Reptivite

[emersonc]

I have been using "Zoo Med's Reptivite" for about a year now and i was thinking that i might change vitamins, any suggestions on this product.

It contains A,D3,C,E,B1,2,6,12

Calcium21.1%
Phosphorus 10.6%

And many other things, but i know that calcium is very important, and that Phosphorus can be bad, should i change, my cham has been having tongue shooting problems lately....

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Reptivite is, by itself, not good enough to be used as a main supplement.

It is far mor eimportant to use a calcium and D3 supplement that contains only calcium and D3. Repcal or mineral I are good choices. I also use herptivite as the main vitamin supplement, as it does not contain preformed vitamin A, which can be easily over/under dosed.

I DO use reptivite as a vitamin A supplement, once or twice a month (in tiny amounts), just to make sure they get some vitamin A. Some studies show that reptiles may not convert beta carotene (which is in herptivite) into vitamin A very well, so I make sure with some preformed A in reptivite.

 

[kinyonga]

I have used Rep-cal's calcium, calcium with D3 and their vitamin powder for years now and haven't had a chameleon with MBD in years either. I use the calcium a couple of times a week and the vitamin powder a couple of times a month and because my chameleons get no sunlight, I dust with the calcium/D3 powder a couple of times a month. I also gutload my insects well.

 

[kinyonga]

Oops...forgot to say...I don't like to use a calcium powder with phosphorous because the insects already have a poor calcium/phos. ratio and one of the points of dusting is to correct the balance. Unless there is a reason to give them preformed vitamin A, I prefer to use a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A.

 

[Jordan]

Just a personal opinion but I am not comfortable with supplementing phosphorus like that. I try to keep that 2:1 in the gut loading. I have veileds which eat vegation on a regular basis and that is a good enough supplement for phosphorus for me. I have also heard that crickets are high in phosphorus. The calcium (with D3) supplements I use seems to be more of a catch up effort from the other thing that they consume. I have not had to much experience with other types of chameleons that do not consume vegatation on a regular basis. I make my own calcium supplements at work and I am not to familiar with over the counter ones.

 

[emersonc]

thanks for the help, do you think that the reptivite supplement i was using could have caused a weak/miss-firing tongue on a chameleon?

 

[zinc99]

I rotate Mineral I, Herbative, and Reptical w/ D3. Everytime I dust that is every other feeding I mix Herbative and Reptical together, and when using Mineral I, I use just it. Noone really has a good chameleon dust so play it safe and mix it up. Along with good gultloading your cham will be nice and healthy.

 

[kinyonga]

I have used the rep-cal products for years. Most of my veiled females live to ber over 6 years old and my males live to be older than that. I also gutload my insecta appropriately...as I said in another post.