is what I would use.

The owner who has him now does this: "He eats mainly crickets as a staple dusted with calcium without d3 i feed around 4-5 large daily. He also eats silkworms, hornworms, superworms but does not eat dubai crickets i don't know why he doesn't like them. I give him herptivite twice a month but no d3 regimen because he gets regular sunlight through a screen door. I do not handle him a lot but he is friendly sometimes he gets grumpy before sheds."

-Is the no d3 at all okay?

This off the screameleons blog threw me off bigtime: "This depends on the age of your chameleon. Chameleons 1-10 months old should receive Rep-Cal with D3 every other day and Herptivite twice a week. Chameleons 10-18 months should receive both twice a week. Chameleons 18+ months should receive both once a week."



- I hear a lot of good things about the repashy cal+, it looks like you use it as a 50/50 mix with mineral-O and dust it a few times a week on multiple prey items for you panther's. I think I will follow a similar routine once my herptivite runs out... i'm just paranoid and want everything to be spot-on for this guy considering I had a bad experience with my last chameleon.

-I'm hoping im being a little too crazy with the supplements and if they are not exactly right, things wont go downhill!

=====> A lot of chameleon owners talk about paying attention to what your cham eats and adjusting supplementing/how much you dust/what you dust and don't dust.. I just find it hard to micro-manage all these factors and don't even have the knowledge to do so, i'd rather have a set routine in my calendar <====

-Im hoping if I keep him on a steady diet of crickets plus 3-5 other feeders and do the routine I know.. (d3/vit 2x a month, calcium every day) all will be fine
 
Also I love your gutload recipes

a member had a post on where to find ingredients.. I cant find it anywhere if you have the link.
 
If he gets a lot of natural sunlight, I would opt out of the d3. I mean twice a month is probably not going to hurt if they are getting a lot of natural uvb, so you could if you want. My chameleons basically live outdoors, so I do not supplement with d3 at all. I just don't find it necessary.
 
...but no d3 regimen because he gets regular sunlight through a screen door. ...
-Is the no d3 at all okay?

hard to say, since we don't know how much uvb he got - the density of the screen is a factor. most who keep chams outside use little to no D3. Anyways, he looks okay, so I wouldn't worry about the past.

This off the screameleons blog threw me off bigtime: "This depends on the age of your chameleon. Chameleons 1-10 months old should receive Rep-Cal with D3 every other day and Herptivite twice a week. Chameleons 10-18 months should receive both twice a week. Chameleons 18+ months should receive both once a week."

This goes to show that there is more than one road to success. I would never suggest this amount myself, but clearly its what works for them.

Im hoping if I keep him on a steady diet of crickets plus 3-5 other feeders and do the routine I know.. (d3/vit 2x a month, calcium every day) all will be fine
I think you'll find this works well enough. In time you may find you will adjust things based on your gutloading, prey selection and increasing knowledge :)
 
Wow thanks for the informative reply. I'm typing this from my phone at work so excuse any grammar.

Its good to hear that he looks okay. I guess I will use my routine then

I still wouldn't know what adjustments to make to the supplementation based on what I'm feeding him but I guess I won't worry too hard about that as long as he has a mixed diet and proper gutload.

Which I use cricket crack and bug burger when I dont have a homemade batch.
 
Also, his casque looks good right? not sunken..

Idk other panther's i've seen have bulgy eyes and a fatter casque
 
Thanks. I know he's not the most colorful guy in the world but i'm thinking that red will pop out some more. He is supposedly 9 months and could just be a late boomer.

Here is a pic of his sire, strait off screameleons site.

Ok after reading nearly every post on this forum about how I should supplement I got..

Sticky Tongue Farms Mineral Outdoor (going to dust nearly every feeder that needs it)
Repashy Calcium plus LOD (Going to use as a 50-50 mix with the sticky tonuge farms 1x-2x a week)

Gutload:
-Dinofuel
-Bugburger
-Sandrachameleons Recipe's when I get all the dam ingredients
-Assorted greens/veggies on top of it all

Staple will consists of crickets and silkworms with plenty of treats here and there.
 

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If you get the low d Repashy c+, you could use it straight (rather than mixed with the STF mineral) 1 or 2 times a week.

good gutloading choices - you're cham is going to be healthy :)
 
Wow nice to know I won't need to mix the 2..saves me a little time. Love when people just have the answers to things!

I'm almost completely sure I'm going to buy him on sat when I see him in person.. Just to clarify. He DEFINITELY looks healthy right? No sunken casque, no sunken eyes.. Etc.. Comparing his casque and eye bulge to other chameleons it does not seem as noticeable but it could just be genetic. I can't see them to well in the pics I have either. If anyone could chime in it would help me to make this decision :D

Also does the white skin left over on him usually turn into color overtime? Like around his lips and belly.. Really random but never hurts to be curious.
 
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