Supplementation Schedule?
- Thread starter ballin
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sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
In the most general terms, what you propose is likely fine. But only you can decide what works for your situation, for your chameleons situation. Factors to consider are:
What brand of supplements are you using?
How often is your chameleon outside, having access to natural sunlight?
What do you gutload with?
What type of UVB lighting do you use?
Age, sex and type of chameleon also matters.
There is no single schedule that fits all situations. what I do, what works well for me, what anyone else says, may not be the best choice for you and your chameleon. Those that get access to sunlight need very little D3 in their diet, if any. Those with excellent gutloading and a variety of prey insects may need less supplementation dusted on prey than others. The brand of supplement makes a considerable difference. Rep-Cal has 400,000 IU/kg of D3 whereas Miner-All (I) has 4,400 IU/kg of D3 and I think 150IU D3 in Nutribol (which also has Vit A so be wary of using this very often). That's a considerable difference in D3 strength. Herptivite uses beta carotene, so is very safe. Reptivite has preformed vitamin A and thus should be used with caution and infrequently.
My panther chameleons essentially do no go outside. Therefore I add D3 to their diet by LIGHTLY dusting feeders approximately twice a month, even though I do have UVB bulbs (in my case usually Reptoglo 5.0, NOT passing through a screen). I use a vitamin supplement (without preformed vitamin a) once every other week maximum (generally the week opposite to using D3). I use a calcium (no phos, no D3) lightly dusted on most crickets. I rarely dust anything other than crickets, mealworms (which I dont offer often) and sometimes superworms, sometimes silkworms. I almost never dust stick insects, moths, roaches, butterworms, cabbage loppers, isopods, etc. I pay great attention to gutloading well, and providing a wide variety of insects.
Lots of good reading re supplements can be found via this blog entry: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
What brand of supplements are you using?
How often is your chameleon outside, having access to natural sunlight?
What do you gutload with?
What type of UVB lighting do you use?
Age, sex and type of chameleon also matters.
There is no single schedule that fits all situations. what I do, what works well for me, what anyone else says, may not be the best choice for you and your chameleon. Those that get access to sunlight need very little D3 in their diet, if any. Those with excellent gutloading and a variety of prey insects may need less supplementation dusted on prey than others. The brand of supplement makes a considerable difference. Rep-Cal has 400,000 IU/kg of D3 whereas Miner-All (I) has 4,400 IU/kg of D3 and I think 150IU D3 in Nutribol (which also has Vit A so be wary of using this very often). That's a considerable difference in D3 strength. Herptivite uses beta carotene, so is very safe. Reptivite has preformed vitamin A and thus should be used with caution and infrequently.
My panther chameleons essentially do no go outside. Therefore I add D3 to their diet by LIGHTLY dusting feeders approximately twice a month, even though I do have UVB bulbs (in my case usually Reptoglo 5.0, NOT passing through a screen). I use a vitamin supplement (without preformed vitamin a) once every other week maximum (generally the week opposite to using D3). I use a calcium (no phos, no D3) lightly dusted on most crickets. I rarely dust anything other than crickets, mealworms (which I dont offer often) and sometimes superworms, sometimes silkworms. I almost never dust stick insects, moths, roaches, butterworms, cabbage loppers, isopods, etc. I pay great attention to gutloading well, and providing a wide variety of insects.
Lots of good reading re supplements can be found via this blog entry: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
Last edited:
zombiepixel
New Member
Thanks for posting this I was actually thinking the same thing.
ballin
New Member
I use rep cal brand, the chameleon is never out side, he is only 3 months old. I gut load with leafy greens and carrots. I use a 5.0 UVB tube on top of the screen so would this make a difference? I am feeding beetles, mealworms, moths, wax worms and mostly crickets. Would your schedule work for me?
Kecleon
Established Member
Hi there Sandra,
I am about to order:Rep Cal Calcium WITHOUT D3 & Sticky Tongue Minerall OUTDOOR formula, i have an outdoor setup what should me supplementation schedule be?
4 month old Veiled Male,Feeding on crickets, GutLoad with Mixture of powderd milk and dry dog food and or some lettuce.
Kecleon
warpdrive
Avid Member
personaly, I feel that a better gutload then what you are doing is far more important then "what or how much" dust to use.
while dog food might be cheap, it has far too much protien in it.
use crushed up cereal like multi grain chereos or kashi "heart to heart" instead.
I use more a wet gutload most of the time.
each day I use a different green...
kale, dandilion, romaine, some times bock-choi
I also use a slice of one of the following...carrot, orange, potato, for added moisture.
for fast growing chams like a vaieled or a panther, dust regularly your crickets with calcium w/o D3 mostly.
once a week swith off using a vitamin dust like herpivive and a mineral dust like miner-all outdoor formula.
with 1 or 2 dustings a month with D3, your guy will be fine.
on days you use other foods like butterworms and silkies you can skip dusting all together.
as an adult your better off just gutloading well, and then can dust even less as it wont be needing it for growth.
Harry
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
RepCal calcium (no d3) could be used on almost every cricket. But Just dust lightly. With a young panther, you can LIGHTLY dust half his crickets with repcal WITH D3 once a week or every other week, and as he gets older every other week will be enough. And a vitamin supplement like herptivite on a few crickets every other week or so.
I would avoid using waxworms (fatty, little nutritional value) and mealworms (a bit hard to digest, and low nutritional values) for the most part. once a month as a treat perhaps.
Have you considered sikworms, butterworms, roaches? I believe that a wide variety of insects is a good idea, but especially nutritious insects. There's a list in my blog of some of the options you might consider: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
Roaches, crickets, silkworms and butterworms are good choices.
Check my blog for ideas on gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition.html
I agree with warpdrive that gutloading is KEY
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Kecleon, I highly recommend changing your gutload.
For more info, read:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/57-gutloading-links.html
ballin
New Member
what about phoenix worms? are they a good feeder?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Soldier Fly Maggots (aka Phoenic worms) are fine for smaller chameleons, if said chameleon chews its food.
Personally, I dislike them. But they're relatively high in calcium and are not a bad choice for young growing chameleons. Along with other prey.
ballin
New Member
cool, so I will get some of them along with silkies and butterworms, i'll try to get some roaches to. how are hornworms?
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hornworms are great for older chameleons. But only if you can get the smallest of the small hornworms will this be an option for a 3 month old panther. and dont buy too many at once, as they grow fast. I'd wait until he's closer to 6 months, and still get the small size.
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dodolah
Retired Moderator
Horn worms and silkworms are edible for babies.
They have small hornworms and silkies that can be eaten by baby cham.
Only problem is hornworms grow exponentially fast. So, some of them might go to waste. unless, you have couple of babies.
Within 5-10 days, you probably have hornworms that are bigger than your baby cham
They have small hornworms and silkies that can be eaten by baby cham.
Only problem is hornworms grow exponentially fast. So, some of them might go to waste. unless, you have couple of babies.
Within 5-10 days, you probably have hornworms that are bigger than your baby cham
