Questions about supplents schedule for Jackson's chameleon

[Sparky7982]

Hi. I am a new to chameleonforums.com so I apologize if I am going about this incorrectly.
I got my male jacksons chameleon (Randall Pink Floyd, we call him Floyd) 4 months ago. He is about 8 months old. When we got him, we were told to give him repashy calcium plus everyday. And reptivite with D3 every other day. We did this for about 3 months. We noticed that his tongue wasn't shooting very far (about 1 to 2 inches) and didn't seem as elastic as it should be so we started researching more about husbandry and came across chameleonforums.com. There are so many conflicting thoughts about supplementing that it is confusing. We do believe that were over supplementing him though and we want to make sure he gets the best care possible. We started using the repashy calcium plus once weekly and will do the reptive w/D3 every 4-6 weeks. We feed him crickets, mealworms, super worms, and occasionally wax worms (not often due to hight fat content and risk of compaction). We gutload crickets with fresh apples, turnip greens, yellow squash, and Flukers orange cubes. Since then have noticed his tongue shooting a little further and it does seem quite a bit more elastic. I guess we just wanted more experienced owners' thoughts and opinions about wether our current supplement schedule is ok and any thoughts on the tongue issue. He seems healthy and active, the only odd thing is his tongue. I am starting to wonder if he could have injured it prior to us getting him and we were just not told.

Our husbandry is as follows:
-large reptibreeze cage
-diet as listed above
-uvb 5.0 12 hours on 12 off.
-50 w heat lamp 10 hours on
-ultrasonic cool humidifier 24/7 at about medium.
-water dripper 27/7
_He is sprayed several times throughout the day until we get a misting system

 

[Sparky7982]

How do I post this or start this thread?

 

[Lathis]

Your thread is started!

I would say this is too much multivitamin and too little calcium for a Jackson's chameleon. There are two ways to do this. The traditional way is to use plain calcium with no D3 every day and a multivitamin with D3 once a month. Lots of pet stores do not carry plain calcium for some reason - only multivitamins or calcium with D3.

The other way is to get a specialty product with calcium and a low-dose multivitamin and D3 premixed - like Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. The LoD (low D3) is good for everyday use for montane chameleons like Jax. I personally think smaller doses regularly are probably better healthwise than big doses periodically - that just seems like common sense. Jax need the lower dose product because they can be over-supplemented more easily than panthers or veileds.

I have moved to the LoD product and have been very happy with it. I use it every day and occasionally alternate with some plain calcium because I have extra in the house.
https://www.amazon.com/Repashy-Calcium-Plus-LoD-Sizes/dp/B00DLJRMV2
http://www.store.repashy.com/calcium-plus-4-lod-oz-bag.html

A little goes a LONG way. Buy the smallest jar.

Here is the caresheet for Jacksons Chameleons. There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet, and unfortunately pet stores often give very poor advice on chameleon care. This information can be trusted - it was developed by keepers with decades of successful experience.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

(My Jax always preferred dripping water over the mister. If yours is doing well and staying hydrated with the humidifer and dripper, you may not really need a misting system. They do make it very convenient, though. You can stop the dripper at night - that won't be a problem. Just food for thought.)

 

[guanagator]

I use the repashy lo d as well for my montanes and have not had any issues since switching from the traditional once a month multi and daily calcium. Before I would occasionally see some gular edema but since the switch no issues with supplementation. As said above a little goes a long way.

 

[Sparky7982]

Thank you for your quick responses! I will switch to the lo dose repashy. I do intend to stick with the dripper for drinking I just want a misting system in place of spraying him by hand so that I know he is getting misted periodically when we are at work.