supplementing
- Thread starter niki
- Start date
Dean Pulcini
Avid Member
Adult males don't need as much as babies or breeding females. I feel 3 x a week is more then sufficient no D3 if kept outside.
Will Hayward
New Member
I personally recommend the Rep-Cal and Miner-All products. You will want for the chameleons, all three of the following. The are to be used in a specific frequency and amount, and this will change depending on the chameleons age, sex, growth, health, food etc. They are as follows;
-Calcium (NO Vitamin D3, NO Phosphorous)
-Calcium with Vitamin D3 (NO Phosphorous)
-Multi-Vitamin Supplement (With Beta Carotene for a Vitamin A)
Calcium, is calcium, simple. Vitamin D3 (weather from a dust, OR from from Ultraviolet B radiation) allows the body to utilize the calcium to full extent. However, there is a balance from providing;
-Calcium & UVB
-Calcium & Vit D3
-Calcium & UVB & Vitamin D3
The difficult part is, there is no definitive guide to supplementing, only individual "What i use, works", and there are many different ways to have a healthy chameleon with good calcium adsorption. Vitamin D3, in dust form can build up in a chameleons body- vitamin D3 from UVB radiation cannot, however unless you are providing unfiltered real outdoor sunlight- you cannot put too much faith in using light bulbs that produce artificial UVB radiation- and so this is why it is recommended that you occasionally supplement with a VitaminD3 in dust form.
Alternatively to the suggested lesser frequency dusting's, it would most likely be best to provide slight more offerings at slightly lesser amounts- though nothing has been documented on this to my knowledge and so everything, everything about dusting, is just theory- though based on somewhat conclusive findings.
There is also the matter of Vitamin A in chameleons, specifically those of the genus Furcifer, who may or may not absorb Beta Carotenes (Natural provitamin A) as efficiently as they would Preformed Vitamin A sources. The difference? Beta Carotene doesn't not build up to excessive (& Dangerous) amounts, whereas Preformed VitA can. So, it would be wise to also experiment with supplementing with a source like Reptivite.
Should you decide to buy these items and cannot find them for sale, let me know, I'll be happy to mail them out to you. They can be a bit tricky to find, but in my opinion they are worth it.
-Calcium (NO Vitamin D3, NO Phosphorous)
-Calcium with Vitamin D3 (NO Phosphorous)
-Multi-Vitamin Supplement (With Beta Carotene for a Vitamin A)
Calcium, is calcium, simple. Vitamin D3 (weather from a dust, OR from from Ultraviolet B radiation) allows the body to utilize the calcium to full extent. However, there is a balance from providing;
-Calcium & UVB
-Calcium & Vit D3
-Calcium & UVB & Vitamin D3
The difficult part is, there is no definitive guide to supplementing, only individual "What i use, works", and there are many different ways to have a healthy chameleon with good calcium adsorption. Vitamin D3, in dust form can build up in a chameleons body- vitamin D3 from UVB radiation cannot, however unless you are providing unfiltered real outdoor sunlight- you cannot put too much faith in using light bulbs that produce artificial UVB radiation- and so this is why it is recommended that you occasionally supplement with a VitaminD3 in dust form.
Alternatively to the suggested lesser frequency dusting's, it would most likely be best to provide slight more offerings at slightly lesser amounts- though nothing has been documented on this to my knowledge and so everything, everything about dusting, is just theory- though based on somewhat conclusive findings.
There is also the matter of Vitamin A in chameleons, specifically those of the genus Furcifer, who may or may not absorb Beta Carotenes (Natural provitamin A) as efficiently as they would Preformed Vitamin A sources. The difference? Beta Carotene doesn't not build up to excessive (& Dangerous) amounts, whereas Preformed VitA can. So, it would be wise to also experiment with supplementing with a source like Reptivite.
Should you decide to buy these items and cannot find them for sale, let me know, I'll be happy to mail them out to you. They can be a bit tricky to find, but in my opinion they are worth it.
