calcium and vit. d3

[bugboy]

am i suppossed to dust with this while using a uv bulb or should i use just calcium? i've been using just calcium w/o d3 because i didn't want to overdose my cham with d3 but vincent from screameleons is telling me to use the d3. what does everyone else use? all comments appreciated.

 

[Miss Lily]

I shall watch this thread with interest, as I switched to vits w/o D3 in Feb and my cham is now poorly. Not saying that it is definitely due to a lack of D3 but it is something I'm seriously considering too.

 

[dodolah]

As long as you kept your chameleon indoor, you should still use D3 as PART of your supplement schedule (safety net) in tandem with a good UVB light.

If you kept your chameleon outdoor where he has access to the real sunlight all year round, then you do not need the D3.

 

[bugboy]

so how many days a week are we talkin about?

 

[jannb]

If your cham is young you should use plain calcium at just about every feeding. Calcium with d3 twice a month and a multi vitamin such as Rep-Cal Herptivite once a month. If your cham is an adult everything's the same except plain calcium at everyother feeding. Dust your feeders lightly....do not make them look like ghost.

 

[bugboy]

id say hes probably around 12-13 months right now.

 

[sandrachameleon]

How often you dust with D3 depends not only on how much natural outdoors in the sun time he gets, but also on the brand of supplement* you are using and the type of UVB bulbs you use, and the density of material between the bulb and the cham (screen blocks some UVB).

*Rep-Cal has 400,000 IU/kg of D3 whereas Miner-All (I) has 4,400 IU/kg of D3 and I think 150IU D3 in Nutribol (which also has Vit A so be wary of using this very often)
That's a considerable difference in D3 strength.

I dust lightly with phos.-free calcium with d3 supplement about twice a month. My chameleons never go outside. I've historically used ReptiGlo 5.0 bulbs with very little between the cham and the bulb (no screen mesh).