Your Supplementation Routine

[michelle g]

I was just curious of other peoples routines for supplementing their Chams livefood with calcium/vitamins etc...(particularly for veileds)

Being a new Cham owner I have read many care sheets and spoken to other Cham owners and found that not one person does it the same.....also if there are any products/brands you think work better would be good to know

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

I use-calcium without d3(plain calcium) every other feeding,
-calcium with d3 twice a month, AND -multivitamin once a month.

 

[dreamforthedead]

Mine is the same as the person above

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Mine is the same as the person above

That person has a name

JK lol. Glad you agree with me. Great minds think alike

 

[ghettomike]

mine is pretty close to the same as the people (lol) above except I give multi vitamins twice a month. one week calcium w/ D3 and the next week multi vit and so on...

 

[pantherlover]

i do it almost the same.for a young cham i use calcium 5 days a week. calcim with d3 every firs week. multivit every second week. when the cham matures to a adult i reduce the calcium too every second feeding. dust lightly & dont underestimate the importance of good gutload. even if your buying crix in small quantity, let them eat the gutload you provide for a night & get some potato out of their system.

 

[Olimpia]

Mine is about the same. I like to give multivitamins and D3 in two very light doses during the month, instead of all at one time. So one week vits, the next week D3... etc.

Since we're on the topic, just in case you don't know, be very careful with D3. Reptiles need it to absorb calcium properly, but too much D3 will lead to other problems. And none at all as well. So just keep that in mind Be sure to buy regular calcium without D3 for all the regular calcium supplemented days. I actually get mine without phosphorous as well.

And yes, like others have already said, feed your insects good food. Veggies naturally high in good things. If you do a search you should be able to find lots of good diet foods for gutloading.

 

[sandrachameleon]

...I have read many care sheets and spoken to other Cham owners and found that not one person does it the same

This is because every situation is different. Different ages and genders of chameleon, different lighting or outdoor exposure, different gutloading practises, different selection of bugs, different brands of supplement.

You may find these blog entries useful:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html

My panther chameleons essentially do not go outside. Therefore I add D3 to their diet by LIGHTLY dusting feeders approximately twice a month, even though I do have UVB bulbs (either reptiGlo or ReptiSun 5.0, NOT passing through a screen). I use a vitamin supplement (without preformed vitamin a) once every other week maximum (generally the week opposite to using D3). I use a calcium (no phos, no D3) powder lightly dusted on most crickets. I rarely dust anything other than crickets, mealworms (which I dont offer often) sometimes superworms, and occassionally silkworms. I almost never dust stick insects, moths, roaches, butterworms, cabbage loppers, isopods, grasshoppers, etc. I pay great attention to gutloading well, and providing a wide variety of insects.

Although the above schedule has worked perfectly for me, resulting in healthy long lived chameleons, some people find they need to occassionally provide preformed vitamin A. Too much preformed A is toxic, but a little can be helpful - especially if you dont provide a good range of prey. calcium, D3 and A all work together.

As others have said, gutloading is critical. I feel a wide range of prey is also important. Suppmentation is supposed to supplement, not replace, good nutritional intake. Info on gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

 

[michelle g]

Thanks for replies guys.
I am following similar to above with the 3 seperate suppliements. I thought i was correct but then was told other things so thought best to check.

I always gutload as i have been keeping reptiles for afew years and have a large roach colony but being new to this forum my sig will only let me have 50characters so just have Freddy on there.
I have 9leos, 4cresties, 1gargoyle, 1beardie, 2royal pythons and 1hogg island boa. I have always loved chams but it has taken me this long to take the plunge as i know they are a big commitment, take quite abit of time up and can be quite delicate. Its the first time i have felt nervous with a new baby since i bought my first reptile a baby leo 3years ago. Paranoid new mum...lol x