Reptomin?

Anyone still know where to get Reptomin liquid vitamin? I used to get this stuff a few years ago and if I had a snake that was I'll in some way or was trying to heal for whatever reason I would inject a little bit under the skin of it's feeder but I haven't seen it in a while and would like to get ahold of some.

Maybe it was called Reptivite or something. It came in a small glass bottle with an eye dropper top.

i found this I hope this help I could not find liquid, But i do for hunmans that the liquid goes bad faster then the powerd stuff.
http://www.healthypets.com/zoomedrep2oz.html
http://www.healthypets.com/zoomedrepd2oz.html

Why do you need it? It is completely useless for snakes. They get all the nutrients they need from their meals. I wouldn't waste your money..

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

Why do you need it? It is completely useless for snakes. They get all the nutrients they need from their meals. I wouldn't waste your money..

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I have a question? Say if your snake has not eating in months and started eating again giving him some of this would hurt him? to help he get back what he lost?

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Originally Posted by rdoyle

I have a question? Say if your snake has not eating in months and started eating again giving him some of this would hurt him? to help he get back what he lost?

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Ball pythons are very hardy animals. They can go MONTHS AND MONTHS up to a year without eating with no ill effects. Even in the wild these snakes may go off feed for a while. No one is there shoving vitamins down their throat and they do just fine.

Would it hurt them to give them vitamins? no, but will it really "give him back what he lost?" no, it won't.

Snakes are efficient animals. They eat their prey whole and gain all the nutrients they need from it. Supplements are not necessary. Now for lizards and amphibians, supplements are sometimes required because the diet we provide for them doesn't give them all the nutrients they need.

Well using that mentality humans get all the nutrients they need from food also but when a human athlete wants to perform better or grow muscle faster they supplement their diet with additional vitamins and nutrients which allows faster muscle growth. Also pregnant females are expected to take prenatal vitamins to help with fetal development. So here's my thought process on this... If you have a baby ball python why not boost them with a vitamin? If you have a gravid female or one trying to build prior to ovulation why not give her a boost? If you have an animal with scale rot or RI or any other illness why not give them a boost?

Is it essential? No, maybe not. Will they survive without it? Probably. But my thought is if there is a chance it may help why not do it? I mean the stuff is under ten bucks and that's enough to inject a lot of rodents. So my thought process is why not? I mean I highly doubt that anyone has enough experience with administering these products to say that it would be detrimental to the animal.

You simply cannot compare the nutritional needs of snakes with those of humans. They are not equal.

Snakes get all of their nutrients from the food they eat. Humans do NOT get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat. Our diets are so flawed that we need vitamins and supplements to stay healthy.

Is it essential? No.
Will they survive without it? Yes, they will thrive.
why not? because there is not one proven need for it in snakes.


If you want to spend $10 to inject your rodents with vitamins, go for it. But I am telling you, you are wasting your time.

Ok first of all I'm not saying that reptile nutritional and human nutritional needs are they same BUT they are similar in that rodents don't always contain every possible nutrient that a snake could possibly need. Maybe the rodents do in the wild but that is because they feed on whatever they need or want. Rodents breed in captivity and fed a premade, man made food could be lacking in some way. This fact is proven by the while "what should I feed my rodents?" arguement which pops up on here pretty regularly. It's possible that whatever you happen to be feeding your rodents isn't "perfect" and may lack a nutrient or mineral of some type. Also it is a proven fact that frozen foods lose nutrition and minerals over time. So it's possible that an animal fed frozen thawed feeders could develop a deficiency. Is it a life threatening deficiency? No probably not. But were not in this to simply keep our snakes alive now are we? We want them to be in optimal health at all times. Is it proven that vitamins help? Is it proven that it doesn't? NO. To say it a waste of money is a little narrow minded. Who knows maybe a female that is supplemented with vitamin throughout the breeding and laying proves will lay a larger or healthier clutch. Who knows maybe a hatchling will have a better, faster growth rate. Wh knows maybe an I'll or injured snake maybe recover or heal faster.

To say it's a waste of money quite frankly is something you don't know for a fact. You're GUESSING it's useless just like I'm GUESSING it will be beneficial.

I for one want my animals to be as healthy as humanly possible while in my care and vitamins have been proven to help almost every species of pet and livestock that is kept in captivity and at a rate of a couple cents per feeding why not offer every possible advantage to your snakes that you
Possibly can?

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Originally Posted by ScottNBecky

I for one want my animals to be as healthy as humanly possible

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Then feed well fed rats, nothing else is needed.

i see both sides.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You simply cannot compare the nutritional needs of snakes with those of humans. They are not equal.

Snakes get all of their nutrients from the food they eat. Humans do NOT get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat. Our diets are so flawed that we need vitamins and supplements to stay healthy.

Is it essential? No.
Will they survive without it? Yes, they will thrive.
why not? because there is not one proven need for it in snakes.


If you want to spend $10 to inject your rodents with vitamins, go for it. But I am telling you, you are wasting your time.

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You my friend are wrong. Everyone is completely capable of getting their nutritional needs through the right diet. Now does anyone get them? Mostly not because people are lazy, but seeing as we have mouths to speak and are smart enough to determine to what we need to be 100% healthy we can perfect our diet. And there are people out there, such as Ethiopian kids who live a full life (not a healthy one) but live a full life by just meeting the bare minimum. So yes for as much as we know, snakes do not need supplementation and can live a full life just on feeders, but who knows if by giving vitamins will they live longer? brighten up in color somewhat? produce more eggs?

Thank you! That's exactly what I'm trying to say. We just don't know. And to flat out say it's unnecessary is really presumptuous. Until someone does a long term study of the effects of vitamins with these snakes we just don't know.

If you are so interested in it try it. Do some studies on it who knows all these people might be buying them from you in the future. I'm sure the first guy to build a tub rack was told it wouldnt work too and look at what most people use now. If nobody every tried anything new how would we learn things? I just hope you don't get any negative effects from it.

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Originally Posted by ScottNBecky

Thank you! That's exactly what I'm trying to say. We just don't know. And to flat out say it's unnecessary is really presumptuous. Until someone does a long term study of the effects of vitamins with these snakes we just don't know.

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Just to be clear, I never said you COULDN'T do it. If you want to do it, go for it. No one is going to stop you.

Experienced keepers will agree with me. People who breed ball pythons for a living will agree with me. These people have been keeping ball pythons in captivity for decades and have never reported problems due to nutrient deficiency for animals that are consistant feeders. So where is the evidence that points toward a need for vitamins?

If there was a need for vitamin supplements for ball pythons, we would know about it by now. We know about it for many species of lizards and amphibians and it is considered required to add these dietary supplements. This is mainly because we cannot provide the same nutrients to these animals in captivity like they would get in the wild.

If there was such a great benefit to using vitamins as you say there MIGHT (keyword might) be, then experienced keepers and breeders would be using them already. Ball pythons get all their nutrients from the food they eat and nothing else. Keepers who feed frozen do not notice a difference in health than those who feed frozen.

I cannot think of a single supplement that you could give a snake that it wouldn't get from its prey. That being said, the prey item must be raised on a certain kind of food (which most rodent breeders already use) and in clean conditions.

And if you were to argue that a rat isn't a ball pythons "natural" prey item, then explain to me why ball pythons feeding on their natural prey item, african soft furred rats, are of the same health as those feeding on lab rats?


You are right, until someone does a study to see if vitamins are beneficial, we will not know for sure. But are you willing to risk the health and safety of your animals to find out? I am going to go with the tried and true method that has worked for keepers and breeders all over the world since ball pythons started being kept in captivity. One appropriately sized rat, mouse, or ASF once a week.

I really didn't wish to start an argument with you over this. Just trying to save you a few bucks. When you bring up an idea like this, you can't expect everyone to agree with everyone. There is no single right way to keep your animal healthy. Ultimately, it is your decision. Their life is in your hands.