My supplements and trouble dusting / transferring to viv

[AlwaysHungry]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to asked some questions. Please bare in mind I’ve only had a chameleon for 2 weeks and I’m still learning. My girlfriend did a lot of the research pre purchase and picked the supplements, I’m kind of starting to think they might be the wrong ones.

So the advise she researched it to dust once a week, so every Saturday for us.

We have these (she thinks we should be dusting with both).

The box I keep my crickets in is this one, I put kale, a cricket jelly, some jelly water and some cricket dust (like little bits of cereal etc)

One problem I’m having is dusting the crickets I need and transferring them to the viv. I can transfer fine, I have experience of this from my bearded dragon, however getting them dusted for a cam and into the viv is difficult.

Do you guys have a certain technique or device you use? I get a lot of escapees if I dust in a separate box and try to get the crickets into the feeder or viv.

Any advice on my supplements and cricket feeding is welcome.

Thanks

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I’m new to cham keeping and haven’t heard of your supplements. However, I do know that you shouldn’t be adding any to the water. The easiest supplementation is using Repashy brand calcium with Lo D at each feeding. No other supplement would be needed.
Attaching a help sheet on gutloading for you, as well as a feeding one.
I transfer my feeders to a yogurt cup with a lid with the supplement in it, give a couple of gentle shakes and then release into my girl’s feeding cup. In your case, put the ‘shaker’ cup into your feeder tank, pop the lid on while in there. Transfer to feeder cup inside your cham’s enclosure. If any escape, they’ll be contained and your Cham will have a little hunt.
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[twinklefingers]

Hey there - I have the same looking container for my crickets. Here's what I do to transfer them.

Pick up one of the egg carton pieces at a time and tap it into a funnel leading into one of these homemade dusters. My funnel has about an 8" opening, significantly bigger than the egg carton pieces.
Dust everything every time using Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, don't do what I did and get the wrong Repashy SuperCal LoD.
Finally, dump the feeders into this bug run bowl.

I'm a big DIYer, so this method is working the best for me. Least amount of escapees, and I show Khalid the duster every time before I dump them into the run cup, so he knows I'm bothering him to feed him and doesn't even run from the cup anymore.

Good luck!

 

[Thatwizard420]

I use tweezers and just pull a Mr. Miyagi.
I put them in a glass jar, put all my trail mix in there, dust with Repashy Calcium LoD Plus and shake the life out of them.

 

[AmandaS]

When I used that cricket keeper, I would grab a large tote and do my transfering over it, and any escapees would land in the tote for easy recapturing.

I also got the cricket shaker cup. It has a lid, a cup for the crickets with a slotted bottom, and a bottom cap where the vitamins go. You just shake and tap off the extra. Easy peasy.
Using the bag the crickets come in was a pain in my a**

 

[AlwaysHungry]

Thank you everyone that help a lot! I was getting confused with all the different bits and schedules.

But if all I have to do is get that one vit and not have to use any others and use it every time I give her crickets then that’s nice and easy!

And finally for the first time in my life I can actually say the sentence “thank you twinkle fingers!!!” Haha

 

[twinklefingers]

I also use this homemade device. It's the cardboard tube left over from a tinfoil roll, so it's smaller and less flimsy than the paper towel rolls. I isolate a cricket or two in there when there aren't many left by trapping them in the ring and burying it a little in their vermiculite substrate. They naturally climb toward the light.
Well a few of them ran to the top quickly and jumped out at me so I added the mesh and rubberband to the top.

Then tap this on the side of the big gulp duster cup without the funnel. You can peer down through the mesh at the right angle to ensure the cricket has fallen into the duster.

These are the lengths I go to in order to not touch the crickets by hand lol

 

[AlwaysHungry]

That’s really clever!

 

[kinyonga]

How are you dusting the crickets for your dragons?
Beardies need very similar supplementing to chameleons and the same feeding/gutloading of the insects is needed.

I've never used either of the two products you have...but what I do is dust lightly with a phos free calcium supplement at almost every feeding and then twice a month lightly with a phos free calcium/D3 powder and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A and D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues. This leaves it up to you to decide if/when to use a small amount of prEformed vitamin A. The rest of the D3 your chameleon needs should be produced from its exposure to the UVB light you are supposed to provide.

This is true for chameleons and beardies.

The Vionate says it contains vitamin A but I don't see a source ( prEformed or prOformed?) it also has a higher ratio to the D3 than I think is recommended. It's just my opinion...I'm not a vet.

As has been indicated on this thread already...there is more than one way to supplement....you have to decide which suits you.

For feeding and gutloading crickets, locusts, roaches, super worms I use greens such as dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet potatoes, sweet red peppers, zucchini, squash, etc and a bit of fruit such as apples, melons, pears, berries. These things can also be offered to your beardies and veiled chameleons.

I hope this helps!

 

[AlwaysHungry]

I used to dust crickets for my beardie (rip) in a big tub, big enough for him to eat in. He was rubbish at hunting and catching so we had to improvise and he got fed in a big box. I used to tip it into its corner and the crickets would fall into the corner and I’d just throw the dust on them

 

[kinyonga]

Thanks! That sounds like a good way to do it for the beardie.

I would add a few more pieces of egg carton to the cricket cage.

If you have a large deli cup you can pick up pieces of the egg carton and shake the crickets off into the deli cup. By holding the deli cup over the cricket cage as you do so, any bugs that don't go in the cup end up back in the cricket cage.... then dust them in the deli cup the same way you do for the beardie.

 

[AlwaysHungry]

I had to google Deli Cup but I know what you mean now

 

[Daesie11]

Is your UVB light inside of your enclosure?

 

[AlwaysHungry]

Is your UVB light inside of your enclosure?

yes thats right, having the light on the outside was warping the pastic and causing a plastic smell, so I moved it inside, i did the same when i used to have a dragon, they appreciate being able to get close to it.

 

[Daesie11]

yes thats right, having the light on the outside was warping the pastic and causing a plastic smell, so I moved it inside, i did the same when i used to have a dragon, they appreciate being able to get close to it.

Having your light inside poses a high risk of thermal burn. Make sure your cham cant get anywhere near it.

 

[AlwaysHungry]

Having your light inside poses a high risk of thermal burn. Make sure your cham cant get anywhere near it.

understood, thank you.

 

[Daesie11]

understood, thank you.

You would be surprised how sneaky they can be!

 

[AlwaysHungry]

You would be surprised how sneaky they can be!

I would ideally like to seat it outside the enclose, I just need a solution that won’t damage the plastic on the outside and allows her to get the light she needs

 

[Daesie11]

I would ideally like to seat it outside the enclose, I just need a solution that won’t damage the plastic on the outside and allows her to get the light she needs

What enclosure are you running? Sizes and specs

 

[AlwaysHungry]

What enclosure are you running? Sizes and specs

this one i think

Natural Terrarium Large/X-Tall

90 x 45 x 90 cm / 36” x 18” x 36” (WxDxH)


exoterra.