Vitamins, calcium, and supplements?

[Tbrock91]

There are so many I went to the pet store yesterday to get my chameleon just some regular calcium powder all of the had D3. So my question is can someone break down the basics of multi-vitamins, calcium, calcium with d3, vitamins, and supplements. I know that anything with D3 you give it twice a month. But is D3 necessary? Where does D3 come in to play with my chameleon's health?

And happy first day of spring!

 

[mowryrd]

D3 is more important for nocturnal animal's we get it from sunlight (as do our chameleon's). And it helps the body take in or process calcium. If you have proper lighting set-up or let your chameleon bask outside in real sunlight very little d3 is needed. Most people go with once or twice a month. Too much D3 can be harmful

 

[NHenn]

Supplementing is a very complex subject. Everyone tends to use different methods and for the most part they all work. You need to determine how your going to care for your chameleon and that will dictate your supplementing.

Chameleon's in the wild don't dust their prey with supplements so the more you mimic their natural environment the less supplementing you need to do. If they will be living outside in the sun D3 might not be necessary.

For most, their chameleons are kept inside under a 5.0 (6%) UVB light which means they will require some amount of D3, most likely twice a month. However, every brand has a different amount of D3 concentration in their supplements so you need to determine the amount that is in yours and administer accordingly.

Honestly, the best solution I found if you are keeping your chameleons inside and they do not receive unfiltered sunlight everyday is Repashy Calcium Plus. It is an all in one supplement and will cover your Calcium, D3 and multivitamins. As the concentration are low, you can dust with every feeding and not have to worry about rotation a schedule.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[TheGuvnor]

I emailed Repashy about the Calcium +, as I use this for my beardies. I was advised, If used daily to use the Repashy LoD version.
It's still all in one, but everything at lower levels and apparently the ideal mix for my Veiled.
Of course I cant comment on other breeds of cham as my answer I guess was directed at Veiled Cham's.

 

[Kate]

I prefer the three seperate powder method. However Popeye is a picky eater over the winter and I was never really sure if he got the d3 and multivitamins when they were given. I changed to the loD for that reason and he seems fine. Now the weather is changing and he is eating well I am ready to go back to the three seperate supplements. Just one example of one size doesn't fit all. You need to work out what best suits your situation.

 

[Carlton]

There are so many I went to the pet store yesterday to get my chameleon just some regular calcium powder all of the had D3. So my question is can someone break down the basics of multi-vitamins, calcium, calcium with d3, vitamins, and supplements. I know that anything with D3 you give it twice a month. But is D3 necessary? Where does D3 come in to play with my chameleon's health?

And happy first day of spring!

There are good explanations on how to use supplements (that's a general term for things we add to round out their captive diet which is pretty limited compared to a wild cham's) that other members have written up, but very very simply, day active herps need exposure to specific parts of the UV light spectrum so they can produce vitamin D3 and metabolize the calcium in their diet. It also plays in to regulating the calcium-phosphorus level of bone. Imbalances in the calcium-phosphorous level of bone leads to MBD (aka rickets). The body starts removing calcium from bone to try to make up for a deficiency...leading to bone loss, fractures, muscle problems, etc. It can also go too far the other way; too much calcium can also damage bone because the phosphorous level gets out of balance. Most of our feeders are naturally high in phosphorus so we need to balance it by adding dietary calcium. Because most of us have to house our chams under artificial light, we need to add some D3 through diet to make up for the lack of full sun exposure. Artificial light just isn't as perfect as full unfiltered sunlight. Other vitamins (found in what we tend to call a multi-vitamin) are also intended to round out their limited feeder gutloaded diet. Vitamins such as A, B, C, etc.

A tip: If you can't find plain calcium (without D3) you can use powdered calcium carbonate...if the pet shops have bird supplies you can grate up a calcium block or cuttlebone instead.

 

[Olimpia]

If you use the Calcium+ remember to switch to plain calcium if your chameleon is getting regular natural sunshine. Hopefully the temperatures will start warming up for everyone soon and we'll want to take our chameleons outside more often. So if they're getting several hours of natural sunshine (and therefore producing vitamin D naturally in their skin) I would reconsider how often you use a product with D3.

For example, right now my chameleons get hours of daily sunshine, so I haven't used anything with D3 for months. If for whatever this changes, I'll pull out my Calcium + and start using it lightly again occasionally.

 

[sandrachameleon]

There are so many I went to the pet store yesterday to get my chameleon just some regular calcium powder all of the had D3. So my question is can someone break down the basics of multi-vitamins, calcium, calcium with d3, vitamins, and supplements. I know that anything with D3 you give it twice a month. But is D3 necessary? Where does D3 come in to play with my chameleon's health?

And happy first day of spring!

every situation is different. how you gutload, the brand of supplement you use, the type of lighting, type of chameleon, and the type of feeder prey all factor into this.
here are some links you may find useful:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/573-chameleon-physiology-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html