Dusting

[mlafort2]

So I am a new panther chameleon owner. I bought some Repashy superfoods calcium plus (which is a multi vitamin and calcium insect dust) and the directions say "use with every insect feeding" but when I read some post of what people do for dusting they use all sorts of different things but only here and there, not everyday. I also gut load my crickets with Flukers high calcium cricket food as well as a dry mixture cricket food and a mixture of cut up apples, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and red cabbage. I just throw it all in the cricket cage. Do you think I'm giving him too much calcium since the crickets are eating calcium food and I'm dusting 6 out of 7 days with calcium (bottle says every insect feeding). Just curious if I should follow the directions of the bottle or if anyone has any input. Thank you!

 

[MaiRemy]

So I am a new panther chameleon owner. I bought some Repashy superfoods calcium plus (which is a multi vitamin and calcium insect dust) and the directions say "use with every insect feeding" but when I read some post of what people do for dusting they use all sorts of different things but only here and there, not everyday. I also gut load my crickets with a mixture of apples, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and red cabbage. Just curious if I should follow the directions of the bottle or if anyone has any input. Thank you!

First off first, collard or mustard greens for your feeders is best for nutrients. Broccoli from what I know, is a huge no no. I hear carrots and potatoes do no good as well.

Dusting supplements tell you wrong stuff sometimes. Just a multivitamin will do you no good, but also harm! I use repcal.

Without D3 every other day
With D3 twice a month
With multivitamin (herptivite) once to twice

Oversupplementing can kill your cham! So scheduling is mandatory. D3 can pull calcium out or stop from functioning properly and cause MBD. Just look it up and you'll have more research. Dust feeders lightly, like a dab not to overcoat because too much is poisonous. It can irritate their throat and swell up.

Gutloading feeder options

• romaine
• kale
• collards
• dandelion
• mustard greens

 

[NERVOUS]

I can't really speak to any of the gut loading you're doing, but I'm a (relatively) new Panther owner too... And I dust at every feeding with the same Calcium Plus supplement you're using. I observed that the breeder I purchased from (Kammerflage Kreations) seemed to be doing something right over a relatively long period of time, so I simply follow their lead.

On that note, here's what I do re: gut loading feeders. I use Bug Burger (which is made by the same manufacturer as Calcium Plus)... Again, just following the lead of the breeder here.

Good luck!

 

[mlafort2]

Thank you all for the response!

 

[kinyonga]

Appropriate temperatures, proper feeding/gutloading, supplements and exposure to the UVB light are all important. Cage setup and watering are also important.

Appropriate temperatures allow for proper digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce the D3 it needs to use the calcium in its system. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues while D3 from exposure to UVB won't likely build up as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB when it wants to.

It's not easy to overdoses the calcium as long as the D3 and vitamin A are in balance.

Since most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous its important to dust the insects at most feedings with a phosphorous-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

To ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light its recommended that you dust twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder.

It's important to feed/gutload the insects with a wide assortment of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc.

Hope this helps.