Too much calcium??

Repti · 07-30-03, 12:43 PM

Hi, a couple of days ago I put a calcium dish into my femelle enclosure. about 2-3 days after she had lick all the calcium so i put some new. My question is can she lick too much calcium?? Will she knows when to stop??
I can see that her fecal where much more gray than normal. Is that normal?
Is that the result of the calcium?

Repti

07-30-03, 01:18 PM

why not just dust the crix and stuff instead of leaving a pile and not worry about her limiting herself?

Repti · 07-30-03, 01:42 PM

I heard a lot of people in this forum that use it. I tought I would try it once.

Siretsap · 07-30-03, 01:56 PM

I tried it a few times.
I mostly do it when I see taht my female is getting thinner or right after she layed some eggs.
too much is not good just like too little is not good either.
She could developp some failures on her internal organs. But I doubt she ate too much.
I still dust my crickets every time I feed them to my leos.
and give the pinkies to my females.

Neo · 07-30-03, 02:10 PM

do u dust the pinkies?

Siretsap · 07-30-03, 02:22 PM

no I don't
I think the dusted cricks each day is enough for my leos when they are not producing eggs

LISA127 · 07-30-03, 03:44 PM

leaving a calcium dish in the enclosure is a good thing. i've never had one lick up that much, tho. is she gravid or anything? i have kept a calcium dish in every leo enclosure for the past 4 years, and never had a problem. they should know when they need it, and how much.

Tim and Julie B · 07-30-03, 08:57 PM

Well, to add my opinion:
A calcium dish is very beneficial during during the breeding season. I keep one with my females from January to September, but remove it in between. I also dust their feeders once a week with calcium/D3 and three times a week with multi-vitamins. I dip my pinkies if I notice that the females aren't using their calcium dishes much. Otherwise, the pinkies are okay on their own. Too much can be a bad thing, of course, but unless you are pumping them full of it, you shouldn't run into any problems. Just remember to use a calcium supplement with D3, that will help them absorb the calcium properly, along with fresh clean water at all times.

Julie B

Repti · 07-30-03, 09:11 PM

My females is not gravid, she is not really fat and her bones are tiny.
Should I leave the calcium dish there? or remove it?

Repti

Tim and Julie B · 07-30-03, 09:22 PM

I would leave it in there. Are you concerned that she may not be gaining enough weight?
Julie

Samba · 07-31-03, 02:01 AM

I didn't have the time to read the above posts, but here is my opinion - calcium is necessary for leos and leaving a small dish in their enclosure is a good thing. Yes, unabsorbed calcium will make the feces appear abnormal, but it is highly unlikely it will cause her any harm. A gecko can overdose on calcium, but the amounts consumed would really have to be extreme. My Girl likes to eat calcium the way you described and I think it's normal. If you are worried about her calcium consumption try just dusting her insects or leaving smaller amounts of calcium in her dish. Females and young geckos need much more calcium then adult males, and females will need it most when they are gravid and using the calcium to produce nice, think eggshells for their young. Keep up the good work!

Linds · 07-31-03, 08:09 AM

A calcium dish is a great idea for all leos. I don't dust my bugs very often, the leos can take what they want from their dishes. Is it calcium/d3 supplement or is it just calcium alone? Most calcium powders have added d3 to them. Leos can overdose themselves on this, though not very common. If your leo is ingesting a lot of calcium with d3, try "watering it down" with some plain calcium powder

Repti · 07-31-03, 01:45 PM

Tim and Julie - I don't think she really is gaining weight. I will wait but i would like to see her gain weight so she could breed next year. Is there anything I could do to help her gain weight? Any special food?

Linds - I use Rep-cal. It is writen that is contain vit. D3.

Repti

Samba · 07-31-03, 03:20 PM

I use Rep-Cal also... I love the stuff! Linds thanks for the helpful hint, I would have never thought to do that!

Tim and Julie B · 07-31-03, 04:10 PM

Well Repti, there are a few things you can do to help her gain extra weight. First of all be absolutely sure she feels secure in her cage. It's amazing how stress can affect their appetites. Just watch her closely to see if she is using her cage space and not too scared to come out into the open when it's feeding time. Second, vary her diet as much as you can. I know it's pretty hard to get a hold of a variety of insects but try to include crickets, mealies, a few waxies and even silkies or cut up dew worms. Be sure to gut load the crix and mealies using things like cucumber, carrots and romaine lettuce. For dry gut load add high quality flaked fish food, dried fish (sardines for cats available at petstores), wheat germ and cornmeal. I really don't care much for dog/cat food. I don't think it has ever really helped to fatten up any of my reptiles. Third, try to feed her every day, later in the evening. If she doesn't want crix or mealies, try waxies and silkworms or dew worms. When you cut up the dew worms they will still move around so no need to worry that she won't want them

If she does like dew worms she probably won't eat too many. They are very bulky and it won't take much to fill her up. Other than these things you could try to feed her small pinkies, dipped in calcium about once or twice a month, although it really isn't necessary unless she is breeding or losing a lot of weight. I hope this will help you out!

Julie B.