first time with pure calcium

so after i posted the thread "licking" i went out today and got some pure calcium powder (no D3 added) and tonight i filled a small cap full of it for charm to try, before i fed her i took her out of her tank and held her in one hand while i held the cap in the other, i thought she might not try it while i held her, but she licked it once and then she started shuving her nose into the powder compressing it and then taking small mouth fulls at a time. i think she took like 3 mouth fulls and about 5 licks before she was satisfied, i should have filmed it you guys would have been laughing, it was almost like watching a husky in snow XD anyways after she was done with that i was grabbing the super worms to feed her and i guess she was really hungry or just wanted to pick a fight because she saw my ferrets moving around in their cage trying to get my attention and she was acting like she wanted to pounce them... now she has never done that before with any animal that she has seen, so im wondering if the calcium was courage powder for her haha but anyways now that she had so much calcium do you think i should keep the cap in her cage? and also i forgot why its bad for them to have to much D3? what does it do to them exactly, my husband was asking this today.

Well i would leave the calcium in there all the time. Leo's know when they need calcium and how much they need so leaving it in there will keep her from having a calcium deficiency. Vitamin D3 is a vitamin that helps with the absorption of calcium. If leos don't have enough, the calcium just hangs around in there body, and doesn't actually help to make strong bones. Most animals make their own D3 simply by having exposure to the UV in sunlight...it is a natural process. Since leopard geckos don't see the sun much, they get theirs from their food, so you should dust your feeders with it on occasion. However, D3 is a fat soluble vitamin, meaning that it is absorbed in the fat and not the blood. This means that if they get too much of it, it is really hard for there body to get rid of, and can end up poisoning them.

oh cool thanks jay ^_^

yup yup anytime cortney

Just so you know Jay the calcium just doesn't float around their bodies, it collects in the joints, its called psudogout when this happens. Aso there are few animals that actually synthasize D3 naturally... it is often needed as a suppliment either thru their food or chemical supplimentaion. Very little D3 is actually needed to do the job of assiting with the absorbtion of calcium which is generally why calcium is generally suggested to be available all the time yet D3 is only supplimented once or twice a week. Hypervitaminosis or overdosing with D3 is highly unlikely but with any suppliment overdose is possible and can have ill effects esp. To the liver.

Cortney, personally I wouldn't leave the calcium in 24/7 since you're using repashy suppliments, you will develop calcium bubbles, trust me, been there, its the exact same suppliment I use and I use to keep a calcium dish in Eros' viv and he developed calcium bubbles that are still not completely dissipated now almost 5 months later. You really don't need that much additional supplimentation if you're properly gutloading your feeders and dusting on a regular schedule.

Hope this helps

thanks kel, i think what i will do is take it out and then maybe let her have some licks once or every other month if she wants to, she sure loved it. thanks for all the help guys!

Your welcome cortney. If it worries you, and having a female they def. Have higher calcium needs than males, what I would do is give her an overnight with the calcium dish once a month for additional maintenance then twice a month during breeding/egg producing season just to be on the safe side. Just remember to do the extra dusting with your repashy the day before and after your calcium leave in nights.

thanks kel, what time of the year do they produce eggs? and this is a silly question but do they lay sterile eggs? i know my pet birds used to do that, so i was wondering if they do as well.

I would suggest leaving the calcium without D3 in there, and simply control the amount of D3 dusting you give to your geckos. They love calcium, every single one of my geckos plant their face in it every now and then. I believe it's easier to control the D3 dusting rather than try to control how much calcium they take in.

If you use Repashy Calcium Plus to dust with, which contains D3, just use it once or twice a week tops. And often people misunderstand the usage, because it's not always just once or twice a week, it's also looking at how much you feed your geckos. Say your gecko just devoured 4 superworms. 4 superworms heavily coated with dusting powder is a lot of D3 & other vitamins to take in at one feeding no matter what you use. If your gecko eats a lot, you may want to only dust say 2 superworms and leave the other 2 undusted. This is just an example to point out that it's not always how many times you dust a week, it's to also make sure you don't overdose them in single feedings.

The reason they lick calcium is because they know when their body needs it. So I would recommend letting them have at it, and just watch how much D3 you dust your feeders with. Juvenile geckos under 1 year old will require more calcium when growing up, females during breeding season will also require more calcium than usual.

Anyways, just wanting to offer a different opinion. You as the owner of your geckos should decide what you feel is best for your pets. Take in as much information as possible and see what works for you. Good luck

and I'm the polar opposite... I think in a minimalist approach when it comes to suppliments since I've already experienced calcium bubbles, next step, if I wasn't supplimenting properly with D3 could have been psudo gout which is a very difficult recovery for your leo.

its good to have both of your advice, i know one of the best things about joining a forum is to hear the different views on things so that you can deside for your self what you think is best, and i'm also very proud of the people here in how they interact with each others different opinions, a lot of other forums i am part of can get rather mean if some one offers a different opinion lol oh also when does breeding season start and do females lay sterile eggs?

Normal breeding season starts in December - March, your females should start ovulating around then. But if you have a virgin female, their first ovulation cycle should start around 7-9 month old. Captive raised geckos can actually ovulate all year round by brumation techniques, where you lower their temperature for a period of time, then raise them again to simulate a winter > spring cycle.

They can definitely lay infertile eggs, but most often they simply absorb them.

Thanks for the compliments... one thing lgf prides itgself on is being able to have difference in opinion and be mature and curteous of each others views.

As far as the egg thing yes leos can produce and lay sterile eggs, they can also become egg bound because of this... which is why I'm glad I own a male as far as breeding season its from spring thru summer so april-ish thru october-ish I believe.

oh my, its interesting how most books or care sheets never tell you things like this XD its good to know. i will have to look into that for sure! thanks kel. thanks mardy. ^_^

To avoid egg bound issues, make sure to have a proper laybox. A lot of the times geckos get egg bound because they can't find a good place to lay. If you have a good moist hide, there's a good chance your gecko will use the moist hide as the lay site.

It can be as simple as a ziploc container with moist paper towels placed on the warm side of your tank.

right now i have a Tupperware box i cut a hole in the side, with a wet paper towel in, half of it is on the hot side. tho i think i will be making her a new one soon. i have some eco earth substrate i am using for the dubias do you think that if i used some of that along with some moss she would eat it and get compacted? i know there is a chance of them eating it but i know there is also a chance they will eat the paper towel. what are your thoughts on that?

For some strange reasons they do digest some of the laybox medium when they dig, so it's always best to pick the substrate that is least harmful when digested. Eco earth's coco fiber should do fine, it's much better than moss as they should pass right through when digested. Moss on the other hand, I've seen some horror stories of people's geckos getting impacted by moss.

So I'd recommend either coco fiber or paper towels as laybox medium. In that pic you see my female laid a clutch with paper towel. She dug and tore it to shreds, and pushed half of it away so she could lay directly on the bottom of the container. For her I'm keeping the wet paper towels, she sleeps in it all day long and likes it so I don't want to change it.

I'm also using coco fiber for another female, and she loves coco fiber and sleeps in it as well. She's been digging so hopefully she'll lay soon.

i dont see any picture but that's great, i will see how charm likes a moist hide with the eco earth in it i think she might like digging in it. thanks for the advice ^_^

Oops I meant the pic in my previous post. Here:

awww so cute, she is very pretty.

wow she has such lovely markings.. especially on her head