After doing lots of research on calcium supplements (stemming from the purchase of ABSOLUTE Calcium product) I am concerned that most calcium products on the market using calcium carbonate are just not doing the trick for our/my reptiles.

According to http://www.wordofsite.com/kingsway.html:



"Calcium Carbonate

This compound is about 40% actual calcium, and only about 10% of this is absorbed by the body. For every 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate you consume, you are getting only about 40 mg of usable calcium.



Calcium Lactate

This compound is most commonly found in dairy products. It is 37% calcium, of which 33% is absorbable. You end up getting 122 mg of useable calcium per 1,000 mg consumed.



Calcium Citrate

It is 21% calcium, of which 50% is absorbable. You get 105 mg. for every 1,000 mg consumed."



Judging from this, a calcium lactate supplement should be the best because out of 1,000mg you absorb 122mg of calcium. When I saw the word "lactate" I thought that it might not be good for reptiles because it might be related to lactose. I found that this is not the case from http://www.drkimberly.com/lactose.html:



"Note: Lactate, lactalbumin and calcium compounds are salts of lactic acid and DO NOT contain lactose."



So if this is the case, then why aren't we using calcium lactate supplements for our lizards? I found 9oz of calcium lactate powder for $6.39 at vitaminusa.com. Does anyone actually use calcium lactate on their lizards without ill effects? I'm very curious about trying it.



My next choice would be the calcium citrate. I wondered if citrate was related to citric acid in oranges (which I know is not good in large amounts). I think citrate is part of the citric acid cycle, so I don’t know if it would be good to use a calcium citrate supplement on reptiles.



Jessica

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