To powder or not?

[Marc10edora]

I have a juvenile female veiled chameleon and I usually powder every feeding of crickets with calcium. If I powder more than often, should I also be misting more often too? I just think that the powder can suck up alot of the body moister in the chameleon and I want to make sure she gets plenty of water. Also when is the best times to mist?

 

[cookiegirl]

to powder or not to powder

I feed my babies first then I mist, I make sure the light has been on at least an hour to get the humidity up. I mist through the cage and not directly on the babies. I mist 2 times a day. When I am at work I leave a damp towel on top of the cage to help with the humidity this applies to babies. My adults I mist also 2 times a day. I leave a plastic cup on top of the cage with 2 small pin holes filled with water or ice. That way they have moisture when I am not there.

 

[iceman214]

should i be dusting all my foods with calcium and should they be dusted every time i feed my young veiled im not sure about this can somone clear it up for me please

 

[Marc10edora]

should i be dusting all my foods with calcium and should they be dusted every time i feed my young veiled im not sure about this can somone clear it up for me please

From gathering info on the web and reading books, I know that most food needs a 2:1 ratio with calcium to phosphorus. I'm not sure how often or if a overdose of calcium could kill a Cham. But some people on the forum dust calcium 4-6 feedings at a time. I guess more calcium is better when they are younger since it makes bones stronger. Then you could slow it down as they grow in order to reduce the risk of any kidney damage. But you might want to check this with someone else who is more experienced. The new newsletter that came out also has an artical that mentions the importance of calcium. There is a thread in the general section of the forums that links to the page. You might want to read through that. Crickets are low on calcium, so those should definetly be dusted.

 

[horseandhound]

can someone please tell me what it is in their natural diet, that is lacking in captivity that makes it necessary to add calcium to feeder insects please? Just curious!

 

[MWheelock]

Put simply, in their natural environment, most chameleons eat >50 variety of insects. All of these insects have differend diets themselves and thus have differing ratios of calcium to phospherous. Example-Snails have tons of calcium vs phospherous. Crickets have less calcium vs phospherous. Chameleons need there blood serum to contain a 2:1 ratio to maintain good health. This is not even taking into account all of the other essential nutrients and vitamins they are provided.

Frankly, in captivity, you are not feeding the variety they are getting in the wild. If you are feeding primarily crickets, this can be a staple diet, but modifications need to be made.

Your question is a reasonable one. My suggestion is that you give as much information on the cage, food, lighting that you provide as well as the type of chameleon (age and sex included) and some other keepers can give you a better idea of how to provide a multivitamin and calcium (with +/- D3) and how often.