feeding & supplementation ? for a beginner

[tananda]

I am very new to chameleon keeping. My girl chameleon was a rescue as the family had killed off the boy & other girls through neglect. I picked up a boy for her at the reptile show last weekend. They are nosy be panther chameleons. The girl is about 1.5 years old and has bred once already. The boy is about 7 months old. Each are about 4-5 inches from nose to the start of the tail. I keep reading different things so I am not 100% certain how best to feed and suplement them.

I usually keep 2 week old crickets as feeders for my other pets & they are fed High Calcium Cricket Diet by Flukers & Cricket Quencher Calcium by Flukers. I also add the occasional fresh fruits & vegetables left over from feeding my sulcata & beardies. Do I still need to dust with calcium if they are gutloaded with all this calcium already? Should I start keeping larger crickets for the chameleons or is this size ok? How many crickets should this size of chameleon get per feeding?

The chameleons are also getting silkworms 1-2x per week but I don't quite know what to gut load those guys with & I don't dust them. I think (based on my reading) I need to add a multi-vitamin & a calcium with D-3 dusting 1x per month at least (more if the girl is gravid). I typically put 3 or 4 large ones in each tank on the days I feed these, is that enough?

I also keep superworms that eat mainly oats with some calcium supplement mixed in but I notice that they are not reccomended for frequent use because of the fat content. How often can I safely give them this treat?

I can also feed them pinkies as I have 11 snakes that currently eat them. Is it suggested to give them these once a month just like my vet has me give to my beardies to prevent anemia & help with keeping the girl recover from egg laying?

The lights concern me as I don't know when they were last replaced (they came with the girl) but I'll go shopping tonight and get new florescent tubes instead of the coil ones they are currently using as the general concensus seems to be avoid most of the coil ones.

Any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated as I'd hate to destroy these pretty animals through my own negligence or lack of understanding.

 

[Elizadolots]

You've done a lot of research! You didn't mention it, but given how well you've researched and the great questions you're asking, I'm going to take it that you have them in separate cages.

The guideline on feeder size is it should not be wider than the space between the animal's eyes though some will eat bigger things.

The pinkies question might stir up debate. I don't think you ever have to feed pinkies. I know many, if not most, of the owners here do not. That's not to say that it's bad or wrong on rare occasions, just that it's not required.

 

[bridgofaith]

Here are some excellent resources to read through and should answer your questions:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/syn/226-frequently-asked-questions.html

Pinky mice are not really recommended as a good choice for a feeder. They are essentially a glob of fat and protien. Some people do feed them to their chams, though I do not and would not.

If you have any doubts about your UVB light, you could test the uv output with a meter or just replace it. They should be replaced about every 6 months anyway.

Hope some of this info helps!

 

[tananda]

I have 3 tanks in total, 1 for each of them as their home tank & 1 smaller tank to hold them each separately when I clean out & disinfect their usual tanks. The 2 main tanks are 2'wX2'dX4'h & 2.5'wX1.5'dX2.5'h. The boy is currently in the medium sized tank since the girl tries to bite & stresses quite a bit when you move her so I left her in the big one until the next cleaning cycle (next week). I may just leave her in the big one after reading some more though so I have enough room for the lay bin.

 

[Elizadolots]

When you say "tanks" are they all glass or do they have some screening? They shouldn't be able to see each other, in case your research didn't cover that. You can usually accomplish that by just covering one side with some cloth or cardboard.

 

[tananda]

They are all screen except the bottom. I have a 1/4" melamine board (for ease of cleaning) in between them at the moment since the fan of one of the reptifoggers crapped out so they are splitting the 1 mister. Once the replacement fan comes in, I'll have them separated across the room from each other of a distance of about 6 feet. Is this appropriate or do I need to keep something between them still?

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Your better off just keeping them side by side. Six feet is still way to close and they can get stressed just by seeing each other across a room. Your doing it the right way now. No need to change that.

 

[Elizadolots]

It's probably be easier for you to have them side by side anyway.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

coil bulbs are fine for a smaller enclosure, i use a 38 flexarium and my gf uses a 22 for our veilds right now, the 38 is the largest i would go with using a coil bulb though, yes change is due every 6 months, but in my opinion dont get bent out of shape about investing in a tube if your enclosure isnt to big.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Superworms, gutloaded like crickets, are fine to feed to your chameleon. They are indeed fairly high in fat, so should not (IMHO) make up a large part of the diet. But I feel no one feeder should make up a large part of the diet - variety is key.

 

[Cham101]

d-3 levels

I don't know if you ever take your chams outside but if you doo you have to make sure not to feed them d-3 as when they are outsid in the sun they produce alot more naturally then under lights.. If weather permits i like to keep them outsid during the day in the summer. ature is always best... lol
they will throw p a milky looking stuff if it happens which will in turn lead to kidney failure and death. I watch out for to much d-3 for the most part. I use a cricket dust by mardel and is called herp care...

 

[tananda]

Right now it's been cold & rainy but this weekend it's supposed to warm up so I'll open their window then, put the mister on full instead of timed & make sure each of them has a place to get into the shade so they can get plenty of natural light.

 

[tananda]

Well the boy's urea had a slight orangish tint to it so I need some more info on dehydration.

They have a repti fogger that is medium-high on 3x a day, 3 hours on, 3 hours off & then back. The timer is on between 6am-9pm. It fogs as well as drips when it condenses on the screen & then drips off the leaves. He spends about 55% of his time under it & about 45% in his basking area. I gave him a shower today. I've never seen him drink & still didn't in the shower even though he was in there for close to half an hour. He defecated yesterday but I didn't see any urea although it was in a puddle so it may have just dissolved. Any other suggestions on how to hydrate him or make sure he drinks? He's been getting real sunlight for the last 3 days & is eating really well but this concerns me a bit. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[reptoman]

I have a male ambilobe that does not drink like he used to. I got hornworms and silkworms worked into his diet and it took care of the orange urate. If you are able to hand feed, you may also consider putting a drop of water on a cricket and offering it to him. I have also used my spray bottle to squirt small amounts of water into the side of his mouth while he is chewing up his meal. Don't flood the inside of his mouth if you try this. Just small squirts on the side so he does not aspirate. I have noticed that when i do this, mine will continue licking the water off his mouth after swallowing if I continue to spray short burts as long as I dont hit him in the eyes. He will lift his head up to tell me he has had enough. Good luck and hope this helps!

 

[tananda]

Well something of all the suggestions or in other posts must have worked (yes, I tried them all). His Urates are a nice pristine white again. Thank you all so much for your help.