calcium dish vs dusting

[Paula Marez]

I have been dusting my crickets and sometimes even the mealworms but I also have a dish of the same stuff in the viv. I've been seeing little footprints in the dish (SO CUTE!) so I know the little guy is using it. So, question is, if the dish is there and being used regularly, do I REALLY still need to dust the food?

Thanks!

 

[Embrace Calamity]

The general rule of thumb is to dust with something that covers all of the gecko's needs and then leave pure calcium in the enclosure. That's merely a backup though and not intended to be their main source of what they need. What supplement are you using and how often?

~Maggot

 

[Paula Marez]

I have "repashy" leopard gecko calcium plus (looks like protein, vit a and vit d-3 are the extras)

Should I use this only on food, and put pure calcium in dish?

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Yes. I would put pure calcium without D3 in the dish and dust with the repashy.

 

[Art Geckos]

I use my mealworms feeding dish to double as the calcium/supplement dish. In this case it's not designed to "coat" the mealworms (even though it does slightly), it allows the mealworms (or crickets) to gutload on the mulitivitin/calcium powder. So, to answer your question, as long as calcium/mutlivitamin is available in their enclosure; your Leo will be able to supplement as needed; making dusting feeder insects unnecessary. This is what I do and it has worked very well for me:

10lbs Vionate Multivitamin Powder mixed with 4- 350g Osteo-Form SA; This is what Matt Baronak at Sasobek Reptiles does for his hundreds of leopard geckos. One small scoop with each feeding

 

[SC Geckos]

I use my mealworms feeding dish to double as the calcium/supplement dish. In this case it's not designed to "coat" the mealworms (even though it does slightly), it allows the mealworms (or crickets) to gutload on the mulitivitin/calcium powder. So, to answer your question, as long as calcium/mutlivitamin is available in their enclosure; your Leo will be able to supplement as needed; making dusting feeder insects unnecessary. This is what I do and it has worked very well for me:

10lbs Vionate Multivitamin Powder mixed with 4- 350g Osteo-Form SA; This is what Matt Baronak at Sasobek Reptiles does for his hundreds of leopard geckos. One small scoop with each feeding

^^ I agree. I use these same supplements in the same way.

I mean if you think about it.... The reasoning for leaving a dish of calcium in the enclosure is to give the gecko access to more calcium because there is no way to ensure that the gecko is getting enough from dusting the feeders. So it makes perfect sense to do the same with the vitamins.

As far as with or without D3.... the two supplements my animals have access to 24/7 both contain D3. (both the Vionate and Osteo form SA). I have never experienced, heard, or read anything from any of the larger breeders that have used these same supplements on a daily basis (for many more years than myself) in regards to any "D3 overdose", organ failure, or death of a gecko related to excess D3. I believe that for D3 to have any adverse effect on a gecko it would need to be consumed in massive quantities.
That being said I am not a vet and have no scientific data to back this up, only my own experience and research.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I mean if you think about it.... The reasoning for leaving a dish of calcium in the enclosure is to give the gecko access to more calcium because there is no way to ensure that the gecko is getting enough from dusting the feeders. So it makes perfect sense to do the same with the vitamins.

The problem with that reasoning is that calcium is just one supplement. If they need more calcium, they can get it. If they don't, they won't. But when you put something in there with 20 different ingredients, they can't just take what they need of one thing. They take all of it.

~Maggot