so i have a thick tailed gecko and the other day when i was buying some crickets of a reptile keeper/breeder he asked what calcium supplements i use. i told i use the aristopet calcium with d3 (black sticker with bearded dragon). he told me that d3 is bad for geckos and can do damage to there gut. i have bought another calcium supplement just in case. but my question is does d3 actually do damage or was i tricked into buying calcium off him?
Is D3 good or bad for thick tails?
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I don't keep geckos so don't take the below as word. I was however intrigued with the difference between normal calcium and calcium with D3 so I browsed the interwebz.
According to a few places out there, d3 is added to calcium as it helps with the absorption of calcium in reptiles (depending on who you ask). There looks to be a general agreement out there that calcium with d3 is not a bad thing for any reptile and is actually of benefit to nocturnal animals that may not get their necessary UV requirements from a bulb setup particularly in the case of geckos. A few folks actually recommend a mix of standard calcium and calcium with d3 spread on alternate days (2 feeds standard and then 1 with d3) and this looks to be a popular choice with leopard gecko keepers.
As mentioned, don't take the above as word, its just my interpretation of it from browsing the net. I won't say the salesman is wrong because I don't know his background but for the same reason I can't say he is correct.
I hope those with experience though will share and help us both out.
According to a few places out there, d3 is added to calcium as it helps with the absorption of calcium in reptiles (depending on who you ask). There looks to be a general agreement out there that calcium with d3 is not a bad thing for any reptile and is actually of benefit to nocturnal animals that may not get their necessary UV requirements from a bulb setup particularly in the case of geckos. A few folks actually recommend a mix of standard calcium and calcium with d3 spread on alternate days (2 feeds standard and then 1 with d3) and this looks to be a popular choice with leopard gecko keepers.
As mentioned, don't take the above as word, its just my interpretation of it from browsing the net. I won't say the salesman is wrong because I don't know his background but for the same reason I can't say he is correct.
I hope those with experience though will share and help us both out.
mad_at_arms
Very Well-Known Member
I have used calcium with D3 for all my geckos, I have not seen any signs of "gut" problems.
Perhaps you can ask this breeder/keeper/snake oil salesman on what information he has based his theory on.
From what I have read there seems to be no definitive answer on whether geckos need or benefit from D3 supplements (provided the prey items are nutritionally sound) given that most are nocturnal and don't bask in the sun to produce D3, they must get or create it somehow in order to absorb calcium.
Perhaps you can ask this breeder/keeper/snake oil salesman on what information he has based his theory on.
From what I have read there seems to be no definitive answer on whether geckos need or benefit from D3 supplements (provided the prey items are nutritionally sound) given that most are nocturnal and don't bask in the sun to produce D3, they must get or create it somehow in order to absorb calcium.
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