Overdosing on multivitamins?

[Iguana]

hey everyone,
Just wondering if it's possible for a reptile, most likely a lizard, gecko or turtle ect to 'overdose' on vitamins.
Can you give too much multivitamins or calcium (I suspect yes) where it will cause harm to the animal?
Haven't heard of it happening before, but was wondering if it's possible.
Thanks

 

[pinefamily]

You most certainly can, especially calcium. For juvenile lizards, feed the multivitamins/calcium (Multi-cal is a good product) 4 or 5 times a week. As they get older, 3 or 4 times a week is enough.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Hi mate, speaking on behalf of the freshwater turtle community, the answer is yes, you can definitely overdose. We generally advise to avoid any supplementation UNLESS your turtle is showing signs of actually having a deficiency. With turtles, for example, a vitamin A deficiency will cause swollen eyes. The biggest misconception is that you need to supplement calcium. A natural varied diet for freshwater turtles will provide all the calcium they need. Short-necked turtles are omnivorous with the bulk of their diet, (up to 75%) consisting of aquatic plants, aquatic weeds and filamentous algae. They also feed on aquatic invertebrates like shrimps, crayfish, aquatic snails, mussels, various aquatic and terrestrial insects, fish and worms. Long-necked turtles are strictly insectivorous/carnivorous.

Supplementing a turtle's food by dusting unnecessarily with calcium supplements like ReptiCal etc can actually cause gout and Hypercalcemia.

As for lizards/geckos, I will let someone more experienced in that department answer you.

 

[Iguana]

Thanks heaps guys, I suspected so and it's good to finally get an answer
@pinefamily from your advice I seem to be on the right track

@Aussiepride83 thanks for the detailed answer, I would would've thought that turtles would need a lot of supplements, guess not! I don't own any freshwater turtles now but plan to in the future, I'll keep this info for then.

Thanks again

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

No problems mate, what turtles do need a lot of is UVB. Any artificial UVB lighting you use must be rated 10.0 (10%) and they should receive 10-14 hours/day. That being said, artificial lighting is no substitute for sunlight and unlike snakes, turtles must be taken outside a minimum of 3-5 times/week in the early morning or late afternoon sun for 20-30 minutes.

 

[Wokka]

My understanding is that nutrient uptake in reptiles is influenced by the environment, particularly temperature. I don't keep lizards but some keepers say you need to supplement and some don't. The difference seems to be temperature.Specifically I listened in on a conversation about Beardys and UV . The conclusion seemed to be that the beardy farms in the US didn't use UV because the animals had access to higher heat and so food supplements adequately supplied sufficient calcium. In Aus it seems to be accepted that Beardys need artificial UV. Also in biology generally you can get antagonism of nutrients where too much of one thing prevents the availability or utilisation of another. Nature needs balance!