Kiara1125
Beardie Tamer
- Messages
- 136
- Location
- Arcadia, FL
Which is better to feed my leos - Repti Calcium with or without D3?
Whats your current setup now kiara? Beautiful Geckos BTW!
Personally, I leave vionate in the tank (which contains D3) but I don't dust.
That sounds like a really nice home for them! Do you have a under tank heater?
I would probably avoid putting the calcium with D3 in their bowl. They will eat it unregulated which can cause poisoning. Thats why we reccomend the D3 free calcium in the tank, and dusting your feeders with D3 every other feeding or so. And don't forget the vitamins! Without a vitamin supplement with vitamin A your gecko may suffer severe skin and eye problems! Other then that, your set up sounds pretty nice, and I look forward to seeing some photos
They actually do absorb D3 from UVB bulbs very well, better than most reptiles because they are exposed to very little of it in nature. And they do need D3 to process calcium. Vet caresheets are starting to recommend UVB 2.0 bulbs because it is a safe way for leopard geckos to "top off" their D3 levels. Unlike the supplement, they cannot absorb too much D3 from light.I respect with your skepticism on the D3 subject and it is a very touchy subject, however in that exact forum it was a chameleon, and it said to let them get the D3 they needed from lights, but sadly with leo geckos being nocturnal they cant get it from lights, so they need some form of it from supplements, or else they can't absorb it and will become deficient. It would be better to use D3 a little less then where you over dose it, where both cases can be seen physically. However, lots of people use repashy calcium plus on this forum and others, so it is proven that it provides a proper amount of vitamins and minerals.
*Edit* Calcium plus also is made for everyday use. There really isn't that much research on what is right for leopard geckos, or other reptiles that I know of because they aren't as widely homed like cats or dogs (Since I got a gecko i can't see why!)