Supplements for a Jackson

[IHaveAJackson]

Ok ive read so much on caring for Jacksons but there is never really a straight answer on how many crickets you should feed them daily with calcium. Some websites say dust the crickets with calcium every day and others say you should dust all of them every other day. So im wondering which one is true?

Also the powder i use is Zoo Meds Reptive Reptile Vitamins with about every vitaman and mineral you can imagine. After i bought it i even noticed it had a picture of a jackson on the lable . But anyways is this the right supplement to be using?

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO the calcium should be dusted on the insects at most feedings...insects don't change their imbalance of phos. to calcium as a rule. I would watch the prEformed vitamin A and the D3 in particular and not overdo it....just my opinion.

 

[IHaveAJackson]

ok am i using the right supplement?

 

[xanthoman]

daily reptivite not good

there are no concrete answers, that is why it is best to learn everything you can from a large # of sources, so you can make your own informed decision on what works best, rather than just relying on what someone who may, or may not, know what they are talking about, tells you. reptivite is a reptile multivitamin with preformed vitamin A. not to be negative, but the simple fact is that daily or even weekly dusting of feeders for a jacksons with reptivite will put you on the fast track to oversupplementation. since you seem to be completely lost on this subject let me give you a basic xanth supplementation starting point, but dont just rely on my recomendations for your husbandry, you must learn about these issues in depth, if you wish to have a good enough knowledgebase of husbandry so you can keep your animals healthy long term. assuming this is an indoor animal, i would recomend dusting with calcium NO D3, no more than 3x a week,/calcium with D3 should be given no more than once every 2-3 weeks and less is probably better. / there are 2 basic types of reptile multi -vitamin. those with preformed vitamin A (like reptivite), and those with proformed vitamin a (like herptivite), i would recomend a proformed A multivite (like herptivite)once every 6-8 weeks,once every 6 months i would substitute one dusting with prefomed vitamin A (like reptivite). jacksons are subject to over supplementation easier than some other chams, and your gutload will also affect your supplementation requirements. how many crickets your cham will eat depends on a lot of things, but i wouldnt just feed him all he can eat every day, his intake will be something you have to determine for yourself. if you only feed crickets you are still likely headed for problems. chams need a constant variety of feeders, each one making a slightly different nutritional contribution. personally, i think most chams should have at least 3-4 different types of feeders each week. you probably would be doing yourself and your cham a favor by completing the help form.the forum can give you general care guidelines and even some specific advice but the care needs of your animal are too complex to explain adequately in a single thread, as a new keeper , you could study for months and there would still be much to learn, many products with chameleons on the label have proved to be not the best products for chameleons,and if you ask a dozen different keepers the same question you may get as many different answers. you need to learn and base the decisions on the care of your animal based on knowledge, not whats on the label, or what others tell you . jmo

 

[xanthoman]

ok am i using the right supplement?

NO, a multivite like reptivite is only for occassional use, personally i think you would be better off getting rid of the reptivite altogether and switching to safer less concentrated products. after some thought i would disregard the previous supplementation routine and go with this plan, the concentrations are much lower and you are less likely to have dosing issues. to make things easy i would do this for starters (just a recomendation). 2x a week rep-cal calcium with no d3, 2x a week use http://stickytonguefarms.com/minerall-i1.html and for gut load use http://stickytonguefarms.com/vifeprvigutl.html this will give you a safer regimen as a starting point, until you can better learn supplementation issues and plan your own regimen. if you have not already read it ,it would probably be good to read this excellent thread created by a cf member (mwheelock) who is also a veterinarian https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/index5.html jmo

 

[IHaveAJackson]

Ok Thankyou!

 

[IHaveAJackson]

Also i feed my jackson 6-7 crickets a day is this correct?

 

[xanthoman]

7 adult cricks is alot, but it depends on alot of factors, age, size, metabolism, temps. and some days he may not eat at all. feeding just cricks isnt good, but i would say 4-5 would be a reasonable#, you dont want to just feed him all he will eat every day, you want him on a balanced diet of varied feeders. everything in moderation, except supplements, you want to be ultra sparing with those. jmo

 

[IHaveAJackson]

What do you guys think about spary on clacium good or bad?