Jacksons and Vitamins and D3

[AdamBrown]

I am finding a lot of conflicting information regarding vitamins and Jacksons chameleons on different websites and in these forums.

On this page, on care of Jackson's chameleons:
http://www.skypoint.com/members/mikefry/jacksons.pdf

That site says 2-3 times a week calcium with D3 should be used during feeding.

On the montane chameleon care sheet on these forums:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/hoj/634-montane-chameleon-care-info.html

It says D3 only 2 or 3 times a month. ?


And the first page warns against too much vitamin A which can cause diseases. They say use Herptivite which uses Beta-carotine instead of vitamin A so your chameleon won't OD on vit A.

I'm not sure what to believe. As of right now, I guess...I'll do D3 2 or 3 times a month? Calcium most feedings. I don't know if my products contain vitamin A. I'll tell you what they are (the label ripped off.):

I have Repti Calcium without D3. And Repashy Super Foods: Calcium Plus: Vitamin and Calcium Supplement. I know that has vitamin A in it. Does it have D3? Ah. Where should I get my D3? If I listen to the website and not the forum care sheet I should basically really only calcium with D3 for every feeding...

Anyone with successful Jackson chameleon experience have any tips or have the straight facts?

 

[Miss Lily]

I have always supplemented my Jackson as follows:

Plain calcium 1x per week
Reptivite (vits) WITHOUT D3 - 1x per week
Reptivite WITH D3 once every 6 weeks.

It is always preferrable to gutload the insects as well as possible before feeding than to rely on supplementing alone.

 

[AdamBrown]

I have always supplemented my Jackson as follows:

Plain calcium 1x per week
Reptivite (vits) WITHOUT D3 - 1x per week
Reptivite WITH D3 once every 6 weeks.

It is always preferrable to gutload the insects as well as possible before feeding than to rely on supplementing alone.

Whoa. That website care sheet says to supplement with D3 2 to 3 times a week and you supplement with D3 once every 6 weeks!?!?

 

[Miss Lily]

Before I got my Jackson I did so much research into every aspect of his care. Two well respected members on here gave me loads of good advice and I followed what they said. The one thing that really concerned me (more than over supplementing him) was the fact taht they need such exact conditions and a lot of babies don't make it past 4 - 5 months of age. I was determined that mine would make it to adulthood. I worried every day about him until he got to 5 months and then I relaxed a bit! I got him when he was just 7 weeks old, from a good friend who trusted that I would give him proper care.

If you have not watched this video already, it is very informative and made by the forum's own jdog1027.

 

[Lovereps]

I am finding a lot of conflicting information regarding vitamins and Jacksons chameleons on different websites and in these forums.

There are no scientific studies that I know of which prove what the exact nutritional requirements are for a typical chameleon of any chameleon species.
For this reason, we do rely on the successes and failures of other cham owners---and that's how these guidelines came about.
There are probably more Jackson's and other montane cham species keepers on this forum than anywhere else on the internet.

The best way to ensure that your cham lives a healthy life is to make his enclosure and care as close to ideal as possible, feed him a varied diet and to ensure that the insects he eats are giving him the most nutrients by feeding them a good diet. of fruits and vegetables.

We supplement because the feeders available commercially typically lack adequate calcium and their diet in captivity is not as varied as the diet of chams in the wild.
Vitamin D3 supplements are needed for chams kept indoors (unfiltered sunlight causes natural D3 production in chams) . Without D3 the calcium a cham ingests can't be used by his body.
The multivitamins help to prevent deficiencies.

It is generally accepted that montane cham species, like the Jackson's chams require less of the supplements and so are more easily oversupplemented.
It is known that oversupplementing with D3 or multivitamins does cause serious health problems in all chameleons because they accumulate in the internal organs causing damage to them and/or disrupt the metabolism of other important nutrients.

This supplement schedule has been often used successfully with Jackson's:
plain calcium without D3 at every other feeding
calcium with D3 1x a month and
a multivitamin 1x a month
There are always individual chams who could need more or less of a particular nutrient than is usual but this guideline is generally safe.

And the first page warns against too much vitamin A which can cause diseases. They say use Herptivite which uses Beta-carotine instead of vitamin A so your chameleon won't OD on vit A.

I'm not sure what to believe. As of right now, I guess...I'll do D3 2 or 3 times a month? Calcium most feedings. I don't know if my products contain vitamin A. I'll tell you what they are (the label ripped off.):

I have Repti Calcium without D3. And Repashy Super Foods: Calcium Plus: Vitamin and Calcium Supplement. I know that has vitamin A in it. Does it have D3? Ah. Where should I get my D3?

It is known that too much D3 or vitamin A is harmful and the schedule I recommended above and also is on this reliable Jackson's caresheet https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/ is generally considered safe.


More cham supplement info written by veterinarians are here:
http://www.uvma.org/chameleon/vitamind3.htm
http://www.vetlocator.com/newsarticles/pet_lizard_conditions.php
http://www.vulcanveterinary.com/Care of Chameleons.pdf
http://www.gregrichdvm.com/pdfs/care/chameleon-care-sheet.pdf
http://www.chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://www.ivanalfonso.com/2011/06/calcium-deficiencies-the-secret-to-avoid-them/
http://www.seavs.com/lizards/chameleons.html[/QUOTE]


It is not known, at present, whether or not chameleons can metabolize beta-carotene and it is suspected that they cannot.
For this reason, Reptivite contains a different form of vitamin A that is believed to be usable by chams.

Here is a listing of which supplements contain what:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html

If I listen to the website and not the forum care sheet I should basically really only calcium with D3 for every feeding...

That's far too much D3 for sure. I would not do that with a Jackson's or any other cham.
Despite the label on Repashy stating that it is for use at every feeding there is much debate about that and the creator of it, Alan Repashy has stated that it is not advisable for chams.

 

[pigglett79]

If you properly gut load with various ingredients and offer a wide variety of feeders, you will not need to be as concerned about supplements. As a general rule that I follow: roaches, crickets and superworms have an imbalance in the calcium to phosphorus ratio, therefore I dust them with sticky tongues outdoor calcium to correct that ratio.

I offer repashy calcium plus 1-2 times per month depending on my gut load and the variety of feeders he eats that month. If he is being more picky and eating less variety I will use multivitamin 2 times, more variety = 1 time. Also with D3, that depends on the quality of your UV light and the amount of natural sun he gets. If he is getting more sun then less D3. If it is winter and he is not getting any sun, I might give more D3 1-2 times a month. There is really not a standard answer. It really depends on the feeder variety, gut loading, natural sun and UV light quality.

Also keep in mind, every feeder can be gut loaded in some way. This will help with your supplement concerns.

 

[Ryan1976]

I will say one thing... "jdog1027" needs to get his butt in College very soon!! He needs to go to College, get a degree in Zoology and become the foremost expert on Chams!! He obviously has the passion and know-how!! I love that someone has that much passion for Chams, that he makes videos to post on the forum.

As most of you know... It's very hard to find GOOD & ACCURATE information on all species of Chams. So, I'm glad to see jdog1027 post a video of his experiences raising Jackson's Chams. And, I appreciate that he repeats the fact that his video is based on "His Experiences". I'm glad he shared his knowledge and posted the video!!

 

[HHLL38]

I will say one thing... "jdog1027" needs to get his butt in College very soon!! He needs to go to College, get a degree in Zoology and become the foremost expert on Chams!! He obviously has the passion and know-how!! I love that someone has that much passion for Chams, that he makes videos to post on the forum.

As most of you know... It's very hard to find GOOD & ACCURATE information on all species of Chams. So, I'm glad to see jdog1027 post a video of his experiences raising Jackson's Chams. And, I appreciate that he repeats the fact that his video is based on "His Experiences". I'm glad he shared his knowledge and posted the video!!

Seconded, will be re-arranging my Jackson's enclosure without a doubt!