Vitamins

kekulpac

New Member
I like to hand feed my new chameleon, so when feeding crickets I will drop them in bucket of water and that makes it easier for me to grab them. Then I will some take the cricket and dab it in the Vitamin D or multivitamin powder to get some to stick to it.

I was wondering how often I should dab them in the vitamins?

Every feeding? Once a week?

Thanks in advance...
 
it depends on the age of the chameleon also how much natural sunlight it gets and the diet you are giving it.what kind of gutload are you using.you want to be careful not to over supplement it
 
It is in an enclosure with T8 6500 k grow bulbs. The equivalent of afternoon sunshine. I also have a 75 watt UVB basking light in there too. I purchase the crickets from a pet supply store and they state they are gut loaded.

The age is about 5 months. He never has a problem eating. Gets occasional mealworms also. I will be ordering some dubias as I can't find them locally.

thanks
 
Get some plain calcium with no D or Phosphorus!! And you can dab them in that every day!!
Vitamins and D3 are usually left to once or twice a month depending on what house said about sunlight and gutload!!
CHEERZ!!!
 
It is in an enclosure with T8 6500 k grow bulbs. The equivalent of afternoon sunshine. I also have a 75 watt UVB basking light in there too. I purchase the crickets from a pet supply store and they state they are gut loaded.

The age is about 5 months. He never has a problem eating. Gets occasional mealworms also. I will be ordering some dubias as I can't find them locally.

thanks

That doesnt sound like your lighting emits UVB. Regular grow bulbs are not adequate for your chameleon (great for plants though!) which needs UVB.

That the pet store "gutloads" the crickets is also not adequate. Pet stores rarely feed crickets in a way that will truly benefit a chameleon. You will have to feed the crickets properly in the 24 hours (minimum) prior to feeding off to the chameleon.
Also, you need to provide a wide range of feeder prey, not just crickets.

You do not need to put the crickets into water first. Doing that will very probably cause too much of the supplement to stick to it. You need only a very light dusting.

Use a phosphorous and vitamin free calcium powder most days that you offer crickets (or other feeders with low calcium to phosphorous ratios). Depending on the brand of vitamin powder, and how well you gutload, you'll likely need a vitamin powder 2-4 times a month. (although if your lighting truly does not emit UVB, a little extra vitamin D for the short term will be okay)

here are some links to information that will help you:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/65-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/olimpia/573-chameleon-physiology-supplements.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/174-whats-supplements-brand.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs...hameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/407-gutloading-isnt-just-crickets-roaches-gutload-everything.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/659-green-leafy-goodness-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/syn/226-frequently-asked-questions.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/frequently-asked-questions-71620/
 
I just ordered some ZooMed NatureSun 2.0 bulbs which are supposed to be full spectrum including UVB for my T8 Fixtures. Even though I believe my current lights are already full spectrum. That should take care of the lighting component for sure.

Thanks everyone for the information
 
2.0s are for understory and mostly-aquatic amphibs, they're not going to do enough for your lizard. Your plants are going to love them, they're fantastic grow lights.

Get 5.0s, and never ever assume that "full spectrum" means it includes UV of any kind. You need a certain phosphor mix and a specific type of glass(low to no iron) to produce meaningful amounts of UV light from any lightbulb(part of why UV bulbs are so much pricier in comparison to regular fluorescents, zero-iron glass costs a bit more to make), so unless it specifically states on the package that the bulb will produce UVA and UVB you can safely assume that none will be produced.

Full-spectrum basically means "full human vision spectrum", not "every wavelength higher than infrared and lower than x-ray."

Also if you have a 75-watt basking bulb, it most certainly is not a UVB bulb unless you bought a Sunglo or similar. It pays to be as specific as possible when you're describing your equipment setup, as if you had a 75-watt Sunglo/similar bulb you would in fact be getting both heat and UVB off of it, but if it's a regular 75-watt basking bulb it's just heat, visible light, and a small bit of UVA on the low end of that spectrum.

If you somehow had a 75-watt bulb that produced nothing but UVB, your cham and anybody who spent more than a half-hour in the room would likely be sunburned to hell.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice, I did cancel the 2.0 bulb order and actually ordered four 10's in the T8's. Due to the cage being 6' X 8' I figure they would give better exposure with the distance in mind.
 
Back
Top Bottom