The more I read the more confused I get. So many conflicting schools of thought ect. I just need a quick response from someone who can give me their opinion. I guess what I'm most worried about is OVER supplementing so I think I've decided to go with calcium every feeding, calcium + multivitamin and calcium + D3 once per week and NO calcium dish in enclosure. Does this sound prudent? Or do I need to go with more supplementing.
Still confused on supplements!
- Thread starter RBJersey
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Silvonas
New member
I gut load my crickets with calcium fortified food and thirst quencher and dust them with calcium with D3 every other feeding. I use to do every feeding, but Sarsis started washing of the crickets in his water dish.... He gets fed every 2 days so every 4 he gets the power on his food. I don't do anything else and he seems happy and active and never has a problem shedding.
In fact he is digging right now, making a mess of his cage.
In fact he is digging right now, making a mess of his cage.
wow...that's one resourceful Leo
Silvonas
New member
Yea... I know. I swear he is a genius of the Leopard geckos. I use to have calci-sand in his tank and anytime he got any in his mouth, he would spit it out, like he know too much of it was very bad.
Still not sure what other supplements you should use for for leo... like I said personally I feed crickets and dust them every other feed. about once a month I try to give him meal worms, but sometime he doesn't like to eat them. He has to be really hungry to eat the meal worms easily.
Still not sure what other supplements you should use for for leo... like I said personally I feed crickets and dust them every other feed. about once a month I try to give him meal worms, but sometime he doesn't like to eat them. He has to be really hungry to eat the meal worms easily.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
For leopard geckos I suggest using Zoo Med's supplements like this:
1. Monday - Repti-Calcium with D3 on all crickets
2. Thursday - Repti-Calcium with D3 on all crickets
3. Reptivite with D3/A acetate adjusted for your leo's weight: Spread out the Reptivite with D3 dusted crickets over the course of a week.
***Current directions (16 May 2013) on Zoo Med's Reptivite with/without D3/A acetate
"Directions for Insectivores: Place crickets in a plastic bag with a small amount of Reptivite w/d3 and shake to "dust" crickets with the powder. Feed approximately 12 dusted crickets per week for every 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of body weight."
So if your leo weighs 24 grams, the recommendation would be only 4 lightly dusted crickets per week with Reptivite with D3. Baby leopard geckos weigh much less, so be sure to adjust the dosage accordingly!
Do not exceed the recommended amount of Reptivite per body weight. One real problem in recommending exactly what to do is the size of the crickets fed.
Zoo Med's customer service (USA): 888-496-6633
Beyond formal gutloading right prior to feeding off and dusting, feed your feeders a nutritious diet 24/7. Feeding off crickets whose entire body is healthy (and not only their guts) is very important!
If you use a formal gutload such as T-Rex Calcium Plus Food for Crickets or Repashy's SuperLoad as well as feed a nutritious diet to your crickets 24/7, chances are that you will need to tweak the above "schedule" to prevent oversupplementing.
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-feeding-issues/68574-cricket-guidelines.html
1. Monday - Repti-Calcium with D3 on all crickets
2. Thursday - Repti-Calcium with D3 on all crickets
3. Reptivite with D3/A acetate adjusted for your leo's weight: Spread out the Reptivite with D3 dusted crickets over the course of a week.
***Current directions (16 May 2013) on Zoo Med's Reptivite with/without D3/A acetate
"Directions for Insectivores: Place crickets in a plastic bag with a small amount of Reptivite w/d3 and shake to "dust" crickets with the powder. Feed approximately 12 dusted crickets per week for every 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of body weight."
So if your leo weighs 24 grams, the recommendation would be only 4 lightly dusted crickets per week with Reptivite with D3. Baby leopard geckos weigh much less, so be sure to adjust the dosage accordingly!
Do not exceed the recommended amount of Reptivite per body weight. One real problem in recommending exactly what to do is the size of the crickets fed.
Zoo Med's customer service (USA): 888-496-6633
Beyond formal gutloading right prior to feeding off and dusting, feed your feeders a nutritious diet 24/7. Feeding off crickets whose entire body is healthy (and not only their guts) is very important!
If you use a formal gutload such as T-Rex Calcium Plus Food for Crickets or Repashy's SuperLoad as well as feed a nutritious diet to your crickets 24/7, chances are that you will need to tweak the above "schedule" to prevent oversupplementing.
http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-feeding-issues/68574-cricket-guidelines.html
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Silvonas
New member
Hmmm... I use Flucker's calcium fortified cricket food and thirst quencher and then dust every other feed with Flucker's calcium with D3. Then again I should most likely weight Sarsis at some point.... I know he is full grown and that's about it....
The Flucker's seems to be easy to find in all the pet stores in the area and decent priced... Plus I keep getting told it is great for the crickets.
The Flucker's seems to be easy to find in all the pet stores in the area and decent priced... Plus I keep getting told it is great for the crickets.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
For more information on Fluker's High Calcium Cricket Food check post #45 following the main section of the Leo Caresheet. In an independently funded study in 2005 FHCCF failed to increase the calcium content of crickets significantly.
For a comparison of some of the various calcium with D3 products check post #24.
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