So confused about Repashy Calcium Plus..

[LizMarie]

I've been reading about Repashy Calcium Plus and how good it is so I thought I should get some once I get a Leo. So I did a search on this forum and online and I'm more confused then ever! Lol.. Maybe I'm missing something but I hope someone can help me.

I was reading the Leopard Gecko info/caresheet on GeckoRanch.com and saw that Repashy Calcium Plus also sold as T-Rex Leopard Gecko Dust. So if I buy the LGD I should be fine?

And how exactly is this stuff used.. Do I dust the food everyday or atleast every feeding!? Do I still need other vitamins? And should I still supply the Pure Calcium in a dish in the tank at all times?

Sorry if this has been asked before but I'm just a little lost from all the stuff I'm reading..

Thanks

 

[acpart]

I should probably wait and let Julie answer this, but she can always correct me. I just made the switch to calcium plus. As I understand it, this is essentially the same as T rex . . . but Repashy has been updating and upgrading the forumula, so, especially if you get an "older" jar of T Rex, you may not be getting the latest formula.

What I have been reading, is that with calcium plus, you need to dust the feeders at every feeding and there is no need to leave calcium in the cage or to use vitamins since the calcium plus contains vitamins. I was worried initially that a gecko that doesn't tend to eat its food right away wouldn't get the calcium because it would come off the feeder, but after seeing a mealworm that still had the stuff on it the next morning, I'm less worried about that.

My only question, which maybe I'll get an answer to here is whether the large foil bags of calcium plus need to be refrigerated in order to be preserved.

Aliza

 

[LizMarie]

I should probably wait and let Julie answer this, but she can always correct me. I just made the switch to calcium plus. As I understand it, this is essentially the same as T rex . . . but Repashy has been updating and upgrading the forumula, so, especially if you get an "older" jar of T Rex, you may not be getting the latest formula.

What I have been reading, is that with calcium plus, you need to dust the feeders at every feeding and there is no need to leave calcium in the cage or to use vitamins since the calcium plus contains vitamins. I was worried initially that a gecko that doesn't tend to eat its food right away wouldn't get the calcium because it would come off the feeder, but after seeing a mealworm that still had the stuff on it the next morning, I'm less worried about that.

My only question, which maybe I'll get an answer to here is whether the large foil bags of calcium plus need to be refrigerated in order to be preserved.

Aliza

Thanks.. where did you get your calcium plus from?

 

[fOOlsgOld]

I got mine here LizMarie http://www.pangeareptile.com/products.htm

 

[acpart]

I got mine from geckoranch.

Aliza

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

The only thing that concerns me about the Repashy Calcium Plus is that it states on the label it was developed for Bearded Dragons. BD's are not nocturnal, so their skin can assimilate VitD to optimize calcium. Also, BD's have a completely different diet than leopard geckos, which includes vegetables.

Unfortunately, most of the supplements we have today were originally developed for iguanas, who like Bearded Dragons, utilize VitD from sunshine and eat vegetation. I just can't see how there can be a "one size fits all' supplement.

 

[LizMarie]

The only thing that concerns me about the Repashy Calcium Plus is that it states on the label it was developed for Bearded Dragons. BD's are not nocturnal, so their skin can assimilate VitD to optimize calcium. Also, BD's have a completely different diet than leopard geckos, which includes vegetables.

Unfortunately, most of the supplements we have today were originally developed for iguanas, who like Bearded Dragons, utilize VitD from sunshine and eat vegetation. I just can't see how there can be a "one size fits all' supplement.

Interesting I never looked at it that way.. umm now I'm back to square one, Lol

 

[fOOlsgOld]

It would be cool if Allen could chime in on this. I know his Leo and BD supplements have the same ingredients and I believe I read some where that they are the same thing just labeled differently but I'm not sure.

 

[nats]

The only thing that concerns me about the Repashy Calcium Plus is that it states on the label it was developed for Bearded Dragons. BD's are not nocturnal, so their skin can assimilate VitD to optimize calcium. Also, BD's have a completely different diet than leopard geckos, which includes vegetables.

Unfortunately, most of the supplements we have today were originally developed for iguanas, who like Bearded Dragons, utilize VitD from sunshine and eat vegetation. I just can't see how there can be a "one size fits all' supplement.

I was wondering the same thing. Even though I do use calcium plus, I keep thinking about what it was designed for, and start to wonder if these folks (Repashy, et al) arent simply trying to milk a larger piece of the pie! (if you know what I mean!! )

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I was wondering the same thing. Even though I do use calcium plus, I keep thinking about what it was designed for, and start to wonder if these folks (Repashy, et al) arent simply trying to milk a larger piece of the pie! (if you know what I mean!! )

Let's not go there, OK? Sorry, but the TOS of GeckoForums.net does not allow us to make comments about individual's or business' ethics or practices. Thanks.

 

[Gecko Ranch]

Whooaa Nelly! Glad I saw this thread. Let me address all the concerns here:

1) Labeling - Allen's labeling is dreadfully behind what the actual product is. I'll talk to him today to see if I can get the current contents. I can post some things he recently wrote to show you all that this is the current state of the art product, well tested on geckos as well as other herps like frogs, and there is nothing that comes close after you do all the comparisons. You are getting lot for your money, not only the correct ratios of all the critical vitamins and minerals like Calcium, Vitamin D3, two different sources of vitamin A, and also nice extras like probiotics to aid digestion as well as the all powerful pigment enhancers he has in there.

2) The expiration dates on the foil pouches are pretty far out, 1-2 years, so as long as you keep it in a cool dry place and make sure the ziplock is closed on there, it should be fine. After I open mine I place it in another gallon ziplock and keep it in the fridge.

3)Please do a search on my username, Gecko Ranch, and Calcium Plus and you will learn quite a bit about the product. It has made my life a lot more simple and benefitted my large, diverse collection of geckos as far as health and reproduction by quite a bit.

4)I fully back this product as being the best you can obtain for geckos. Allen is one of the most dedicated individuals to developing great products for geckos, so please know to question his ethics on this is very much not deserved. He is always providing plenty of documentation of how he developed his products and only uses the highest quality ingredients.

You are always welcome to send me a pm.

 

[nats]

Let's not go there

Yep, your right.

Nevermind

 

[Allen Repashy]

The only thing that concerns me about the Repashy Calcium Plus is that it states on the label it was developed for Bearded Dragons. BD's are not nocturnal, so their skin can assimilate VitD to optimize calcium. Also, BD's have a completely different diet than leopard geckos, which includes vegetables.

Unfortunately, most of the supplements we have today were originally developed for iguanas, who like Bearded Dragons, utilize VitD from sunshine and eat vegetation. I just can't see how there can be a "one size fits all' supplement.

I thought I would jump in here and see if I can shed some light.

Marcia asked about the Bearded Dragon reference on the label in PM we had about a month or so ago and I responded to some of the same concerns she is mentioning. I will just copy my reply here and elaborate a bit on it.

"Hello!

I didn't even realize it said anything about bearded dragons on the label until you pointed it out. I cut and pasted label info and neglected to proof it well enough!

I did a major reformulation with the ICB last year. I increased the calcium % a bit, and made changes in the Vitamin levels in the formula. The Bearded Dragon on the label is because, for T-Rex, they wanted to have species specific labels as part of their marketing plan. All the Calcium Plus ICB product they sell are the same thing.

The product is designed to balance and supplement ie "complete" the nutritional value of an insect as fed to all insectivours. RepCal and Herptivite, are not made for Leopard Geckos, they are made for all reptiles.... The idea with my product is to balance the calcium and phosphourous ratio of a cricket, and provide supplementation. The basic requirements of all reptiles are very close as far as vitamins and minerals. There is a sensitivity issue with D3 and possibly A to consider, but there is a range that works well for most everything. Herptivite and Repcal were formulated with green iguanas and bearded dragons in mind much more than leopard geckos, that's for sure. RepCal contains IMHO extremely high levels of D3 .... 400,000 IU/KG .... that is borderline toxicity levels by some measurements.... this is five times the d3 level of my ICB.."

So what I am saying is that my ICB was formulated with much more conservative levels of D-3 when compared to Rep-Cal and others . It is marketed by T-Rex as a bunch of different products as a marketing strategy. I developed and refined my formulas by doing a majority of my research using Rhacodactylus Geckos, unlike most other supplements that were based on supplementing species like Green Iguanas, Bearded Dragons.. or just taking Bird and Mammal supplements and selling them as herp supplements like some do.

That being said, the different requirements of different species is compensated for by metabolism, so two species on the same supplementation regiment are not getting the same amount of supplement.

A lot of the difference between herp species when comparing things like bearded dragons to geckos is metabolism. Diurnal species typically thrive at much higher body temperatures... which increases metabolism... which effects HOW much they eat.... a Bearded Dragon and a Leo that are both 100 grams process different amounts of food.... if the supplement is the same, a bearded dragon is going to get twice as much of it if he eats twice as much food..... So he gets more supplementation than the leo just because of metabolism, not what is in the supplement.

As far as comparing vegetarian species to insectivores... they, like most living things, still need a similar calcium to phosphorous ratio. There are differences in things like protein requirements, how they process vitamin A. ...... things like that.... But the ICB is formulated to use with insects, so if they do not eat insects, they wouldn't be getting it.. If they eat insects... the product is formulated to optimize the nutrition of that insect.

I have another product to address the veggie eaters that should be used when feeding veggies.... It is more about balancing what they eat... when something eats insects... you supplement the insect. when they eat veggies, you supplement the veggies... each with a different product... if they only eat one and not the other...... you have a supplement to use... if they eat both, then you need two different ones.... I hope this all makes some sense.

Allen

 

[eric]

I have a question. Is there any difference in the Leachianus Gecko MRP to the Crested Gecko MRP besides labels? I couldn't find any different ingredients. And my Rhacs love it!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Thank you for posting your correspondence to me, Allen. It actually came to mind to post it myself, but my MOGL brain is like a sieve lately...

I have been using the Calcium Plus on 2 test groups of geckos for about 4 weeks now, and it certainly is a much easier product to use. It sticks well to the feeders, too. I can certainly be a skeptical old lady sometimes, and am resistant to 'new and improved' products. I guess I come from the old school mentality that "if it aint broke, don't fix it".

I hope you can get your 'new and improved' packaging/labels out soon!

 

[Gecko Ranch]

I have a question. Is there any difference in the Leachianus Gecko MRP to the Crested Gecko MRP besides labels? I couldn't find any different ingredients. And my Rhacs love it!

Hey Eric! The Dallas Ft. Worth Zoo recently did a nutritional analysis of Leachy and Crested MRPs and found them to be very similar. So, on the basis of that, Allen will be discontinuing Leachy diet at the end of this year. I have been feeding my leachies all the MRPs Allen has and they like them all. No worries!

 

[fOOlsgOld]

Thank you for clearing all this up guys. It's really cool having the actual producers of a product on the forums to answer questions for us.

 

[Gecko Ranch]

Thank you for clearing all this up guys. It's really cool having the actual producers of a product on the forums to answer questions for us.

Allen Repashy (maker of these products) is always seeking feedback from us too, and continually doing research to make the products better. If you notice anything, positive or negative, you can always pass it on to Allen or his authorized distributors (we'll get your comments to him).

 

[Allen Repashy]

Originally, the leachie diet and the crested gecko diet were more different. I formulated the leachie diet only once, and focused my efforts more on the development of the crested gecko diet. A yearly tweak based on feedback and trials..... and now, some six years later, the crested gecko diet is much more fine tuned. The recent analysis of the two diets by the Fort Worth Zoo, was part of an evaluation they did to decide if they were going to use my products. After review, they liked the breakdown of the CGD so much they said they would choose it for their leachie's over the LGD.... Which pretty much put the axe on the LGD. I have been trying to discontinue it for two years now, but customers were screaming bloody murder LOL.....

Now I can focus on the CGD. I just released the latest tweaked version... based on the Fort worth feedback.... so it is rolling out to resellers now.

I PROMISE, I will get the labels updated. It is going to be my holiday project..

Allen

 

[eric]

Thank you Allen and Julie.