Supplementing Females (Ambilobe) ???

[imhotep]

My Chams:
2 ambilobe females both born in December 2010
They get NO natural sunlight.
Reptisun 5.0 and 60 watt incandescent.
13 hours light.
11 hours dark.
12x18x20 Zilla.
Habba Mist (1 min every 3 hours)

My gut load:
I use dry gut load on Monday and Saturday. Wet ALL other days (dusting days)
My recipes are borrowed from sandrachameleon

Dusting schedule:
Tuesday - Friday rep-cal green label calcium only
alternating Sundays of rep-cal herptivite and rep-cal phosphorus free calcium WITH D3.
no dusting on Monday and Saturday

Dusting method:
I use diff containers (Ghann’s cricket shakers) for each supplement and the crickets get pretty caked with dust (I wash shakers weekly). Because of this I only dust 3-4 out of the 9-12 crickets.

I know very little about what the females need:
Which supplements should I increase/decrease (Why)?
Do they need more/less supplementation before they start making eggs, when they’re about to lay, or afterwards (Why)?
Will their needs change if they are successfully paired and the eggs are fertilized (yes/no) ... (if so I’ll open diff thread)?

 

[jannb]

Beautiful little ladies! How often are you feeding them? They are 8 months old now so I would recommend feeding every 2 to 3 days and only 4 to 6 feeders at each feeding depending on size and of course one big worm would count as 6 feeders. Your supplements seem ok. I would just find another way to dust so you can lightly dust their feeders. I would also recommend liquid calcium for females. I give my girls a drop a week and always every day for a few days after laying eggs. What's their basking temp? If you keep the females cooler it helps them to not lay so often and to lay smaller clutches. Laying and large clutches are very hard on the females. 60 watts sounds really hot. I don't use a basking light at all on my females except maybe a 25 watt in the winter if we get any cold weather. Also if you can get them some natural UVB (outside) that's one of the best things you can do for your chams.

You might find these blog below about females and egg laying interesting.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[imhotep]

Thank you,

I feed them both 10-12 three-eighth inch crickets EVERY day 5 hours after the lights come on. They both will eat as many crickets as i can feed em in 15-30 mins. Crazy appetites and big wet dark feces with slightly-yellowish white urinate.

Las Vegas NV (trio is kept in a 12x15 dark room with good ventilation 45% - 55% humidity)
12.25 hours of light:
Basking temp (60 watt) = 86-89 degrees
Branch running parallel to reptisun 5.0 (7 inches below) = 83-85 degrees
Lowest branch (completely shaded) = 74-76 degrees

11.75 hours of dark:
ambient temp = 72-74 degrees

I feed them both 10-12 half inch crickets EVERY day 5 hours after the lights come on.
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Does the one on the right look ok (1321.jpg)???
Been worried about her closing her eyes (mostly left eye) too often and she is VERY DARK lately ...

What brand/concentrate calcium do you recommend ??? (I have Rugby brand Calcionate Syrup *IS THIS STUFF SAFE* sugars ???)

I just bought $70 in 60 watt Zoomed Blue Daylight bulbs ... Thought I had my temps good Will regular soft or clear 25-40 watt bulbs work just as well ???

 

[jannb]

Closing the eye is not a good sign. It could just be a problem with her eye, something in it or an infection or she could be sick. There's a couple of chameleon vet in Las Vegas.

Yes a regular house hold light bulb is what I use. You can also check out my blog for general care.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[carol5208]

get your $70 back if you can and just use the white housebulbs. That is all you need.

 

[Thompson]

If you are in need of a vet, Dr. Gorman at creature comforts is good. She may at times need a few pointers from what people mentioned on the forums but IMO she has helped me keep my chams healthy.

 

[clarkrw3]

Softs tend to be better clear is really harsh. You can take the same watt bulb and a clear will burn leaves and a soft will not.

Am I the only one that thinks the enclosures are too small? With that small of an enclosure and that high watt of a bulb I can't imagine that they can get away from the heat at all.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I might decrease the amount fed to 1-5 per day unless they are being bred. Reduce heat to 80F basking, 70F cool zone.
Your supplementation schedule is fine, though you can increase the plain calcium when eggs are being formed, and immediately after laying. Also depends somewhat on what you are offering in terms of prey.
Cage sounds a bit small.

info on supplementing:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html

 

[jannb]

Softs tend to be better clear is really harsh. You can take the same watt bulb and a clear will burn leaves and a soft will not.

Am I the only one that thinks the enclosures are too small? With that small of an enclosure and that high watt of a bulb I can't imagine that they can get away from the heat at all.

I missed that. I would get each of those girls nothing smaller than a 36 inch high.