Dusted crickets

[Chefcarlos]

have had my Cham for a few months now and I have been giving him crickets dusted with d3 he has been eating them no problem. But just a few days ago he has not been eating them I throw some in his cage and he doesn’t go for them anymore, so I threw some in without dusting them and he went for them. This is odd cause he always ate the dusted crickets and now he doesn’t. Any insight?

 

[kinyonga]

You're not dusting with D3 every time are you?

 

[Chefcarlos]

You're not dusting with D3 every time are you?

It’s cacium with D3

 

[bobbydigital]

How much are you dusting them? The crickets are supposed to be lightly dusted. Also, you should only be using calcium with d3 only twice a month.

Your dusting schedule should be as follows: calcium without d3 at every feeding. Calcium with d3 twice a month. Multivitamin twice a month.

Also make sure you are properly gutloading your crickets so your cham gets the proper nourishment. Try feeding him other feeders as well.

You can fill out the how to ask for help from, copy and paste it and put your answers in a response so we can have a better idea of your cham and enclosure.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[Chefcarlos]

I have been feeding him calcium without d3 and with d3 he has been eating them no problem but lately he won’t touch them

 

[kinyonga]

@bobbydigital ..see this thread....although only some of the questions are answered...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/new-owner.161229/

@Chefcarlos ...I recommended the phosphorus-free calcium powder to you in this post....how come you're using the one with D3? D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues. That's why we only recommend using it twice a month.

 

[Chefcarlos]

He goes for the non dusted ones do you think he is tired of eating dusted crickets

 

[kinyonga]

Do you ever feed him other insects like roaches, locusts, silkworms, superworms, BSFL, mantids, etc?
He may be looking for variety and the dusted look different than the undusted.

 

[Chefcarlos]

Only used to crickets I don’t think I can give him roaches as I have a phobia of roaches it took me a while to grab the crickets without tweezers

 

[Dürja]

What kind of calcium are you using?

 

[Chefcarlos]

Reptile

 

[Graves923]

Can you list the supplements you use?

Can you post your supplement schedule?

Proper supplementation is one of the more important aspects of keeping chameleons. We want to help you and make sure you are not overdosing your cham on one supplement or the other. D3 can be dangerous if overdosed.

 

[kinyonga]

I said to you that since he's only been fed crickets but he eats them when they look different because they aren't dusted he might be bored with them... don't you think it's worth trying a different insect???

What's the basking temperature in the cage?

 

[Dürja]

Reptile

Well I would hope so. Can you tell us the specific kinds you're using though?

 

[Chefcarlos]

Zoo med repti calcium