Final Word On Supplements!

[UCantCme]

Hey guys i just about have everything down except the damn supplements. I have seen that most people say every 5 days or so. I am now seeing people saying every feeding. This is driving me nuts would someone who KNOWS to please tell me the proper supplement schedule before i go nuts. He is still young so he eats maybe 2 or 3 crickets and some flies that i can see so do i dust every pest i put in there on the days for supplementation. Please put an end to this for me please, and thank you

 

[reptilover]

What kind of cham? Judging by your avatar I'd say jacksons.

Problem: there is no set schedual.
It's about balancing ur feeders. Crickets have a 2:1 phosphorus to calcium ratio. They neee to be dusted to turn that around.. so u want 2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus 1:2
Im not sure of flies or jacksons! I merely wanted to say its a balancing act. The D3 and multivite should be one time a month or twice. Depending on outside time natural sunshine if frequent provides alot of the D3 for u where as the uvb bulb supplies MOST of it.. which is why we Supplment.
So in conclusion find out what the ratio of ur feeders.(sandrachameleon) of course has a blog about it . Then factor in ur gutload. i use a gutload high in vit A so I only dust most feeders once a month.. its tricky.. in my opinion the most tricky part

 

[Sterlingcham]

Hahah supplementing has all to do with the species of Cham your dealing with so if I knew that I could help alot more but as for like panthers and veileds if they are being kept indoors instead of out then supplement schedule goes something like this every feeding you want to dust almost all feeders(flies can be a hassle) so don't fret too much if u don't dust all of them but most u want to dust every day with a calcium supp that doesn't have d3 in it and then every other weekend you should dust with a supp that does have d3 and again dusting most I u can't get all is fine and you want to dust very lightly as not to make them ghosts but to give them lil white specks. So in easier form it goes like this

Every feeding dust lightly with calcium without d3

Every other weekend dust lightly with calcium with d3

And then thirdly you want a multi vit and you use that to dust every other weekend as well but make sure it's on a different weekend then the dusting of the d3

Hope that all made sense to you and good luck like I said it is sorta changed for other species so if u don't have a panther or veiled or u house them outside then I would say don't use the method above and I can give u pointers on most species but some I am not familiar with.

 

[Solid Snake]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/hoj/634-montane-chameleon-care-info.html

Supplementing

Following the thought that most montane chameleons are closer to the ground and such require less uvb exposure, we must look at the use of supplements with montane chams.
This can be a tricky topic as there are many schools of though out there and many different products with different strengths and compositions.
I will generalize by saying that montane chams require a much lighter amount of the typical supplements, than most commonly kept species and have been known to show signs of gout and hypervitaminosis when not properly supplemented.
I supplement baby and younger chams in the same method, but with the exception that they are fed everyday and as a result get more feeding with plain calcium which is needed for healthy growth and bone development.

Below I will go over 3 different supplementing schedules. For most cases in my care sheets I avoid mentioning the exact product as to remain unbiased, but with regards to supplements and how different levels of the elements can be I feel it is a much more accurate and simple way to explain.

First is with the use of typical products of rather high levels of d3 and vitamins,
( I do not recommend this approach )

Plain calcium without D3 at most feedings ( rep-cal )
Calcium with D3 once a month ( rep-cal )
Multivitamin once a month ( rep-cal )

Second is a schedule I have used and had positive results with.

Plain calcium without D3 most feedings
Multivitamin with D3 twice a month ( reptvite )

Third is my new current schedule and has been working with positive results.

Plain calcium at most feedings
All in one multivitamin with D3 four times a month ( repashy calcium plus )

To the keeper:
As with supplementing with any cham, less is more, and with montanes this is more true than ever. I tend to only feed my adults 4 days a week and with only a very light dusting.

The red is what I am using now.

You only want to dust VERY lightly though. VERY. Lightly.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hey guys i just about have everything down except the damn supplements. I have seen that most people say every 5 days or so. I am now seeing people saying every feeding. This is driving me nuts would someone who KNOWS to please tell me the proper supplement schedule before i go nuts. He is still young so he eats maybe 2 or 3 crickets and some flies that i can see so do i dust every pest i put in there on the days for supplementation. Please put an end to this for me please, and thank you

Sorry, but there is no one schedule that fits all situations. To complicate it, Jacksons need alot less than panthers or veilds (which is what most people on this forum are talking about when they give supplement advice).

 

[UCantCme]

Sorry, but there is no one schedule that fits all situations. To complicate it, Jacksons need alot less than panthers or veilds (which is what most people on this forum are talking about when they give supplement advice).

Well the Jacksons is what i have. So i am going with less.

 

[UCantCme]

What sucks too is the little bugger has only eaten out of my hand once and if could get him to eat from my hand more often it would be a little easier to keep track. I put crickets in the cage they go to the top corner and either die or are in there for 2 or 3 days before being eaten. the flies are the only thing i ever really catch him eating and i am trying to slow down on that as they are wild caught.

 

[sandrachameleon]

tried bowl feeding? Big bowl (positioned just below and favourite branch) allows the prey to move around / catch his attention, yet keeps it constrained so you can see what is eaten. Also put a little gutload in the bowl to keep the bugs in top nutritional form

 

[Zen Reptiles]

I thought the Repashy Calcium PLUS was supposed to be used at every feeding for panthers and veileds? Hoj recommends only once a week?

Supplement schedules drive me nuts too. Less is more with chams for sure though.