Hello! I'm a new member here, and I had a question about supplementation schedules while feeding BSFL. My chameleon is a 4 month old male panther chameleon (yet unnamed). From what I've heard, you aren't supposed to supplement/gutload BSFL because they are already so high in calcium. So, when feeding BSFL, should I still be doing my monthly multivitamin + calcium w/ D3? Thank you!
Supplementation while feeding BSFL
- Thread starter Hydra_06
- Start date
Steve A
Chameleon Enthusiast
I regularly feed Spike (7 month old panther) BSFL. I never dust them (yes because they are already high in calcium), and don't gutload. I believe they get what they need from the substrate that they live in, inside the container ( I get mine from Joshs Frogs, and sometimes Dubia).
Regardless of how many of these he eats daily, I still dust any OTHER bugs he eats (crickets, or silkworms usually).
The only time I'd say you should supplement with them is if your chameleon is PRIMARILY eating BSFL (and maybe some more experienced keepers could chime in on this specifically), when it's time to give your chameleon their multi-vitamin. It might be a good idea to dust them with that just to make sure they're getting what they need.
I go by what my chameleon is eating at the time. He used to ONLY eat crickets and BSFL and silkworms, but was super picky with silks. So I dusted(talking multi vitamin here still) the crickets and silks, not the BSFL because he was eating so many crickets. Recently he's slowed down eating crickets big time (from near 15-21+ per day to 0-5), so then I put more silkworms in and dusted those still because he has been eating those more. He also stopped eating BSFL, unless they were attached to the silks lol. And on top of that, he now LOVES eating black soldier flies (hatched flies... not the larva). I toss BSFL in his flower pots in the bottom of his enclosure and let them hatch. He really loves this. So he's still eating BSF, just a bit different as to what he's getting out of it.
The last 2 days hes back to eating a decent amount of crickets. Not as much as before, but a decent amount so I am just balancing the crickets, and silks as far as what I am dusting and he's getting what he needs between those 2.
I know your question was specifically about BSFL, but I figured I'd offer some extra perspective about how I'm personally handling dusting overall. I hope this helps!
Regardless of how many of these he eats daily, I still dust any OTHER bugs he eats (crickets, or silkworms usually).
The only time I'd say you should supplement with them is if your chameleon is PRIMARILY eating BSFL (and maybe some more experienced keepers could chime in on this specifically), when it's time to give your chameleon their multi-vitamin. It might be a good idea to dust them with that just to make sure they're getting what they need.
I go by what my chameleon is eating at the time. He used to ONLY eat crickets and BSFL and silkworms, but was super picky with silks. So I dusted(talking multi vitamin here still) the crickets and silks, not the BSFL because he was eating so many crickets. Recently he's slowed down eating crickets big time (from near 15-21+ per day to 0-5), so then I put more silkworms in and dusted those still because he has been eating those more. He also stopped eating BSFL, unless they were attached to the silks lol. And on top of that, he now LOVES eating black soldier flies (hatched flies... not the larva). I toss BSFL in his flower pots in the bottom of his enclosure and let them hatch. He really loves this. So he's still eating BSF, just a bit different as to what he's getting out of it.
The last 2 days hes back to eating a decent amount of crickets. Not as much as before, but a decent amount so I am just balancing the crickets, and silks as far as what I am dusting and he's getting what he needs between those 2.
I know your question was specifically about BSFL, but I figured I'd offer some extra perspective about how I'm personally handling dusting overall. I hope this helps!
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