Dusting feeders.

[kwilkens14]

This may sound like a truly idiotic question, but I'd rather be safe than sorry! My new ambilobe is arriving Thursday morning (Excited to say the least) So I'm just pounding out the details in my husbandry. So I understand that dusting is highly advised, if not necessary, but I guess I'm not 100% on the concept. Everyone seems to agree that they need a D3 free calcium supplement everyday. Which I understand! But, should I be dusting EVERY feeder I give him with calcium? Or just one for the day and he should be good? Thankyou!

 

[brandon1]

The overall preferred method that I hear the most is dusting every feeder for that day with whatever supplement you are using for that day. And you can do the three supplements (calcium with and without D3 and the multivitamin), but a lot of people are switching over to the Repashy Calcium Plus because it is designed to replace all three supplements, and you can use it every feeding or every other feeding. It's what I'm going to try because it beats keeping track of three different supplements and knowing which ones to give on any specific day . And by the way, if you're planning on using the three supplements instead of Repashy I wouldn't say that you would have to use the calcium without D3 at every feeding. I only used it 3-4 feedings per week and that worked fine for me, as well as for a lot of other people on the forum, from what I've heard.

 

[Solid Snake]

Hey!
The calcium that the feeders are dusted in, is to balance the calcium to phosphorous ratio to a usable level.(2:1 if I am not mistaken)
Most feeders are the opposite, 1:2. If there is too much phosphorous, the calcium will be unusable. So most or all of the feeders should be dusted.
For a panther chameleon, this schedule is generally recommended.

Calcium without phosphorous or D3: Everyday.
Calcium without phosphorous with D3: Twice a month.(every other week, on just one feeder)
A multivitamin supplement: Twice a month.(every other week, opposite the D3 week, on just one feeder)

Repashy Calcium Plus is an all in one, and can be used alternatively to the schedule above. It is good stuff.


Its important that the roles the different vitamins play in the body is understood, so you can properly ascertain how to supplement your chameleon.
This is some great reading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/573-chameleon-physiology-supplements.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/bridgofaith/320-most-used-links.html

When dusting feeders, you want to coat them EXTREMELY lightly.
I have found that swirling them in a mason jar, with a small sprinkle of supplement to be the easiest way to accomplish this.

 

[kwilkens14]

I actually ordered Repashy Calcium Plus this weekend because of the positive reviews on it! Good to hear that I'm not headed in the wrong direction! Thank you for clearing that up though. It's been a long time since I've been a parent to anything in the chameleon family, just wanna make sure I'm doing it right! Thanks again!

 

[kwilkens14]

Hey!
The calcium that the feeders are dusted in, is to balance the calcium to phosphorous ratio to a usable level.(2:1 if I am not mistaken)
Most feeders are the opposite, 1:2. If there is too much phosphorous, the calcium will be unusable. So most or all of the feeders should be dusted.
For a panther chameleon, this schedule is generally recommended.

Calcium without phosphorous or D3: Everyday.
Calcium without phosphorous with D3: Twice a month.(every other week, on just one feeder)
A multivitamin supplement: Twice a month.(every other week, opposite the D3 week, on just one feeder)

Repashy Calcium Plus is an all in one, and can be used alternatively to the schedule above. It is good stuff.


Its important that the roles the different vitamins play in the body is understood, so you can properly ascertain how to supplement your chameleon.
This is some great reading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/573-chameleon-physiology-supplements.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/bridgofaith/320-most-used-links.html

When dusting feeders, you want to coat them EXTREMELY lightly.
I have found that swirling them in a mason jar, with a small sprinkle of supplement to be the easiest way to accomplish this.

You keep coming to my rescue Solid! Thorough and understandable response as always. I definitely didn't really understand what the significance of dusting them was other than the chams needed the nutrients in the powder! Thank you for your help!