supplementation

[NaTasha Brinkley]

My dragon is now almost 8 months old... what is the best supplement schedule for him? He's a big guy; haven't had the opportunity to weigh him yet, but he is about 17 inches long. I usually dust his crickets with calcium 5 out of 7 days a week using regular calcium and calcium with D3 the other 2 days. Multivitamins I give 3 times a week.

 

[Noella]

I sprinkle Multivitamins every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the mornings. (Even her crickets get the multivitamins during the three days and calcium every day.) I give her calcium with D3 every day, three to four times a day. I sprinkle Monday through Sunday with the Calcium with D3 on her salads. I sprinkle the crickets before feeding them to her, and sprinkle the calcium onto their salad so she's getting extra calcium whenever she eats them. (I also feed quick oats to the crickets to keep them from eating each other. It works because all of them are still alive, even though I got them around December 7th. I would start to lose 20, 40 crickets a day, but I found out sprinkling oatmeal seems to help cut their deaths, too. I read that oatmeal absorbs ammonia well. All I know is that since there's oatmeal in the cricket tank, they're not dying. I got 200 so I didn't run out in the middle of the month and have to do two trips back and forth to the pet store. I've got over 100 now. About maybe 144.

 

[Germ]

General feeding/supplementation schedule:
For hatchlings and young juveniles (up to 2 months): Fresh greens/veg. 1-2 times daily - Live prey 2-3 times per day
Dusted: All Live Prey five days per week with phosphorus free calcium – one day per week calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

For juveniles and sub-adults (2 months to sexual maturity): Fresh greens/veg 1-2 times daily - Live prey 1-2 times per day
Dusted: All Live Prey five days per week with phosphorus free calcium – One day per week with calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

For adults (generally 1+ year): Fresh greens/veg 1- 2 times daily - Live prey every 2-3 days.
Dusted: Live Prey every other feeding with phosphorus free calcium - Twice per month with calcium with D3 - One day per week with a vitamin supplement such as Reptivite or Herptivite.

As there are different circumstances that may arise, this schedule is recommended only as a general guide and may be altered to accommodate individual situations. Using a tracking method of when you dust prevents unnecessary use of product and more importantly, potential harm to your dragon! With proper and effective UVB lighting, supplementation with vitamin D3 is not imperative but should be provided in small amounts. Excessive levels of oral vitamin D3 can potentially lead to the excessive absorption and utilization of calcium and/or toxicity as can the excessive use of supplements containing high levels of vitamin A. Over use of any supplement can have the potential to cause serious health problems, stick to an appropriate supplementation schedule.

Amendment to Supplementation: Here is an article providing a good explanation to give an understanding on the Calcium to Phosphorous & Fat to Protien ratio ...

The main points to look out for are the fat content and the Ca: P ratio.

Ca: P Ratio and Reptiles

Many have heard about the Ca/P ratio but not many understand what it means to your reptiles. The Ca: P ratio is simply the ratio of Calcium compared to Phosphorus and so a Ca: P ratio of 1 (one or 1:1) would mean that Calcium & Phosphorus are found in equal quantities, a Ca: P ratio of 0.5 (half or 0.5:1) means that there is half the amount of Calcium than there is Phosphorus. An ideal Ca: P ratio would be around 2 (two or 2:1) as this will allow calcium to be easily absorbed.

So why is this important? It has to do with the way Calcium is absorbed by your reptile's intestine. For any calcium to be absorbed, there needs to be at least equal quantities of Calcium and Phosphorus in their food. If the Phosphorus is much higher, then not only will it prevent calcium being absorbed, but may even leach calcium that is already present in your reptile's body. This can lead to serious problems such as MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). When Calcium and Phosphorus are dissolved in equal quantities, it forms an insoluble salt (Calcium Phosphate) which is very difficult to absorb by your reptile's intestine. If there is a large amount of phosphorus compared to the calcium, then all the calcium will be bound by the phosphorus and none will be available for your reptile. If there is a large excess of calcium, then no phosphorus can be absorbed, which is also a vital mineral but not needed in as large a quantity as calcium. Ideally the Ca/P ratio for most vertebrates is around 2 (also written as 2:1).

Fat vs Protein

Another thing to look out for is the amount of fat compared to protein. Fat contains twice as many calories as protein, but doesn't provide any of the nutritional benefits that are gained from proteins from their amino acids which are essential for the health of any living creature. The calories from fat are often called "empty calories" in dietary terminology. Most insectivorous reptiles will receive greater benefit from a high protein/low fat diet.

Source - http://www.leedspetshops.co.uk​

 

[NaTasha Brinkley]

thanks Germ! Reading that other post I was like WHAT?! That seems like way too much calcium D3 that Noella is giving to her beardie. So, I wasn't too far off with supplementing... I just need to cut down the Calcium with D3 and Multi-V to once a week. I had the schedule written out on the cricket tank to ensure that I didn't forget what I gave on which day... it helps! Thanks again!