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Thread: Supplement?

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    Supplement?

    I have been very confused after leopard gecko supplements, I use Rep Cal calcium with d3 and Rep Cal multivitamins. Is that all you need? Do you need minerals?

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    BPnet Lifer dakski's Avatar
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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ooo View Post
    I have been very confused after leopard gecko supplements, I use Rep Cal calcium with d3 and Rep Cal multivitamins. Is that all you need? Do you need minerals?
    Calcium with D3 is most important, especially as they are growing. Vitamins and minerals are good as well.

    My adult LG's get Calcium w/D3 2X a week and a multivitamin with minerals 1X a week, but not more.

    LG's can handle calcium well (you can leave calcium in a small bowl in the tank and they will eat it when they need it and it won't harm them at all) but can only process excess vitamins to an extent - especially beta carotene. Try to get good quality vitamins as the source for the beta carotene is usually better and therefore better for LG's.

    Make sure you are gut-loading your food with good stuff and that's over half the battle.

    In summary.

    1. Gut load LG food with good quality food.

    2. Calcium 2X a week for adults and 3X for young LG's. You can also leave calcium in a bowl in the tank in addition to sprinkling food and they will eat when they need it.

    3. Good vitamin 1X a week.

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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by dakski View Post
    Calcium with D3 is most important, especially as they are growing. Vitamins and minerals are good as well.

    My adult LG's get Calcium w/D3 2X a week and a multivitamin with minerals 1X a week, but not more.

    LG's can handle calcium well (you can leave calcium in a small bowl in the tank and they will eat it when they need it and it won't harm them at all) but can only process excess vitamins to an extent - especially beta carotene. Try to get good quality vitamins as the source for the beta carotene is usually better and therefore better for LG's.

    Make sure you are gut-loading your food with good stuff and that's over half the battle.

    In summary.

    1. Gut load LG food with good quality food.

    2. Calcium 2X a week for adults and 3X for young LG's. You can also leave calcium in a bowl in the tank in addition to sprinkling food and they will eat when they need it.

    3. Good vitamin 1X a week.
    So, it the Rep cal all you need?

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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ooo View Post
    So, it the Rep cal all you need?
    This is what I do, and have had success with it. I dust my feeders with repti calcium WITH D3 three times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I leave a small water bottle cap full of repti calcium WITHOUT D3 in the enclosure for him to have as needed. Leopard geckos can tell when they need calcium and will eat it themselves, and while it's rare for them to overdo the calcium, it isn't for them to overdo D3, which is why I leave the calcium without it out in the little cap.

    As far as vitamins, once a week, usually on the weekend, I will dust a mealworm or two with Reptivite, which is Zoo Med's multivitamin.

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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ooo View Post
    So, it the Rep cal all you need?
    I would do the vitamin once a week in addition to the calcium 3x.

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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by dakski View Post
    I would do the vitamin once a week in addition to the calcium 3x.
    Question related to this topic, is it true that you don't need the vitamin D3 if you have UV lighting supplying them that, or should you have both?

    So far I just have rep cal and a UV light, but also wondering if I need D3 (haven't gotten a Leo yet)

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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by Courage View Post
    Question related to this topic, is it true that you don't need the vitamin D3 if you have UV lighting supplying them that, or should you have both?

    So far I just have rep cal and a UV light, but also wondering if I need D3 (haven't gotten a Leo yet)
    Good question!

    So if you're using UVB, your animal is going to produce their own D3. As mentioned before, leos won't really overdose on calcium, but they can on D3. D3 is what helps them absorb calcium. If you're doing UVB and calcium with D3, you do run a slight risk of overdosing them. Now, the important part here, when I say "using UVB" I mean using it correctly. Not all UVB bulbs are created equal, and there are a ton of factors that come into play when it comes to your animal getting the "correct" amount of UVB.

    I won't go into all that though, there are plenty of articles about UVB and I won't bore you, but to give you the short version, if you're going to use UVB I would use calcium without D3 and supplement with D3 a few times a month. Personally, and there have been some studies that suggest even crepuscular and nocturnal reptiles do benefit from some UVB, I don't use it. My reptile room is well lit naturally during the day, so I don't even use LEDs in my leo enclosure. I dust feeders with calcium with D3, and provide a water bottle cap with calcium without for mine to use as he needs it.

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    Registered User Courage's Avatar
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    Thanks so much!

    Yes, I would prefer to not have to buy D3 if I don't need to... however I was going to buy rep cal and dust with that plus leave a bit of it out for them to have whenever they want.

    Right now I am trying to figure it out because I guess most people say 5 to 6% UVB is good for leos but they can have up to a large number of watts... (one site said "You will need to place a 13 to 25-watt UVB bulb on the hot side of their tank. Make sure the bulb is below 6% and is only on for ten hours a day." "A range of 60-100W bulbs should be enough." So this doesn't make any sense to me to help find out how many watts is actually good for them?? I already have a lamp, but I don't know if it is the correct wattage for my 10 gal tank. (Going to get a young juvenile probably) with 2 hides (hot, humid) and a log/tube to explore & act as a cool hide (lack of space) then a water bowl and tile substrate.
    Last edited by Courage; 03-31-2021 at 10:39 AM. Reason: Spelling/wording
    My new Leo, Aya


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    Re: Supplement?

    Quote Originally Posted by Courage View Post
    Thanks so much!

    Yes, I would prefer to not have to buy D3 if I don't need to... however I was going to buy rep cal and dust with that plus leave a bit of it out for them to have whenever they want.

    Right now I am trying to figure it out because I guess most people say 5 to 6% UVB is good for leos but they can have up to a large number of watts... (one site said "You will need to place a 13 to 25-watt UVB bulb on the hot side of their tank. Make sure the bulb is below 6% and is only on for ten hours a day." "A range of 60-100W bulbs should be enough." So this doesn't make any sense to me to help find out how many watts is actually good for them?? I already have a lamp, but I don't know if it is the correct wattage for my 10 gal tank. (Going to get a young juvenile probably) with 2 hides (hot, humid) and a log/tube to explore & act as a cool hide (lack of space) then a water bowl and tile substrate.
    I would supplement with calcium with D3 2-3X a week and as Hugsplox said, offer regular calcium in a small dish the rest of the time and your Leo will take it as he/she needs it.

    I see no reason for UVB as your gecko will probably hide most the day and come out at night. They are nocturnal and aren't too fond of really bright lights. The best way to keep your Leo healthy is to keep proper temps, dust prey with calcium (2-3X a week) and a multivitamin 1X a week, and gutload your prey so they are nutritious for your Leo.

    Also, keep water bowls shallow and small. Leos don't like to swim and can drown in big water bowls.

    Courage, I see you've posted on a couple of LG threads here. It might make sense to start a separate thread with all your questions and we can try to answer them as best we can. It might help to have it all in one spot.

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  14. #10
    Registered User Courage's Avatar
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    Yes thanks that might work! I only have one more question... (so far, if I have more I will make a forum) but I was wondering what multivitamin you use? Thanks!
    My new Leo, Aya


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