calcium bowls

[via]

i was wondering if it was ok to leave a calcium bowl in my tank. ive seen on some forums that leaving a calcium bowl is toxic, but one site says one thing and another site says another thing. before reading those forums i had put a calcium bowl in my tank and one of my leos were eating the calcium from it, is that ok?

 

[acpart]

I wouldn't say "toxic". Years ago, when the problem was that people didn't really know they were supposed to be supplementing, there was a big push to get people to provide calcium and there was also the idea that the gecko knew how much it needed and would take the appropriate amount. Once people caught onto the idea that supplementation was good, they kind of went overboard with the supplements and it's not entirely clear that they're able to self regulate. It also became apparent that oversupplementation could cause some of the same problems as not providing enough supplementation. Until 2009 I did keep a small amount of calcium in the enclosure. In 2009 I started supplementing with Repashy Calcium Plus, which is an all-in-one supplement (calcium, D3, vitamins and minerals) and I took the calcium dishes out of the enclosures. The only exception is that when I was breeding geckos I did put a small amount of calcium in with the hatchlings. I did this because I noticed that a few of the hatchlings started to look as if they were developing MBD. Adding the extra calcium cleared it up right away. I have had no problems with MBD since then.

Aliza

 

[Josh]

I also like to use a multivitamin instead of straight calcium. I don't usually put it in a bowl in the enclosure but I have seen many do this and I think it's probably not very harmful. YMMV of course

 

[Margi San Diego]

i was wondering if it was ok to leave a calcium bowl in my tank. ive seen on some forums that leaving a calcium bowl is toxic, but one site says one thing and another site says another thing. before reading those forums i had put a calcium bowl in my tank and one of my leos were eating the calcium from it, is that ok?

My vet recommended the calcium bowl. I use a small water bottle cap. It hasn't been a problem.