Im ordering a 2 month veiled chameleon. The breeder told me that with supplementation, he dusts three times a week with calcium with d3 and multivitamin (herptivite) once a week? I have been reading on here and different care sheets that it recommends calcium without d3 at almost every feeding, calcium with d2 twice a month and multivitamin twice a month. What is the right way do this? He will be living indoors with reptisun 5.0
I really need help with supplementation!
- Thread starter JRM71085
- Start date
You may have already noticed that there are a couple of veterinarians on this forum. I would accept the care sheets here as highly credible and trust that they are giving you correct information for the best care of your chameleon.
One thing you can easily do to ensure your chameleon has adequate nutrition--indeed, excellent nutrition that will be better than using supplements (which just try to make up for inadequate natural elements)--is to follow the information provided about the best gutloading in these locations:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/
and
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
There is a ton of fabulous information in those! You'll still need some basic supplementation as described the care sheets because your cham is NOT in the wild where it can eat anything and everything, but you don't want to do too much, because overdose can be toxic.
Good luck!
Sandy
One thing you can easily do to ensure your chameleon has adequate nutrition--indeed, excellent nutrition that will be better than using supplements (which just try to make up for inadequate natural elements)--is to follow the information provided about the best gutloading in these locations:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/
and
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
There is a ton of fabulous information in those! You'll still need some basic supplementation as described the care sheets because your cham is NOT in the wild where it can eat anything and everything, but you don't want to do too much, because overdose can be toxic.
Good luck!
Sandy
Dr O
Veterinarian
hi jrm-
that schedule sounds pretty aggressive to me. D3 and A overdoses can and do happen. based on your bulb that you are using, i think that you are correct to use these care sheets instead of the recommendation. the majority of chams here are on that sort of schedule and it has been working well in most situations.
o-
that schedule sounds pretty aggressive to me. D3 and A overdoses can and do happen. based on your bulb that you are using, i think that you are correct to use these care sheets instead of the recommendation. the majority of chams here are on that sort of schedule and it has been working well in most situations.
o-
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
A lot depends on the BRAND of the supplement. Some contain far more D3 than others. For example Sticky Tongue Farms Mineral-I is quite a low dose, whereas the Rep-cal brand is very high potency. You would have a very different "schedule" between these two brands. What you gutload with and how much your chameleon is exposed to the outdoors/sun also factors into it.
You may find these links useful in determining what is right for your particular situation:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
You may find these links useful in determining what is right for your particular situation:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
ChameleonMom
New Member
In the absence of Dr. O's response to your question, I use the Rep-Cal brand of supplements and have for the past 6 years. I have adopted the supplementation schedule of this forum since joining (with a few tweaks here and there) and have to say my chams are in great health with no problems or signs of calcium deficiency. I use the following schedule:
- dust with PLAIN Calcium at every feeding
- dust with Calcium w/D3 on alternating Sundays
- dust with Multivitamin (I also use Herptivite) on alternating Sundays
Once you are aware of your chameleon's specific requirements you can tweak the supplements accordingly. For instance, my 5 year old male veiled has chronic eye problems (from a young age) and after ALOT of research I now add 1 small drop of preformed Vitamin A every 15 days for eye health. I also have a small female veiled who has had some egg development problems and am required to give her 0.1cc's of liquid calcium gluconate twice a week to help her with bone density which she lost in her last clutch development.
Every Chameleon is different and until you know it's own special requirements the supplementation schedule adopted by this forum is your best jumping off point. Also, if down the road you need to do some tweaking of your supp schedule make sure you do your research as vitamin overdosing of your Cham is easier than you could imagine - and it can be fatal.
Good luck!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes. Used appropriately they are safe. I used them both for over a decade and had long-lived healthy chameleons.
Dr O
Veterinarian
absolutely they are; true, tried, and tested. of course the other half of that equation has to do with how often you use them, but as you can see, pretty much everyone is in harmony with this good, basic schedule.
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