Calcium

[shakirafan329]

Hi everyone I have Flukers calcium with D3 and I was told for a Vieled chameleon there not supposed to have D3 at every feeding! I went to PetCo and theres nothing there thats just "calcium" Everything there has D3 so I was wondering were do I get some calcium? Also at PetCo there was a cricket diet that was just calcium should I get that? But if I did get that how do I feed it to the crickets? Thanks!

 

[camimom]

you order from a site sponsor.

and no, that gel stuff isnt very good.
if its a powder, its not very good either.

 

[Olimpia]

The best thing to do is it order it online somewhere. Rapashy makes excellent supplements, and you can get their Phosphorous-free plain calcium here, for example: http://www.pangeareptile.com/store/supercal.html (make sure you select the NO D3 one). One bag of this will last you a long time with a single chameleon so paying the couple extra dollars in shipping will be worth it.

If you don't order from them, just make sure that your calcium does not contain phosphorous. We do this because insects like crickets are usually 3:1 times more full of phosphorous than calcium, so we need to supplement with just calcium to make up for that ratio. The two elements have to work together in a similar proportion within the body, so we try to supplement to make up for the difference and make the two even. Makes sense?

Also, those products are pretty crappy, honestly. Rapahsy also makes a gutload (food for your insects) called BugBurger that is pretty easy to use - you just mi hot water and it'll solidify into a gel that crickets will happily eat. It has all the nutrients and vitamins your crickets need to in turn make your chameleon stay healthy. Another good one is Cricket Crack, also available online.

Remember, supplementing and gutloading are going to really matter in the long term. If you can find these quality products now, the better your guy will be in the long run

Also, you can dust with plain calcium for most feedings, and then use the D3 calcium you have twice a month, and then multivitamins twice a month as well.