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Ok, so I've read on here to dust food items with a powder that has D3 but not to leave it in the cage for a calcium dish. Why is that? I did have a calcium dish that had D3 in it until I read something on here saying not to. I could've just misread but I'm pretty sure. So if thats true is there a vitamin powder for reptiles that doesn't have D3? And why can't you use powder w/ D3 in the calcium dish? Thank you in advance for replying!

From what I understand, D3 helps them absorb the calcium. It isn't necessary every time they injest calcium though. I think someone said it could be harmful in large amounts, although I'm not certain.
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Tim W. My Pictures
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It rubs the lotion on it's skin.

I think I read that they can O.D. on D3.

D3 is actually toxic when present in large amounts, however in smaller amounts it helps the leo use the calcium it ingests.

In many other species, they make their own D3 using the UVA/UVB rays (I foget which one is responsible) that they absorb. Tthis is why a Green Iguana will develop MBD if not given proper lighting - it won't be able to produce D3 which in turn will not allow calcium to be used in the system, leading to soft bones and a list of other medical problems.

For these reasons, D3 is usually given with prey items to help the geckos use the calcium, but allowing the gecko to have unlimited (and unmonitored) access to it constantly presents the opportunity for the gecko to actually poison itself by ingesting too much.

Of course, there's not a whole lot of research on how much is "too much", so I'm just kind of going off of common practice.
Hope that helps clear up some confusion (or possibly make it worse... lol).
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Brian Skibinski
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com
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