To dust, or not to dust

[jmwhitel]

I have a 3 month old ambilobe. He is eating and drinking like a champ.

Preface: I gutload all of my crickets & roaches with Repashy's Superload. I do this by covering fresh fruits & veggies with the Superload. The insects then consume it and get fat with nutrients.

Question: Since I have adequate UVB lighting, and gutloading all my insects, is it necessary to dust with calcium powder?

(I do dust Calcium w/D3 twice a month)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Olimpia]

Yes, you still need a plain calcium powder for a growing baby chameleon.

One good reason is that feeders like crickets have a very poor calcium to phosphorous ratio, it's 1:3 instead of the closer to 1:1 the body needs to function properly and utilize calcium, so when we dust crickets with plain calcium we correct this ratio. Calcium is vital not just for building strong bones but to run nerve signals to the muscles, so it's the most important mineral we dust with. It's not available in his diet abundantly enough to do without this supplement.

I would concede that you could do without the calcium and D3 (especially if you have access to natural sun), even do without the multivitamin if you gutload well, but not plain calcium, in my opinion.

 

[jmwhitel]

Thanks! Will do