Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So far this season, I'm running about 60% hatch rate but still have a ton of eggs to go - hopefully things will improve. I've had as good as 482 out of 484 eggs hatch in years past. Have read here and there that vitamin D3 OD can cause infertile eggs, eyesight problems, etc. The RepCal is calcium with D3. Since leopard geckos are primarily nocturnal they don"t have the sunlight requirements of an iguana or python, etc. Where are they getting all of this calcium in nature? Do they utilize all of this D3 - can it cause problems? The RepCal is grey. I used to grate cuttlebone ( which is pure white ) for calcium. It's a p.i.t.a. but birds do just fine with it. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Here's a pic of some 3 week old hatchlings. Every time I throw out a bad egg it hurts to think what that one would've looked like.

Awesome looking hatchlings my fellow smokeater. You bring up a good point with the D3 question. I use the repcal myself and last season had around a 70% hatch rate as well. I would be willing to bet that most likely our little friends over in Pakistan,Afganistan etc probably eat more hard shelled insects than what they receive while in captivity. I live in a very arid area and most of the insect life found around here is hard shelled beetle types. Just a speculation but I would be willing to bet that a hard shelled insect contains much more calcium than a cricket,mealworm,superworm or whatever. Also one indigenous species here Coleonyx Brevis(TexasBandedGecko)is also nocturnal and does quite well on small hard shelled insects. Maybe we should go to the D3 free variety who knows. Let me know what you think.

Thanx for the reply fireguy. Good point about the beetles. Will let you know if I come up with any conclusive findings. Hope tp see ya at Daytona.