Gut Load, Dusting.... Which or Both?

[mrbonzai211]

I was wondering if gut loading crickets is enough or if I should dust the crickets as well? I'm also going to add collard and mustered greens my veiled's diet soon because she's about made it to the size where they start chewing on the plants a lot, so I was wondering if the calcium of that would factor in as well to the amount I have to supplement?

 

[HPLH221]

you should gutload and dust i believe a few times a week

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Part of it matters if you are able to keep your chameleon outside or not as to how much dusting of vitamins you need to do. Please give more info on your set up.

 

[mrbonzai211]

She's still a baby so she's staying in 12x12x24in exoterra with a non-poisonous potted plant, vines, waterfall, and a 100 watt halogen UVA/UVB basking light. She also gets misted twice daily for about 2 minutes each time (which she hates).

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Ok first of all remove the waterfall...very bad for bacteria contamination and wrong bulb. You should be using the long tube light for uv light...5.0 and a seperate basking bulb. I would start with a 50 watt if shes a baby. Working your way up as she gets older. Those compact uv lights have had some dangerous effects.

 

[lonomac]

When your misting try not hitting her with the water and use warm water. And do what ChameleonsTree said as soon as possible with the lighting

 

[dodolah]

She's still a baby so she's staying in 12x12x24in exoterra with a non-poisonous potted plant, vines, waterfall, and a 100 watt halogen UVA/UVB basking light. She also gets misted twice daily for about 2 minutes each time (which she hates).

I can tell from your enclosure detail that you bought your cham at Petsmart or Petco.

Don't feel bad, i did too (my first cham)..
They suggest a lot of stuffs that isn't needed and can actually harm your cham.

1. Get rid of the waterfall. Cham loves to poop in it and can become a breeding ground for bacteria. Which can kill your cham real fast.

2. I bet you also have a coconut bark substrate at the bottom of the aquarium. Get rid of it too. Crickets can burrow inside the subtrate.
Plus, it is cleaner without.

3. You need to mist the enclosure twice or MORE (I mist it at least 3 times).
for 5 minutes at least... 2 minutes is not enough to induce drinking behavior for your cham.

4. I will leave this entirely up to you as i have seen some people here uses glass aquarium for their cham and manage to get them thrive.
But Screen cage is ALWAYS, in my opinion, better for your veiled. I buy the size 24X12X24

It might harder to keep the humidity; but with really bushy live plants, keeping the humidity is not too hard.
The problem with glass cage, the air get stale pretty quick and it can cause respiration Infection (URI). Also, some chameleon get stressed and can get sick by seeing its own reflection thinking that there is another chameleon in the cage.

5. keep the basking light (UVA) that you buy and purchase reptisun 5.0 for the UVB.

6. What species of plant do you put inside? Best plants for me is Ficus Benjamina and golden Pothos (turn out my cham never touch the pothos at all. But i decided to keep it anyway cause it make the enclosure prettier)

7. for food. gutload them and dust them too. you need herptivite, repcal with d3 and without d3 (i use miner-all for the one without d3)
i follow kammer's routine (herptivite MTH, Repcal TF, Miner all WSat, no dusting on sunday)

Return the exoterra, the waterfall, and substrate (if you can) to the store.

 

[mrbonzai211]

The lighting problem is now fixed and I'm using the two light system. Petsmart had some exo terra lighting fixtures on sale, so it didn't cost me that much. I'm working on the misting part, but it is a pain not having a mister and having to use a spray bottle instead. So far she's been eating really well. I feed her 5-7 cricket per feeding and I feed her twice a day every other day and just one feeding a day on the other days. However, do you think it would be okay to use the water fall if I clean it twice a week and keep activated carbon in the reservoir?

 

[bg77]

I would say a BIG no to the waterfall.

 

[dodolah]

The lighting problem is now fixed and I'm using the two light system. Petsmart had some exo terra lighting fixtures on sale, so it didn't cost me that much. I'm working on the misting part, but it is a pain not having a mister and having to use a spray bottle instead. So far she's been eating really well. I feed her 5-7 cricket per feeding and I feed her twice a day every other day and just one feeding a day on the other days. However, do you think it would be okay to use the water fall if I clean it twice a week and keep activated carbon in the reservoir?

unfortunately the answer still no.
Waterfall is just a huge problem.
You are literally racing against bacteria growth rate.
If you really insist, you have to clean the waterfall everyday to make sure that it will not become a breeding ground.
But, the problem with that is your chameleon will be stressed out since you will be cleaning his territory every day.
Stressing out chameleon can also lead to a sick chameleon.

5-7 crix is quite low for a baby..
Try feeding him more (around 15 to 18 crix/ day),
They need all the nutritions they can get to grow.