calling all mt. meru owners
- Thread starter cuso
- Start date
cuso
New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - dwarf jackson male hes 7 months old iv had him for 2 month
Handling - once a week
Feeding - crickets he eats about 20 in three days? i cup feed him so when ever hes low i put more crix in. store bought gut load brand natural zone
Supplements - rep cal calcium with d3 twice a month exotera multi twice a month
Watering - hand mist 3 times a day for a minute i do see my cham drink but not all the time
Fecal Description - black-brown with white cham never been tested for parasites
History - no history
Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen 36by36by18
Lighting - zoomed lights 36in tub light reptisun 5.0 light scheduled kinda off i wake up really early some times
Temperature - temp is 75-80 Lowest overnight temp 60-70? thermometer
Humidity - 50-60? live plants in the cage keep the hum up? humidity meter not electronic
Plants - Are you using live plants?yes If so, what kind?schefflera
Placement - Where is your cage located?on top of a table not not near any fans.i do have a fan that points to the cage on hotter days from my floor to the top of my cage is 9-10 ft
Location - CA LA
Your Chameleon - dwarf jackson male hes 7 months old iv had him for 2 month
Handling - once a week
Feeding - crickets he eats about 20 in three days? i cup feed him so when ever hes low i put more crix in. store bought gut load brand natural zone
Supplements - rep cal calcium with d3 twice a month exotera multi twice a month
Watering - hand mist 3 times a day for a minute i do see my cham drink but not all the time
Fecal Description - black-brown with white cham never been tested for parasites
History - no history
Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen 36by36by18
Lighting - zoomed lights 36in tub light reptisun 5.0 light scheduled kinda off i wake up really early some times
Temperature - temp is 75-80 Lowest overnight temp 60-70? thermometer
Humidity - 50-60? live plants in the cage keep the hum up? humidity meter not electronic
Plants - Are you using live plants?yes If so, what kind?schefflera
Placement - Where is your cage located?on top of a table not not near any fans.i do have a fan that points to the cage on hotter days from my floor to the top of my cage is 9-10 ft
Location - CA LA
I keep mine in glass cages with screen lids and vents in the front of the cages. I use a double fluorescent fixture with one Repti-sun 5.0 in it and one regular white household fluorescent light. If the temperature in the warmest part of the cage still isn't providing a temperature in the low 80's a small incandescent household light bulb in a hood is added. (I live in Canada.)
As for humidity...I never measure it. As long as they are misted and a dripper is run once a day for a few minutes, I have had no problem with them. They live good long healthy lives with me as a rule once established. (They have all been WC's.)
You are likely overdosing him with D3. Its recommended that you dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder and only dust twice a month lightly with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder and only twice a month with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. You can read more about all of this in my information below.
Here's the story on supplements and the reasoning that goes along with them..
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
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.
A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).
Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity 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). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.
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 too...
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://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.
As for humidity...I never measure it. As long as they are misted and a dripper is run once a day for a few minutes, I have had no problem with them. They live good long healthy lives with me as a rule once established. (They have all been WC's.)
You are likely overdosing him with D3. Its recommended that you dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder and only dust twice a month lightly with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder and only twice a month with a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. You can read more about all of this in my information below.
Here's the story on supplements and the reasoning that goes along with them..
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
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.
A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).
Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity 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). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.
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 too...
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://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.
