[cricket4u]

Originally Posted by yaya543

It's been a few mos but I think he said only use plain calcium no phos. for the juvies vitamins 1x week, adults 2x a mos. I will call him up and double check soon.

OK, thanks all.

Well, I'll try to explain in brief detail. Most importantly is photoperiod, regardless of how you achieve it. They need to know when to sleep and when to wake up. If not they will have interrupted sleep, which sadly many have in captivity. Just imagine how you feel when you don't get a full night's worth of sleep. It can suppress your immune system and cause irritability.

I have personally witnessed how UVB has increased their appetite, skin color, alertness, activity once the lights go out of course. Their vision is also illuminated by UVB wavelengths and sense UVB, so why deprive them of it.
I do believe they lay a portion of their body out and get UVB for short periods of time. I have seen my geckos do it at home. They have several hide options in different temps so have no reason to hang out under one.

Last but not least, the main reason is to avoid hypervitaminosis D. The suspicious deaths have continued to grow. There is no way of knowing if we are giving too much or too little VitaminD in form of supplements. The few who have had necropsies show evidence of calcification in soft tissue and organs. My solution, allow what is closest to what is natural do the job. 10 times safer if used correctly.

I think it's important to try and duplicate their natural habitat which includes the sun. The hides serve as their underground crevices Also Herpetologists have often come across nocturnal species at dusk when low levels of UVB are present according to “Diurnal Activities of a Nocturnal Animal,” a 1952 article published in the journal Herpetologica, noted herpetologist Bayard Brattstrom.


The bulb should be no closer than 6 inches from your leo, but within 12.
http://www.reptileforums.net/forums/...-d3-in-lizards

[yaya543]

Can someone tell me whats the diffrence from a leopard gecko ,bell, blizzard, does that mean it's just the color?

[Yoshi'smom]

Yeah. They are all still leopard geckos. Some have just been bred to get a different colorations than others. These different colorations are what we call morphs. There are many different morphs now. They're all very stunning and very different.
Category:Morphs - Leopard Gecko Wiki

[cricket4u]

Originally Posted by yaya543

Does anyone know of a good type of 2.0 UVB I can buy? any ideas will be helpful.

Hi,

I just happened to look over your posts and realized you said for a 40 gallon, I was under the impression you wrote 55 sorry. Honestly I would be concerned to use a UVB light unless you find a size tube that is no more than half the tank long. I would be afraid that the rays can penetrate through some hides and the gecko would not be able to avoid it when necessary.
It must be an option, not all day exposure.