Are all supplements created equal?

gar732

New Member
I've seen some discussion about how to supplement but I haven't really seen the supplements themselves discussed. I would assume some supplements might be better than others but how do you know which is which? Currently I'm using rep-cal calcium w/ no d3 twice a week, rep-cal calcium with d3 twice a month, and fluker's liquid vitamin once a week. With all the different options for supplements I just want to make sure my 5 mon old panther is getting the good stuff. I'd love to here people's opinions or links or what ever you've got.
 
Thanks for the link, good info there. But how do I determine which supplements suit my needs? My Cham stays inside, I've only had him less than two weeks but I plan on mixing up his feeders as best I can with crickets being the staple. I gut load with fruits and veggies right now but will be adding cricket crack to the mix as well. I'm just trying to keep him as healthy as possible.

In regards to the multivitamins I'm trying to determine with is best. The breeder recommended the liquid vitamin since it has vit A instead of the precursors like beta carotene. My understanding is that they can't process the beta carotene into vit A. I can't give him the drop orally so put it on his first cricket of the day and container feed it to him so that I know he's getting it right away. I'm just not sure if this method is best or if there is a better solution in the way of a different supplement.
 
Is it a panther like your avatar?

I wouldn't use a liquid. If you believe preformed vitamin A is required (there's a good deal of debate about that - but I kept panthers for over ten years without preformed vitamin A, so I know carotene can work), there are plenty of vitamin supplement dusts that have vitamin A. indeed most of them do. Consult the link I gave you and you'll see which ones those are.

Here's some other links you might find useful: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/573-chameleon-physiology-supplements.html

I am currently using MinerAl-O made by Sticky Tongue Farms as my vitamin free calcium & mineral supplement. I also use Repashy Calcium Plus as a vitamin powder. In the past I used rep-cal calcium and herptivite.

Of course I offer a wide variety of prey (no staple) and gutload well. Which means Im not as heavily reliant upon supplementation. I keep logs of what I feed my chameleons, including what supplements I use. You may find it helpful to see what I do, if you have a panther or veiled, as a comparison to what you might do:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/772-january-2013-prey-intake-diary.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/792-march-2013-prey-log.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/806-prey-diary-april-may-2013.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...9-panther-prey-consumption-log-july-2013.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/818-young-veiled-prey-intake-july-2013.html
 
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The guy in my avatar is my last panther, unfortunately I lost him a couple years ago at the age of five. I just recently got a new nosy be that is 5 months old.

Thanks very much for all the help and the links, this time around having found this site there is so much information. I'm just trying to figure out what is best for the new guy.
 
The guy in my avatar is my last panther, unfortunately I lost him a couple years ago at the age of five. .

sorry to hear that. But 5 is a respectable age, if not super old. Whatever you were doing then must have been okay! :)

I just recently got a new nosy be that is 5 months old.
Thanks very much for all the help and the links, this time around having found this site there is so much information. I'm just trying to figure out what is best for the new guy.

they grow up fast - enjoy the juvy stage :)

quite a few people use sticky tongue farms mineral-o; I highly recommend it.
Repashy has lovers and haters. I wouldn't use it daily (even though that's what the label suggests) but I've not had any trouble with using it roughly once a week, or even up to twice a week on couple bugs each time. I treat young chameleons no different from adults in this regard (except that young eat more)
 
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