Supplement schedule confusion

[BritishPsych-O]

Hello! This is my first time on the forums and will be my first chameleon, so don’t know if I’m using this right. I have been planning for a panther chameleon for a few months now, and everything is ready, just need the chameleon. I found what I thought was a good breeder and put my deposit down for the little guy, who will be about 3 months old when I pick him up. I have already bought bee pollen, Arcadia calcium pro, and reptivite with d3. I asked the breeder for his supplement schedule and he is giving them calcium without d3 for two days and on the third day giving them calcium with d3, reptivite without d3 twice a month. This totals to supplementing them with d3 around 6 times a month, which I have heard can be harmful. Breeder says I should stick to the schedule, but I thought I would check on here before buying new supplements.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hello! This is my first time on the forums and will be my first chameleon, so don’t know if I’m using this right. I have been planning for a panther chameleon for a few months now, and everything is ready, just need the chameleon. I found what I thought was a good breeder and put my deposit down for the little guy, who will be about 3 months old when I pick him up. I have already bought bee pollen, Arcadia calcium pro, and reptivite with d3. I asked the breeder for his supplement schedule and he is giving them calcium without d3 for two days and on the third day giving them calcium with d3, reptivite without d3 twice a month. This totals to supplementing them with d3 around 6 times a month, which I have heard can be harmful. Breeder says I should stick to the schedule, but I thought I would check on here before buying new supplements.

Hi and welcome! I’m not going to say what your breeder is doing is wrong, as I have no idea of their total husbandry practices. I will advise that if you are using the correct uvb (linear T5 with either Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0) at the correct distance from basking area (approx 21 cm), you will want to use the a phosphorus-free calcium without D3 at every feeding except for one feeding every other week, which you’ll be using the ReptiVite with D3 that you have (or Repashy calcium plus LoD). This ensures they are getting UVB in the ideal range, which provides a natural vitamin D and then careful dietary supplementation to ensure your chameleon is getting enough. Vitamin D3 is a fat soluble vitamin and can quickly build up to toxic levels. When vitamin D is sourced from UVB or the sun, it is different in that the body produces only what is needed and no risk for overdosing. I hope I’m making sense.
Anyhow, the short of it is, this seems like one of those situations where it may be best to smile and nod (at the breeder) and then follow the husbandry guidelines which were established through various research by reputable people from different areas of expertise and well proven thru countless people’s experiences.