Best Chameleon Vitamins: Complete Guide to Supplements Your Reptile Actually Needs

For all those people who already own a chameleon, they understand the need of proper supplements and chameleon vitamins to help them before healthy and live a better life. To the papa who are new to chameleon parenting, yes! You read it right. Chameleon vitamins and other supplements area as necessary for your reptile let as for any other growing living being. With the fact that the supplement market for reptiles is growing as fast as other markets, there are many options available in the market for chameleon vitamins and supplements, and new pet parents often get confused with which of them is worth a shot.

Many of the post parents who have been giving their chameleons supplements have often decided to stick with the brands they have been feeding their pet from the beginning, however, many pet parents are still searching for the one that suits their reptile and gives visible signs of development. If you are searching for some supplements to include in your pet’s diet, this article will provide you with the best chameleon vitamins guide, so that your reptile gets the supplements they actually need.

Understanding Chameleon Nutrients Needs

Pet chameleon are often found to have some vitamin deficiencies by their vets and the reason for that is the dietary and nutritional composition that differs from the wild. Let’s break it down, the chameleons that stay in the wild have a lot more options than the ones that stay in captive. The variety of food that they get in the wild is nearly impossible to attain inside our homes. The maximum you can provide your pet chameleon with are some variety of insects or worms. However, those do not suffice the dietary and nutritional needs for a chameleon to grow properly.

Chameleons can suffer from improper shedding, bone diseases as well as other illnesses that are caused due to chameleon vitamins and minerals deficiency. Therefore, it is important to incorporate these nutrients in your pet’s diet. Calcium, Vitamin B3, Vitamin A and multi vitamins are some of the most important nutrients that are required for your reptile proper growth. However, if is also important to understand the intensity and frequency of feeding these to the chameleons. Under feeding and overfeeding, both poses risk to your chameleons health so keep on checking with your vet to stay updated about you pet’s health.

Key Chameleon Vitamins and Minerals: What They Do

Let’s discuss why do we need these certain vitamins and minerals to be incorporated on your pet chameleons diet and how do they effect your pet’s health. Vitamin D3, Vitamin A and Calcium are equally important for reptiles as they are for humans and other animals such as dogs, cats and cattles. There are some natural sources to attain them as well as supplementary sources too, special thanks to scientific developments. Let’s see what do these vitamins do and how-

• Calcium- Just as humans requires Calcium for bone development and healthy functioning of bones, chameleons also requirecalcium for the very same purpose. Out of all the other vitamins, Calcium is the most important for bone developments, muscle functioning and nerve transmission, therefore adding Calcium to your pet’s diet also become equally crucial as feeding them food.
• Vitamin D3- Yet another important chameleon vitamins is vitamin D3, without which addition of Calcium will become useless. This means that vasoconstriction and vitamin D goes hand in hand. For Calcium to get absorbed in the body m vitamin D3 is important. For changeling that stay in the wild, sunlight(UVB and UVA) is achieved in ample quantity, so they hardly suffer from vitamin D deficiency. However, the chameleons that stay in captive- its not as much possible as it is in the wild.
• Vitamin A- This is another important vitamin which is required for healthy skin shedding, eyes support and development of immune system. With Vitamin A deficiency, chameleons can have poor vision, bad shedding and may fall sick really easily.
• Vitamin E and K- Vitamin E and K are equally important as they help in aiding tissue repair and blood clot.
• B- Complex- Must have heard of b complex deficiency in humans, but did you know chameleons can suffer from this too? B Complex support energy metabolism and stress response in reptiles, therefore, it is equally important for chameleons.
• Minerals- Minerals such as phosphorus and magnesium are also crucial to incorporate in your pet chameleons’ diet and must be properly balanced to avoid interfering with calcium uptake.

How to Feed Chameleon Vitamins and Minerals

Now to fulfill these chameleon vitamins and minerals requirements, there are quite a few options available. There is always an option of fulfilling these nutrient requirements with the help of natural resources, however, if is not as convenient and is also not possible for many captive chameleons. Therefore, there is also option for supplements available in the market. Let’s see some of these options-

1. Gut Loading- On the top of the list is the most effective and most crucial feeding option that every reptile parent should consider. Gut loading is the method in which you feed the worms with a good diet before you feed them to your chameleon. If you get insects and worms from a stores, the chances are these insects are already starving and feeding those starving insects to your chameleon is going to do no good. Therefore, always opt for gut Loading as am effective feeding method.
2. Supplements- There are multiple brands that post multiple supplement variety of there that can be fed to your pet reptile to suffice their nutrient needs. However, the problem is not finding the supplements, it is to feed them to your reptile. For this you can rely on the Dusting method. For this all you need to do is place the feeder(insects/ worms) in a cup and add a teaspoon of supplements in it. Shake the cup to allow the supplements to mix with the feeder and then offer your pet the same. This lets the supplements to be fed to your pet effectively.

Check out our article to learn more about gut loading and feeding Chameleons Feeding Guide: What & How to Feed Your Pet?

Top-Rated Chameleon Vitamin and Mineral Brands

Selecting the best vitamin product for your chameleon is very important as the formulation, D3 content, and how often it is used vary by brand. Below you will find several brands that emerge as effective and safe per research and community testimony when used as directed.

1. Zoo MedRepti Calcium is an ultra fine precipitated calcium carbonate supplement with vitamin D3. Zoo Med’s Repti Calcium is a phosphorusfree calcium supplement for reptiles and amphibians. Zoo Med There are a variety of these minerals and supplements for reptiles and amphibians which are produced by various manufacturers. Repti Calcium (with or without D3) – ultra-fine, 100% precipitated calcium carbonate. Reptivite– a multivitamin with preformed Vitamin A that can be used weekly Zoo Med is popular for offering simple formulas, allowing you to easily adjust supplementation according to UVB exposure.
2. Repashy- Another trusted chameleon vitamins and minerals brand that many pet reptile owners trust is repashy. Repashy offers an all in one blend that is convenient for an addition in your reptiles diet, however, if does require careful dosing. Repashy’s most opted for are the Repashy Calcium Plus and Calcium Plus LoD (Low D3).
3. Arcadia– Unlike other chameleon vitamins and minerals supplements available in the market, Arcadia offers natural and well balanced nutritional supplements for your reptile. EarthPro-A, RevitaliseD3 and CalciumPro-Mg are the most opted for chameleon vitamins and minerals trusted by many reptile pet parents

As we all agree that chameleon vitamins and minerals supplements area necessary for their proper growth, a holistic care routine for your chamfering is equally important. Just supplements are not enough to help your pet live a healthy life. Proper enclosures with good ventilation, UV lamps and trying to provide with natural sources such as sunlight are some of the ways to provide your pet chameleon with a healthy and happy lifestyle. Remember, a happy pet is a healthy pet.