Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read conflicting advice about dusting with supplementations. I currently have three supplements: RepCal Calcium, RepCal Herpevite, and Miner-All. I have been rotating the dustings on a daily basis (just a small pinch per bag of food).

Now, I am reading that this may be too much supplementation. For my five month old chams (neary six months old now), how frequently should I dust?

Please let me know. As always, thanks so much. You guys are great.

(Lele --- so sorry about your recent losses...it's devastating.)
-----
5 Month Old Ambanja Male I - LESTER
5 Month Old Ambanja Male II - SHOGO

You should dust with calcium once or twice a week, and multivitamins once or twice a week as well. I'd say Monday=calcium, Teusday=herptivite, Wed Thurs=normal feeders no supplements, Friday=miner-all, Sat Sun=normal feeders no supplements. And that should be fine.

Some people feed their chameleon 10 crickets, and they only dust 3 or 4, I would suggest you dust a percentage of the feeders with calcium on Wednesday and Saturday.

And as always, keep them well gutloaded.

-Brock

Hi!
The whole purpose of dusting is to give your chams needed vitamins and minerals that are abscent in their diet. If their diet has all the needed nutrients, then dusting is not needed.
Over supplimentation can cause health problems. A good supply of healthy insects, of at least five different kinds-and a good dose of natural sunlight will usually eliminate the need for dusting. Sunlight is usually the one thing missing from a chameleons needs. Artificial lighting is usually inadequite at providing the required UVB. I personally dust once a month or two-just to make sure, but I also feed 6 or more different types of insects, and keep my chams outside. One final note;
Female egg bearers should be given extra suppliment during their cycle.

Sounds great. Thanks for both the tips. I am probably somehwre in between as I have a difficult time giving my chams consistent natural sunlight (it's easy this time of year since the sun sets so late. But, mid-day sun is tough to come by unless it's a weekend).

So, I figure I will mellow out on the dusting to avoid over-supplmentation.

By the way...what six insects do you have access to? I have been doing: crickets, silkworms, and ocassionally wild caught moths. They have never really taken to meal worms or wax worms. I figure I need to re-do my feeding cup strategy on those critters.
-----
5 Month Old Ambanja Male I - LESTER
5 Month Old Ambanja Male II - SHOGO

I agree that the two best things for your chameleons are natural sunlight and a good variety of prey items.
With summer being here, I'm currently keeping all my chameleons outside, 7/24.
As for prey items, I offer crickets, silkworms, hissing roaches, houseflies, superworms, with the occasional waxworms, hornworms and pill bugs (IF they take them, and even then, I advise to use caution when dealing with any 'wild' caught bugs). Silkworms are the staple diet in summer, crickets are staple in winter. All bugs I've mentioned are readily available via the internet.
-----
Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

I use Crickets, wax worms, meal worms, silk worms, superworms(NOT the same as meal worms even though they look like it), Horn worms, pill bugs, hissing cockroaches, earth worms and I use any of the above that turn into moths. I feed three to four days a week. not every day, and vary the amount- sometimes as much as they can eat, sometimes only a few. Hope this helps