dusting vs gutload

[budthecham]

does a good gutload for say a cricket or roach cancel out the need to dust them?

in the wild they dont get dusted, seems strange...

 

[beeze]

The chameleons in captivity need both.

 

[kenya]

Theoretically, yes, a great gutload could cancel the need for dust HOWEVER....

There is no possible way to gutload prey in captivity the way they are gutloaded in the wild. A wild cham eats many, many different types of prey in the wild and the prey all eat many different things- it would be impossible to gutload prey to that extent. Supplements in captivity are sort of "insurance" to make sure that the chams get EVERYTHING they need. You should still gutload to the best of your ability and provide a very varied diet to both prey and cham.

 

[BocaJan]

Chams in the wild also get natural sunlight. By keeping them inside under lights, they need the help of the dusting to be healthy. I have been putting my chams outside (1 at a time since I only have one outside cage) but I still dust their feeders. It is pretty easy to dustload your feeders. Bits of veggies and fruit (see the list under the appropriate forum) on a plastic lid and remove the uneaten the next day. This will help make them the best feeders for your chams.

 

[budthecham]

i usually just feed the roaches the flukers calcium stuff, and fish flakes and just all sorts of things. i have Reptocal it says d3, its made by tetra if i remember. i never used it but a handful of times... i have never had any probs with my chams health. is there a whole chapter on chameleon care that i am missing?

 

[sandrachameleon]

i usually just feed the roaches the flukers calcium stuff, and fish flakes and just all sorts of things. i have Reptocal it says d3, its made by tetra if i remember. i never used it but a handful of times... i have never had any probs with my chams health. is there a whole chapter on chameleon care that i am missing?

You do need to both gutload AND calcium dust (especially crickets), plus occassionally calcium with D3 and vitamins. the amount /frequency of D3 is dependant on how much UVB and or natural sunlight your chams get, and the vitamin dust should be more frequent if you are not gutloading well (vitamin dust is a poor substitute - gutloading with occasional vit dusting is the proven method).
Search this site on gutloading, supplementation, and even on the word calcium and you will get lots of info to read over. Here are some of them:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplement-schedule-14739/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplimenting-schedule-issue-13515/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-supplementation-schedule-ok-16028/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/feeding-d3-supplements-15789/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/calcium-d3-without-15065/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/vitamin-d3-10858/

Here are some other sites to check out
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=101
http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=92
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://www.animalarkshelter.org/cin/
http://www.chameleonsonline.com/feeding.php

Be cautious using fish flakes - its good for roaches but not good in turn for chams. You can search this forum for several threads re fish fook flakes.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

does a good gutload for say a cricket or roach cancel out the need to dust them?

in the wild they dont get dusted, seems strange...

Do both. Dusting with calcium and vits. is very important to growing babies, and egg laying females, when housed indoors. Do a search on MBD, to see effects of not feeding feeders, and lack of supplementing/dusting calcium.

Many of the common feeders we offer chameleons hide from daylight. In the wild many of the insects chameleons feed on are light loving, and active in the daylight hours. That seems stranger to me. We dust to compensate in captivity what mother nature provides naturally in the wild.