4 days ago I got a baby leo from ++++++++ and he's eating like a champ so far. He's about 4 inches long including tail, and I'm confused on how often to dust his food. Right now I am feeding him mealworms and crickets but he likes the crickets wayyy more than the mealies. I have Rep-Cal Herptivite and ReptoCal calcium w/ D3 as of right now, but I have zoomed calcium with and without d3 coming tomorrow. My question is, how often do i use the multivitamin and calcium w/D3? I know to keep the plain calcium always in the cage..
How often to dust feeders with calcium w/ D3 and with herptivite
- Thread starter jakehinds
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I offer a mix of both vitamins/calcium in a dish at all times. This dish also serves as my feeder dish for my mealworms. With dusting there is no sure way to know if you are providing the proper amount of either. This way if the gecko feels it needs more supplements, it always has access to them.
Embrace Calamity
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Are you asking how often to use the ZooMed Reptivite (hopefully that's what you got and not the other ZooMed supplement)? That's usually 2-3 times a week.
~Maggot
~Maggot
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Reptivite contains very little vitamin A compared to some others, and it's only supposed to be used 2-3 times a week. I've never heard of a supplement-based case of vitamin A overdose, and if it were a danger with Reptivite, geckos would be dying left and right from Repashy, which has twice the vitamin A and gets used at every feeding. Only time I know of vitamin A overdoses occurring are from vitamin injections, not supplements. If it were only used once a month, I would be willing to be there would be a risk of issues that would arise from a deficiency.
I would be interested to read, however, any literature you have on vitamin A overdoses.
~Maggot
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The vitamin supplement I use (Vionate) contains vitamin A and D3. I have had this product in all mealworm dishes at all times for over two years with no issues what so ever. There are much larger breeders than myself that use this same product on a daily basis and swear by it. This includes Ron Tremper. He even refers to it in his book and he has been caring for these animals longer than I have been alive. lol
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When you say use on a "daily basis," do you mean they dust the feeders daily with it or they just leave it in the enclosure? For the ones who dust, how often do they do so? I'm curious because that contains pretty much the same amount of vitamin A as Reptivite.
~Maggot
No, I'm using rep-cal herptivite, which I'd like to know how often to dust.
I put the mealworms in the dish and sprinkle the Vionate powder over them (roughly about 1/2 tsp). This is done every single feeding unless there is powder left in the bowl. The mealworms eat this powder and I have seen on dozens of occasions the geckos licking the powder after they eat all the mealwoms. Off the top of my head, two large breeder that do this are Ron Tremper and Matt Baronak of Sasobek's World of Reptiles. I know there are several more that do the same thing and again have never had any vitamin related issues that I am aware of.
I also mix Osteo Form SA calcium powder into my Vionate. (4 parts Vionate : 1 part Osteo Form SA)
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Why's it matter since you have the other stuff coming today/tomorrow? Herptivite is one of those I told you about that contains no vitamin A, so it's kind of useless. The Reptivite is intended to cover all of the gecko's needs, so once you have that, you don't need to worry about the other stuff.
~Maggot
http://herptiles.consulnetjdm.dyndns.org:8081/iatrohypera.html
I know this is about turtles but vit A overdoses can occur.
I think we over suppliment our pets personally. I only use a multi vit once a month.
I know this is about turtles but vit A overdoses can occur.
I think we over suppliment our pets personally. I only use a multi vit once a month.
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"Iatrogenic toxicity in captive reptiles and amphibians occurs mainly in chelonians because they are well-known for their tendency to develop hypovitaminosis A due to inadequate diets. (Boyer, 1996a and 1996b; Kaplan, 2002) When a chelonian is presented with blepharitis and ocular or nasal discharge, it has been many veterinarians' misassumption that it is caused by hypovitaminosis A. Without proper investigation, parenteral or oral vitamin A supplementation is administered, and hypervitaminosis may occur. Additionally, suggested doses of vitamin A vary in veterinary literature, and most commercially prepared forms are designed for large animals, so dosage errors occur, even when the diagnosis is correct. (Boyer, 1996a; Merck and Co., Inc., 2003)"
Basically, the overdose of vitamin A usually occurs when a deficiency is misdiagnosed by veterinarians when they see these signs - which surely can be due to other things - because of how common the issue is in turtles, and then they administer more vitamin A than necessary, resulting in toxicity. It also points out that the commercially prepared forms are designed for larger animals, which can be an issue as well. None of these things apply to leopard geckos, however - unless a vet were to misdiagnose something else as a vitamin A deficiency and then give the animal too much vitamin A to correct the issue, but, as the article states, the issue "occurs mainly in chelonians."
~Maggot
Have you ever heard or read anything in regards to a leopard gecko developing this hypovitaminosis A?? I have never been able to find anything. I could see if a vet gives a small animal (like a gecko) to large of a dose causing an issue, but I would think if this occurs from supplementing alone there would be dozens of recorded cases with as many people keeping these animals. I am not saying it can't happen, just seems very unlikely IMO.
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I did actually look into the issue. As I said, Repashy has twice the vitamin A of Reptivite or what you're using, so one or two people have said it might be too much. So I looked all over to find any instance of Repashy causing a vitamin A overdose in leopard geckos and couldn't find a single case. I've asked around and no one else knows of it ever happening. If it were a threat for supplements with half the vitamin A of Repashy and to be used less often, I would think Repashy would be killing geckos left and right. Again, that doesn't make it impossible, but it seems like something that would be very prevalent.
~Maggot
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