Veiled Chameleon Feeding/Supplement Questions

[Josh2328]

Im new to the site and Ill be purchasing a veiled chameleon in the coming week or so. Ive done my research but Im still a little confused on supplements with the feeding and would appreciate someone's expertise on the matter. Do I have to dust my feeders and also gut-load or can I do one or the other? I would prefer to only gut-load as it is more natural to me. If this is not possible, what is the minimal dusting I can use? I know a dusting-only program consists of calcium about every feeding and calcium w/ d3 once every other week along with a multivitamin once every other week. What parts of this dusting schedule can I omit by gut-loading and what do I need to gut load with? Are commercial gut-loads good enough? Thanks for any help. My staple feeders will be crickets, dubai roaches, hornworms, silk worms, and super worms with a side of moths, grasshoppers, and waxworms. Will also feed cham some greens if he'll eat them. And while on the subject, what are the best greens for a veiled to eat? Thanks again for any response.

Josh

 

[chamsarecool]

Most commercial gutloads have not been tested. Specific to crickets, none of them tested except for Trex brand produced a suitable CA ratio after 48 hours of feeding. You need about 8% Calcium and the product labels of one gutload were consistently shown to not meet the minimum specified on the label. For mealworms, you need a slightly higher CA ratio for 24-48 hours to product a 1:1 or higher CA ratio. Almost all commercially raised insects contain insufficient Vit A levels. SIlk forms raised on Mulberry farms chow do have a good amount of Vitamin A, though. There is no proof that reptile can use beta carotene, so a supplement with preformed Vitamin A would be wise. I hope this helps.

 

[alphakenc]

I wet gutload my feeder with lots organic vegetables,more natural the better,and your cham's health always start with a important nutritional needs,it shows on themselves.

 

[MSMorgan]

Im new to the site and Ill be purchasing a veiled chameleon in the coming week or so. Ive done my research but Im still a little confused on supplements with the feeding and would appreciate someone's expertise on the matter. Do I have to dust my feeders and also gut-load or can I do one or the other? I would prefer to only gut-load as it is more natural to me. If this is not possible, what is the minimal dusting I can use? I know a dusting-only program consists of calcium about every feeding and calcium w/ d3 once every other week along with a multivitamin once every other week. What parts of this dusting schedule can I omit by gut-loading and what do I need to gut load with? Are commercial gut-loads good enough? Thanks for any help. My staple feeders will be crickets, dubai roaches, hornworms, silk worms, and super worms with a side of moths, grasshoppers, and waxworms. Will also feed cham some greens if he'll eat them. And while on the subject, what are the best greens for a veiled to eat? Thanks again for any response.

Josh

Hey Josh,

Welcome to the forums. As to your Q's, supplement as you've guessed. Calcium w/ out D3 every day. Vita and D3 every 2 weeks. Gut load w/ a variety of vegies to include greens, fruits and veggies and you'll be fine. Take a look at the veiled care sheets as to what to feed and gut load with.

 

[Veild Cham Owner]

Yes definitely do both!! There are cubes that will gutload your crickets and supply vitamins for your crickets but they're super expensive for such little amount. I prefer to use food at my house like lots of greens and fruits and meat(and i also put a little moist paper towel for them so they can drink off of it) and plus it is a lot more cheaper and still gives them lots of nutrients and vitamins (i usually throw some kale, broccoli, clementines, strawberries,apples and ham in there for them) Now onto the supplements. This probably the most important thing to have for your chameleon. I recently had a chameleon DIE because i didn't dust my crickets. It will help keep your cham growing and healthy and its immune system up. This is my dusting schedule i have and it seems to be working fantastic!! So i dust all the food that i give him on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday with his calcium and on Wednesday i dust all his food with the Multivitamins i have. The calcium should be dusted with at least 2-3 times a week and the vitamins should dusted with no more than once a week (recommended by my vet). It is usually about 10-15 dollars but it comes in huge container and it last you a long time. I have been doing this schedule for the past month and a half and i haven't even even hit 1/10 of the container yet lol. But i hope you have lots of fun with your cham and lots of luck!! Also just a quick little side note:: bring your new cham to the vet within a week of you having it just to make sure he/she id healthy and to pick up anything you need that the vet said you need in your cage.

edit : i just noticed you asked what kind of veggies veilds can eat this might help... i feed mine broccoli and kale and he loves it, with the occasional strawberries and sweet fruits they can have

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/vegetables-to-feed-to-chameleon.30206/

 

[oneillchameleons]

Yes definitely do both!! There are cubes that will gutload your crickets and supply vitamins for your crickets but they're super expensive for such little amount. I prefer to use food at my house like lots of greens and fruits and meat(and i also put a little moist paper towel for them so they can drink off of it) and plus it is a lot more cheaper and still gives them lots of nutrients and vitamins (i usually throw some kale, broccoli, clementines, strawberries,apples and ham in there for them) Now onto the supplements. This probably the most important thing to have for your chameleon. I recently had a chameleon DIE because i didn't dust my crickets. It will help keep your cham growing and healthy and its immune system up. This is my dusting schedule i have and it seems to be working fantastic!! So i dust all the food that i give him on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday with his calcium and on Wednesday i dust all his food with the Multivitamins i have. The calcium should be dusted with at least 2-3 times a week and the vitamins should dusted with no more than once a week (recommended by my vet). It is usually about 10-15 dollars but it comes in huge container and it last you a long time. I have been doing this schedule for the past month and a half and i haven't even even hit 1/10 of the container yet lol. But i hope you have lots of fun with your cham and lots of luck!! Also just a quick little side note:: bring your new cham to the vet within a week of you having it just to make sure he/she id healthy and to pick up anything you need that the vet said you need in your cage.

edit : i just noticed you asked what kind of veggies veilds can eat this might help... i feed mine broccoli and kale and he loves it, with the occasional strawberries and sweet fruits they can have

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/vegetables-to-feed-to-chameleon.30206/

I would 100% avoid feeding any meats to your feeders. Beyond the fact that it likely goes bad within hours in a hot humid environment, excess protein causes uric acid build up in feeders, and in turn gout for chameleons. Avoid using kale and broccoli excessively as it contains Oxalates that inhibit calcium absorption. Also you should use calcium without d3 at EVERY feeding. It balances the poor calcium/phosphorous ratios of the feeders, and most experts here recommend a multivitamin every two weeks and calcium w/d3 every two weeks.

 

[KLowery88]

For gut loading my insects I moved away from all animal proteins. Dry gutload is bran, alfalfa pellets, crested gecko diet powder, bee pollen, all pulverized in a food processor. They go nuts for the stuff and swarm it like they never did for the dog food I used to feed them on. On top of that I feed veggies and greens. Squash, zucchini, turnip greens, mustard greens, carrots, oranges, different types of berries. Pretty much the same veggies I feed my bearded dragon and skinks. Since I've switched over to solely plant based foods, they're really exploding in numbers. I had to split the colony into two bins to give them room.

 

[Hannah C]

I was new to the chameleon world too and after much research and testing lots of different products this is what I use that has worked and doesn't take up tons of room in my fridge or bank account haha.

Flukers orange cricket cubes
Reptivite (only dust once a week)
Repti-cal with D3 (only dust once a week)
Repti-cal without D3 (every day except for the day you designate to dust with the other two)

As far as food goes these are the foods I find my veiled loves most....
small crickets
mealworms
silk worms (good for babies because of their fat)
goliath/horn worms

Other things to check out that have been winners for me...
Magnaturals vines and feeders
LLL reptile mesh cages with the catch tray
LLL living tree (helps with humidity)
Flukers bendable vines
Flukers plastic vines (good for forming water droplets for the veiled to drink up)
All living things mister (always fill with warm water before misting 2-3 times per day)
zoo med hydro thermometer
Reptisun 10.0 tropical uvb light
ceramic heat bulbs

other recommendations...
get a timer for the lights, schedule helps with chameleon health
get a back up generator for heat lamps and lights (depending on where you live)--i live in Texas and the spring/summer storms knock out the power for hours and a lack of heat can seriously diminish your little chams health
get a second cheaper temperature gage just to monitor the heat by their basking spot (should be 90-95 degrees)
put the hydro thermometer in the middle of the cage (I used a rubber band and tied it around a branch) (this should be around 70-75 degrees, humidity should be around 50% or higher unless your cham is sick or shedding then you should increase the humidity to 70-80% because it will help them shed or get better).

Hope this was helpful!! Good luck!

Post a pic of your little guy when you get him or her

 

[Veild Cham Owner]

I would 100% avoid feeding any meats to your feeders. Beyond the fact that it likely goes bad within hours in a hot humid environment, excess protein causes uric acid build up in feeders, and in turn gout for chameleons. Avoid using kale and broccoli excessively as it contains Oxalates that inhibit calcium absorption. Also you should use calcium without d3 at EVERY feeding. It balances the poor calcium/phosphorous ratios of the feeders, and most experts here recommend a multivitamin every two weeks and calcium w/d3 every two weeks.

are you sure i shouldn't feed my cham kale? i have been to so many websites and vets that all say you should feed them kale.

 

[KLowery88]

are you sure i shouldn't feed my cham kale? i have been to so many websites and vets that all say you should feed them kale.

Everything I've read is that high oxalate plants like kale, spinach, and broccoli are best fed very infrequently. Better greens would be things like turnip and mustard greens.

 

[Veild Cham Owner]

Everything I've read is that high oxalate plants like kale, spinach, and broccoli are best fed very infrequently. Better greens would be things like turnip and mustard greens.

oh gosh ok i feed my cham kale everyday!! i guess i should stop

 

[Josh2328]

Thanks for all the help

 

[Josh2328]

Is it true that if you use repashy calcium plus for chams that you don't have to use anything else?