Supplements?

What supplements do you use for your chams and how often?

It all depends on which chameleon that I am feeding on how often. I like to alternate between a couple of different types. One that I have had good results from is sticky tongue farms.

I like the Mineral From sticky tounges too!

I try to rotate inthe winter with the Indoor, Reptivite and herptivite. Then in summer whenthey get natural sun I use the Outdoor and rotate it with herptivite.

I saw someone in another thread here talk about supplementing vitamins daily. Once a week for vitamins, and twice a week for calcium, is pretty tried-and-true. More than twice a week for vitamins is risking more problems than it solves.

Jim, I think that would only count if you are 100% certain that the owner has properly raised and fed their feeder insects. If they are buying a few dozen a week and dumping them in the cage, supplements are a must.

I have also noticed that most of the supplements dusted onto feeder insects are knocked off of the insect very quickly so if the food item is not eaten instantly after dusting, there is not much of the supplement there to eat.

OK, and if you are not "100% certain" about the history of the insects before you got them (and no one recommends dumping them in the cages), then what would count? What is the supplementation regimen?

I would as I do, gutload them on proper gutload for at least 24 hours, them dust them with a supplement, I use different supplements on rotating days.

Day 1: Mineral O or I (depends on time of year)
Day 2: Vionate
Day 3: Herptivite
Day 4: Off

And it rotates from there

Im more concrened about Gutload since most dusted supplemts are wiped off by the insect very quickly!

And no, I do not follow your advise of once every 10 days of liquid vitamins.

Wendy, in this thread, I said this about powdered supplementation:

Once a week for vitamins, and twice a week for calcium, is pretty tried-and-true. More than twice a week for vitamins is risking more problems than it solves.

You replied with this, and I confess to not being to sure what you referred to:

Jim, I think that would only count if you are 100% certain that the owner has properly raised and fed their feeder insects.

So, when asked to offer an alternative, you replied:

Day 1: Mineral O or I (depends on time of year)
Day 2: Vionate
Day 3: Herptivite
Day 4: Off

The regimen you describe (Vionate is a vitamin and mineral supplement not specific to reptiles) is heavy on vitamins and minerals. You are right that much can be lost in dusting, but I recommended a tested and often recommended regimen. You qualified that mine would "only count" under certain circumstances. I am not saying that yours "doesn't count", and welcome all to share their supplementation ideas (I thought you asked), but could you show the basis for why a commonly recommended, accepted, and proven schedule "doesn't count"?

No mention of liquid vitamins her until you said this:

And no, I do not follow your advise of once every 10 days of liquid vitamins

.

I think that I recommended a specific liquid vitamin to you 2-3 years ago. It was field tested by myself and Dr. Ivan Alfonso, who wrote extensively for the Chameleon Information Network, and who also has years of experience breeding chameleons (see my website, medical page). Our joint test over about an 18 month period showed it to be the most effective vitamin, liquid or otherwise, we ever used. Unfortunately, the product is not commercially available at this time, as people think liquid is too messy. I am not sure why you interjected that line here, as I am not trying to recommend something that cannot be had, and had not raised it. What's up? Tell me what I missed?

What I meant was that I don't thinking dusting once a week for vitamins and twice a week with calcium is good advise unless it is 100% certain that the insect itself is properly gutloaded.

As you said in antoher post here, sometimes ther replies are much broader so that it answers not just the question but goes deeper just in case a newbie was to see it.

I would not want people to think they can go to the local petco and buy a dozen crickets, never feed them and only use a supplement from time to time and have a living reptile for very long.

The liquid vitamin, yes is was a thing you told me privately (I never did use it but a few times) but I am surprised you have not suggested its use here to all of the cham owers, you only mention your use and frequency of dusting supplements.