Calcium Supplements

[SuicideByStapler]

Hello all, I have a quick question....Waht do you guys use for calcium and mineral supplements for your leo's? What do you coat their insects in and what do you place, if you do this, in a calcium dish? Just wondering....Let me know, also, what is a decent diet for a female leo about to begin breeding(I'm buying a male this weekend and quarantining him for about a month or two). Thanks!
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[SuicideByStapler]

can i get an ABUMP!! Hallelujah brother! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]
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[cb76]

there are a few things out there on the market.

go for one with out phos, but has vitamin d 3. the vd3 helps the body metabolize the calcium.

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[Constrictor_BO]

Food wise. Just keep feeding crickets on a regular basis. You can substitute mealworms every now and then also.
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[C. hortulanus bites]

I've read extensively and have found that nocturnal species of gecko don't require a vit D3 supplement and it can become toxic. I'd find a calcium supplement without D3 and dust crickets every other day. If you don't keep lots of crickets and gutload them you should supplement them with a vitamin supplement that does have D3 if you want and do that twice weekly too. I personally don't supplement vitamins, but always calcium without D3. Pinky mice can be fed to adult geckos and is good preperation to egg laying as they are fairly high in calcium and wax worms to get the fat on as pregnant females will not eat as well as they used too. Be careful with the waxies though, geckos will get higly addicted and only want them, but they are a poor source of nutrition, just fat. I keep a dish of calcium supplement in the cage at all times and supplement almost every feeding too.
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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[SuicideByStapler]

Thanks everyone, I supplement every other feeding (about twice a week) right now, with mealworms. My leo is extremely healthy and is eating well. I used to, when she was younger, keep a calcium dish in her tank but I took that out and I was wondering if I should put it back in. I think I will before I begin to breed her. I will also start giving her pinkies once a week, well, one pinkie once a week. I hope everything goes well, as this will be my first breeding attempt. Now anyone know of a great place to buy an incubator? Or perhaps, make one....
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[GizmO]

We keep a dish in with ours and they do use it. The will lick the calcium powder instead of eatting the Cali-sand that we have as their substrate. I would put it back in and especially during breeding because she may need more calcium during that time and she will know how much of it to eat. And she will lose weight after laying eggs so make sure she has a good amount of weight on her before breeding.
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[SuicideByStapler]

thanks for all the info. She is good size now, probably around 50-60 grams i would say. she has the little fat reserves behind her arm and her tail is almost the size of her body. i believe she is in prime breeding condition at the moment, but i am going to continue to give her calcium supplements for now. i will be buying my male this weekend, and quarantine him and fatten him up over the next month or two. hopefully, if all goes well, i will have little leo's crawling around by july... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]
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[cb76]

boa man is right.

i forgot to say i do that with all my als because they are breeders and producing lots of eggs. need to dust with vd3 all the time.

just to add, once or twice a week i also use a multi vitamin (reptivite)

dust lightly

good luck with your geckos
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