Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, i know you all are gonna yell at me for getting an animal without researching it first but its not my fault, lol, my mom went to florida and got me two tiny res they will be here tomorrow, so yea, i was wondering if well first off is there any easy way to supplement them withh d3 without the use of a uv bulb, second if there isn't a way, how well would those "plant bulbs" from home depot work, third, do i really need a filter? also do i need a water heater or would just having the heat lamp during the day be ok, and also how long would they be ok in a ten gallon tank, btw, as she puts it they are about the size of a half dollar if even that big.. thanks a lot for your help in advance
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1.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
1.0 white's dumpy treefrog (buddha)
0.0.1 house gecko (geico) (currently missing, lol, my dad and bro saw him again, hes been missing for about 2 months)
1.0 rabbit (oreo)
0.1 dogs (kristy)
1.1 cats (joey, tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs

The plant lights from home depot do not produce UVB only UVA so they are useless for your RES. RES do grow better with access to either unfiltered sunlight or a UVB bulb. You don't need a filter if you are going to change the water every day, I perfer to use a filter so I don't have to clean the tank so often. A ten gallon tank will not last very long, maybe a few months. I started with a twenty gallon long and upgraded to a 55 gallon tank by the time they were a year old.
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how often, and for about how long would they need to have access to unfiltered sunlight, and also aren't there any supplements i could use instead, i mean i know theres dusting, but wouldn't the water wash off all of the dust? thanks for your help
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1.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
1.0 white's dumpy treefrog (buddha)
0.0.1 house gecko (geico) (finally found him)
1.0 rabbit (oreo)
0.1 dogs (kristy)
1.1 cats (joey, tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs
and possibly 2 red eared sliders, as long as they make the trip from florida here to maryland ok

Some reptiles you can suppliment with calcium w/D3 but with turtles it does wash off in the water. I have heard they would need half an hour of unfiltered sunlight a day, which works if you life in Florida or somewhere that is hot all the time, but not if you live up north.
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what about putting stuff like "electrd3ize" and "calcimize" by exoterra do those work at all?
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1.1 leopard gecko (goliath, gebco)
0.0.1 hypo red bearded dragon (puff the magic dragon)
0.0.1 schnieder's skink (ghandi)
1.0 white's dumpy treefrog (buddha)
0.0.1 house gecko (geico) (finally found him)
1.0 rabbit (oreo)
0.1 dogs (kristy)
1.1 cats (joey, tinkerbell)
2.0 goulian finchs
and possibly 2 red eared sliders, as long as they make the trip from florida here to maryland ok

You still need the UVB for shell growth and so that it doesnt get soft. So I would just use a UVB Bulb, plus it is better than messing with dusting. You can get a bulb at PetSmart for about 20.00. It is by ESU Reptila, Super UV Coil-Lamp. It is located where the reptile lights are. There is also the skinny long bulbs in that area too if you have that kind of lamp. If you dont have a lamp, you can get the coil bulb and go to HomeDepot and get one of those spot light lamps with a clamp on it for about $7. Here is an example of what I am talking about.