Reptile & Amphibian Forums

it started within the past week or so, he seems to have a prob balancing , but he has one hell of a death grip(blood to prove it) he drinks , he eats, has all the proper lighting and his temps are 85 in day 70 to 75 nightime.. i recently cut back his multi-vitamans and calcium due to him getting older, should i start back with them or what....

Need a few more details please. How much were you dusting and with what? What brand of lighting? How old is he? How much are you dusting now? When you say "bad balance" what do you mean? If he is swaying and rocking while he walks he may be mimicking wind blown leaves which is normal behavior. If he is not able to shoot food, unable to grip branches and falling a lot, maybe a deficiency, but that will be hard to figure out without knowing more about what products you use etc.

I use Flukers, cricket food and citrus quencher. Also I use Repti Aid multivitamin Calcium powder. An 18 inch Reptisun full sprectrum bulb is used for lighting and also 2 basking lights. Temperature ranges from 80 to 90 degrees during day, and 70 to 75 at night. Humidity ranges from 50 to 85 with periodic misting during day. Watered with a dripper 4 times a day. He's about a year old, around 6 inches nose to vent. Has a very good grip and travels around his cage. Just seems to have bad balance when walking upright, and when he stays still he's either hanging upside down or hanging on his side. Drinks regularly, but seems to have a somewhat loss of appetite. He has a screen cage H-3ft., W-3ft, depth-2ft. Eyes always wandering, always alert, still hisses when approached. Any help and info would be GREATLY appreciated.

Hmm, how old is your ReptiSun bulb? If more than 6-8 months get a new one. Independent testing shows that the UV output drops off after about 6 months. The Repti Aid vitamin/calcium may not be the greatest. Generally calcium/mineral and vitamin powders need to be kept separate rather than combined...they breakdown faster if mixed. Check to be SURE what vitamins are included in yours. Mineral or calcium dusts may say they have vitamins included, but may only contain Vit. D3 to help with calcium uptake. If D3 is all the dust contains he's not getting other vitamins such as A, the B complex etc. Better yet, use a good gutload instead of the off the shelf brands. You can very easily make a better gutload than buy one. There are great recipes for gutloads on this site:

http://www.adcham.com

And, about the best commercial gutload out there is available from:

http://www.herpnutrition.com

Get him outdoors in direct sun if the weather permits such as an hour or two every weekend (when you are around to watch...or get a portable cage such as a Reptarium so you don't lose him). His appetite will slowly decrease as he gets older too, as he's not growing as fast. See if this helps!