Reptolife Plus????

[creativity73]

Hello I'm new to the Chameleon world, I just got a female Jackson as a christmas gift, I'm trying to learn as much as I possibly can, I have her in a screened enclosure about 3x3 with live plants, and vines for her to climb on, a 75 w bulb that I turn off at night and she gets misted twice a day. I'm feeding her about 6-8 small crickets daily. She;s eating and drinking well. My question is I'm dusting the crickets with repto life plus, do I also need to use a calcium supplement since this does say in the ingridient list that it contains calcium.

 

[AncientCritters]

From what I can see you need to add a calcuim supplement and a source of UVB lighting if your bulb does not supply it.

 

[creativity73]

Thank you for replying

I'm sorry I have 100 watt bulb its sun glo neodymium daylight lamp and it says on the box basking spot lamp provides UVA.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

You MUST have an artificial source of UVB if your critter is kept indoors. I recommend the Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 18" fluorescent tube. 2nd choice is ReptiGlo between 5.0 and 8.0 rating.


Here's what's in ReptoLife Plus:

Moisture max. (6%), Calcium min. (4.6%), Phosphorus min. (0.6%), Potassium min. (0.3%), Sodium min. (0.1%), Chloride min. (1.3%), Magnesium min. (0.02%). Minerals and Vitamins (all minimums) - Iron (12.95 mgkg.), Copper (270 mgkg.), Manganese (865.35 mgkg.), Zinc (823.84 mgkg.), Iodine (76.40 mgkg), Vitamin A (263,550 IUkg), Vitamin D3 (12,800 IUkg), Vitamin E (1,057... More IUkg), Menadione (52.50 mgkg), Thiamine (1,940 mgkg), Riboflavin (1,450 mgkg), D-pantothenate acid (668.61 mgkg), Ni Net wt. 100 ml (1.77 oz.), Weight: 1 lbs., Manufacturer: TETRA HOLDNGS, INC


A few things to note:

You would like to shoot for no added phosphorus since our normal feeders have too much of it compared to the calcium levels.

They list Vitamin A (263,550 IUkg). Vitamin A is a controversial subject for most chameleon keepers. But one thing that does seem to be mentioned more often is that Montane species, which Jackson's are part of, are much more sensitive to vitamin A overdoses.

They list Vitamin D3 (12,800 IUkg), which is needed for chameleons that don't get many hours of unfiltered sunshine. You can overdose added D3. This product is probably "middle-of-the-road" in strength. Some are rated at 4,400 IU/kg and others are 400,000 IU/kg.

Bottom-line:

I'd suggest switching to Miner-All (I) and Miner-All (O) and Herptivite if you can find these products.

(I) has D3 but not too strong. Use is maybe 2/month.
(O) has no D3. Use it 2/month
Herptivite is mostly vitamins (no pre-formed Vit A). Use it 1-2/month.

More links for general info:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/ especially http://www.chameleonnews.com/ref.html

http://www.chameleonsdish.com/

http://www.adcham.com/

 

[creativity73]

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to reply with such an informative post, I will try and go get the light and supplements tomorrow after work. One more thing what's the difference between UVA and UVB?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

There is a narrow band of the sun's spectrum that is labeled UVB. Within the UVB portion of the spectrum there is an even narrower portion of that range that is involved in the biological production of the vitamin D3.

Here's a great website to fill-in all of the blanks :

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

 

[flpanther]

Uva/uvb

Most basking heat lamps provide some amount of UVA, but only special florescents and mercury vapor bulbs give both UVA and UVB. Mercury vapor is advertised as providing both heat and UVB, but is really only practical with really large setups. The best bet for a cage your size is the basking lamp you already have to provide heat, plus a florescent(the zoomed reptisun 5.0 that Dave recommended). Make sure your cham can get withing 12" of the florescent, since the UVB only penetrates that far. Also make sure the light doesn't pass through any plastic or glass(some hoods come with a clear plastic protector over the bulb which will filter out the UVB). You will have to adjust the temps so your cham will be comfortable spending most of his time within that 12" range. Of course, nothing is better than real, unfiltered sunlight, so let your cham get it whenever weather permits.