Questions about dusting supplements...

[Ekko]

I'm confused as to what supplements to offer / how to offer them to my geckos.

In addition to my leos, I also own two bearded dragons who require the calcium and vitamin supplements (Rep-Cal Calcium w/ Vit. D3 and Herptivite). I dust their feeders in the calcium on weekdays, and dust them in the multivitamin on weekends. As for my leos - I've always dusted their feeders (mealworms) with the calcium supplement (by putting them in an empty mealworm cup with some calcium power and shaking the mixture up) and I've also placed a cap of the powder in their tanks before, but they never seemed interested in the cap. I was wondering if I should be dusting their feeders with Herptivite aswell...or do I need a different type of multi-vitamin?

Basically...what do you guys do when it comes to dusting leo food and providing them with the supplements?

Thank-you

 

[Olympus]

You can dust with Calcium and D3 lightly at every (or most) feeding and then dust with the multivitamin 2-4 times a month, and then within the cage you can provide PLAIN calcium without any D3.

D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it builds up in the body over time. Reptiles can overdose on supplemental D3 so you don't want the kind in their tank, the kind they have access too 24/7, to contain vitamin D3.

I actually like having plain calcium in my dusting schedule, I might dust with plain calcium more heavily sometimes if I think a female needs it (for example) and can give her that calcium without over-doing the D3 at the same time. So even if you find that your gecko never really uses the calcium cup in his cage, it's still a good product to have, I think. Most pet stores don't carry plain calcium, it might be something you have to order online.

 

[Ekko]

Thank-you for responding! (You guys are so speedy with the replies! It's amazing!)

Is there a specific brand of Calcium that you recommend? (Or a specific website?)

 

[Olympus]

You're welcome! I'm partial to Repashy products, I think they're really fine and stick to insects really well. This is the one I use specifically (Repashy SuperCal NoD 3oz Jar) but something like Repcal brand calcium is fine too.