Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, Folks. I have been "spiking" about every third of my thayeri hatchlings' pinkies with a generous pinch (about 1/8 tsp?) of ReptiCal powder. I use a dissecting needle to pierce the loose skin on the pinkie's back, then stuff a little powder under the skin toward the tail with a toothpick. A little gruesome? Yes. Practical for a large collection? Probably not. But I only have a few snakes and my thinking is that wild thayeri often eat lizards, which are higher in calcium than pinkies with non-ossified, cartilaginous skeletons -- so, adding a bit of Ca to the snakelings' diets might make for healthier animals in the end. Not a scientific experiment (no control group, low N), but it makes sense to me and at worst I believe it does no harm. Digestion seems normal as evidenced by the appearance of the waste on the paper towel substrate. Also, the snakes look fabulous and are growing fast.

Any thoughts or concerns?

I wouldn't do it. Mostly the problem is not the calcium itself, but the ability of the animal to absorb the calcium. Instead I'd supplement with micro-emulsified D3. Vitamin D is the principle regulator of calcium homeostatsis and key to skeletal development and bone mineralization.

Further, I've never seen the problems in thayeri that alterna breeders have, especially those that work with wild-caught snakes. It is probably not needed at all for the mexicana group other than alterna.

I would be very careful not to OD the animals, and would not administer to any juvies, only breeding adults after brumation, prior to bgreeding, and to females postpartum.

Forky
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>>Any thoughts or concerns?

Thanks, Joe. Your advice is convincing and I will surely follow it. Sounds like I was trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist! Actually my thinking was based on reports I'd read about alterna and kinking, but it's always good to hear the voice of experience.

Even though I was using calcium powder with added vitamin D, I'll stop the practice and limit any calcium "booster shots" to breeding adult females as you suggest.

By the way, I often see lumps of undigested milk in the somewhat transparent bellies of the pinkies I use to feed my little snakes. Perhaps this represents enough calcium to make up for any lack of calcified bones in the pinkies?

Again, I appreciate your sharing your knowledge. Cheers!

Both vitamins D3 and A are needed/used, but A particularly can have a toxic effect if overdosed. I supplement with both RepCal's calcium and vitamin supplements. The calcium supplement has the D3 and the vitamin supplement has carotiniods which the animals can metabolize into A as needed thus reducing the potential of a toxic effect. I simply dust food items once a month for most animals in the collection but I up the frequency to once a week the first month out of hibernation for breeding adults. I’ve observed no ill effects and rarely if ever see under calcified eggs.