Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i currently own a dumeril boa and a bolivian red tail, i know alot of reptiles need calcium supplementation i was wondering should i supplement my snakes also? i was told by a local vet to supplement him with a multi-vitamin like centrum but he didnt mention additional calcium supplements.
my first thought was no thinking they would get all the calcium they need from the mice they eat, is this right thinking?

They don't have centrum in the wild, they get everything they need from rodents. I personaly have never used supplements on my boas. Craig

And so very true. Hair, bone and meat is really all they need.
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Greg Holland
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Supplementing you boas diet is not "necessary", however we choose to twice a year.

The reason we do is simple... They eat the same rats, raised on the same rodent chow, week after week, month after month. Wild boas eat a variety of prey which consumes a variety of different things. Sooo... the possibilty for there to be some "holes" in a captive boas nutrition exist. I would prefer to feed my boas a varied diet, but since that is not possible, supplementing is the next best thing.

Twice a year I mix Nekton Rep (a reptile supplement) with some water and inject the F/T rats with a small amount right before feeding. I do not go over board with it, because there is the possibility to do more harm than good. Same as too much of certain supplements can harm a person. But, a small amount occasionally will not harm your boa.
We have even successfully used it to cure a skin problem one of our boas had. That is how I got started using supplements for the boas in the first place.

I am not sure I would ever use Centrum on my boas or extra calcium (other than the little that is in the Nekton). But the Nekton is made specifically for reptiles.

Anyway, just my thoughts on the subject.

Kathy

this was my thought also, and actually my boa had a little shed problem so my vet said to increase the humidity some and also to try giving it a general multi-vitamin i.e. centrum. I read that most of the supplements that are made specifically for reptiles are actually deficit in certain things and that vitamins made for mammals are better balanced, I only was thinking of doing this twice a month at the most

I use a variety of different foods from rat , quail ,chikens,gerbials,guinnie pigs
and rabbits and never had a problem with my snakes.It also gives them something different to eat.

I would think that twice a month would be a little much, unless you are aware of a specific deficiency. Like I said we only supplement twice a YEAR. Boas metabolism is very slow, and if not fed heavily, they use most every bit of what they eat.

I also feel better using a vitamin made for a reptile. Same as I would feel best using vitamins made specifically for a bird, rather than feeding it a dog treat, if I was giving vitamins to a bird.

As far as shedding goes, up the humidity and switch to bottled spring water for your boa to drink. The chemicals in tap water are not good for them. Years ago we switched to spring water and very rarely does anyone have issues with a shed.

Kathy

>I also feel better using a vitamin made for a reptile. Same as I would feel best using vitamins made specifically for a bird, rather than feeding it a dog treat, if I was giving vitamins to a bird.

I generally agree with this. Except a lot of reptile vitamins are actually for lizards and contain calcium. Boas get plenty of that in their preys' bones, and too much calcium can be bad for them. Mammal vitamins usually have vitamin D in the form of D2, which reptiles and birds don't matabolize well. Lacking a vitamin made for mammal-eating snakes, I'd go with a good liquid multiple vitamin for birds.

Paul Hollander