leo supplementation
- Thread starter Moosenart
- Start date
Moosenart
New member
Really? Thanks! thats great!
Yoshi'smom
New member
Most people recommend that you also leave a capful of pure calcium in the tanks at all times. I do this as well as dusting 2x a week with calcium with D3 in it.
Harley_Davidson
New member
OK I know I am pretty new to all this and everything, but based on everything I have read I am gonna have to disagree. I have read that you should leave a dish of plain calcium in their tank so they can lick some up if they need to. Apparently they just know when they need it. It may not be often and you may never see them do it but they should have it in there.
I give mine dusted 2 - 3X a week but I have still seen my crew eat a bit of the regular calcium.
I give mine dusted 2 - 3X a week but I have still seen my crew eat a bit of the regular calcium.
Mardy
New member
I should clarify my previous post, typed that in a hurry.
If you have a growing juvenile or a female breeder, or a rehabilitating gecko recovering from MBD, I would leave a bottle cap of pure calcium without D3 inside the tank. This is because growing geckos (under 1 year old) require additional calcium, same with a gravid female or recovering geckos.
But if you have an adult gecko, or a female that you are not breeding, you don't need additional calcium inside the tank. Repashy calcium plus is an all-in-one supplement that gives your geckos more than enough supplement needs. There's such thing as hypervitaminosis (vitamin poisoning, google it up) that too much supplement can be harmful. Geckos are very small, loading them up with too much of anything can be bad.
All in all, if you are a responsible owner, you gutload your feeders and dust 2-3x a week with multi-vitamin supplements, your geckos should not be lacking calcium or vitamins. Problems usually occur to owners that are not well educated, many of them don't gutload feeders, many don't bother dusting at all.
If you have a growing juvenile or a female breeder, or a rehabilitating gecko recovering from MBD, I would leave a bottle cap of pure calcium without D3 inside the tank. This is because growing geckos (under 1 year old) require additional calcium, same with a gravid female or recovering geckos.
But if you have an adult gecko, or a female that you are not breeding, you don't need additional calcium inside the tank. Repashy calcium plus is an all-in-one supplement that gives your geckos more than enough supplement needs. There's such thing as hypervitaminosis (vitamin poisoning, google it up) that too much supplement can be harmful. Geckos are very small, loading them up with too much of anything can be bad.
All in all, if you are a responsible owner, you gutload your feeders and dust 2-3x a week with multi-vitamin supplements, your geckos should not be lacking calcium or vitamins. Problems usually occur to owners that are not well educated, many of them don't gutload feeders, many don't bother dusting at all.
Harley_Davidson
New member
Hmmm that could explain the one (Althaea) especially then. She did suffer from MBD when the previous owner had her so I have to really watch her. I definitely gut load my crickets and kingworms and I dust 2 - 3 X a week. But I still have noticed Althaea in the calcium.
Yoshi'smom
New member
I actually just started using the cricket quencher and I love it!! It's really easy to use and I'll probably continue using it.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Moosenart ~
This is what I am currently using to feed the crickets and the dubia:
Feed crickets/roaches food that provides no more than 20% protein and no more than 5% crude fat. Some choices are:
Chicken Laying Mash (from feed store): The label reads 16-18% minimum protein and 3% minimum fat.
***Dry oatmeal -- Am rethinking this recommendation due to the phosphorus content......
Alfalfa hay -- for the 3 wo and older crix
Collard greens -- especially recommended for high calcium-to-low phosphorous ratio & high lutein
Carrots -- natural source of beta carotene
Whole grain TOTAL -- General Mills dry cereal
Winter squash
For moisture I just lay a white paper towel atop the egg crates and spray than about every other day depending upon room temperatures.
To check out almost any ingredient, thanks to Maurice Pudlo, click here: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
This is what I am currently using to feed the crickets and the dubia:
Feed crickets/roaches food that provides no more than 20% protein and no more than 5% crude fat. Some choices are:
Chicken Laying Mash (from feed store): The label reads 16-18% minimum protein and 3% minimum fat.
***Dry oatmeal -- Am rethinking this recommendation due to the phosphorus content......
Alfalfa hay -- for the 3 wo and older crix
Collard greens -- especially recommended for high calcium-to-low phosphorous ratio & high lutein
Carrots -- natural source of beta carotene
Whole grain TOTAL -- General Mills dry cereal
Winter squash
For moisture I just lay a white paper towel atop the egg crates and spray than about every other day depending upon room temperatures.
To check out almost any ingredient, thanks to Maurice Pudlo, click here: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
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Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Some folks also say that chicken feed (& dry oatmeal) is not so good, but I have a friend who uses chicken laying mash who has bred "advanced level" day geckos and sensitive dart frogs. She uses chicken laying mash as the base feed for her crickets. As long as the label on the chicken laying mash does not exceed 20% protein and 5% fat I think one is "safe". Of course, there are many other nutrients our geckos need.
Be sure to check out Maurice Pudlo's GU post here in the Feeders, Food, & Nutrition subforum: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...rition/49403-feeder-insect-diets-gutload.html
cricket4u
New member
What a coincidence that you mentioned this Elizabeth. I was just reading some publications on chicken mash. A few days ago I read an article claiming that some cricket breeders feed diets of chicken mash which can be harmful to your reptile. Unfortunately I cannot remember the source and I am not sure it's reputable.
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