Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know different keepers have different theories about supplementation. I'm curious as to how beardie keepers here supplement. So my questions are how often do you supplement and do you include D3?

Thanks!

As you stated many people do different things for me I use REP-CAL Calcium with Vit D3 and mix that with REP-CAL Herptivite. I use this mix 3-4 times a week. It depends though on what age your beardie is. As a baby to 1 year i would do it daily. After that drop it down to around 3-4. I also add this mix to the food of the crickets, roaches or super worms i feed him.

I dust with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at most feedings. This helps to make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene can not build up in the system like preformed vitamin A can. Excess preformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder lightly. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems so don't overdo it. Exposure to UVB either from a UVB light or the sunlight allows the dragon to produce vitamin D3 which allows the dragon to use the calcium in its diet. There should be no glass or plastic between the UVB and the dragon.

Appropriate temperatures aid in digestion so that plays a part in nutrient absorption.

Gutloading and feeding the insects also plays a part in nutrition and is in a way a form of supplementation too....and the nutrition of the dragon's diet plays a part too.

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are the main players in bone health and need to be in balance. You need to look not only at the supplementation but also at what you feed the dragons and the insects.

I am a Rep-Cal believer. I dust each live meal with calcium w/D3 except one a week I dust with the multivitamin. Feeding calcium to crickets and other insects causes them to have difficulty molting and shortens their life span.

Good to know about that with the insects. I will discontinue adding that to the roach coloney. I usually only get a couple dozen crickets and they don't last too long.

Yes, I quit gut-loading my crickets with calcium supplements or commercial gut loads a while back and just feed them basically the same diet I feed my beardies.

Thanks for the input everyone. I noticed some lizard keepers are moving away from D3 for fear of toxicity and was wondering what the beardie crowd was dong. I wonder if having desert species or temperate species affects the decision.

For the record, I'm also a Rep-cal fan and use the no phosphorous variety with D3 a few times weekly and the Herpvite less often (few times monthly). But like a previous poster mentioned, I'm also careful to use a variety of nutritious staple greens and veggies.