Reddit reviews Zoo Med Calcium With Vitamin D3 Reptile Food, 3-Ounce

I know a lot of people have commented, but if you're not using supplementation, start using ReptiCalcium w/D3 and w/out D3 by dusting his food each meal. If you are, please take him in for a checkup, he looks very underweight and could have something like parasites. Action sooner rather than later could extend the life of your pet :)

He looks overall pretty health besides his nub tail. Check out this sub often and you'll see lots of posts about geckos with bad depth perception, etc that will be comforting to know is fairly normal.

• Under tank heater like this one is needed for digestion. Much cheaper to get on amazon than a place like petsmart.
  
  
• For feeding I think it's best to use a separate container for bugs. I use the ones like this. Bugs are gonna poop too, so having them in the gecko tank just makes it need cleaned more. Geckos don't need to hunt and can be pretty bad at it, I usually use tweezers to feed mine. It also lets you make sure your insects are also being fed properly. The cricket food you have is fine for them.
  
  
• I find mealworms are easier to work with than crickets. They don't move much and stay alive easier. Keep them in a tank like mentioned above and give them some carrots once in a while. Mealworms especially, your gecko will probably accidentally eat some sand.
  
  
• I offer mine food every other day as adults. I've gotten to where I can see that look on their face when they want to eat. Sometimes they don't want to so I take the insects back out, and one of mine always wants to eat. I had to put her on a diet.
  
  
• Sand is bad because it can block their intestine if they eat too much of it. If feeding with tweezers and an older one (at least a year) sand isn't as big of a concern. I use the carpet you find in stores. You can take it out and wash it dozens of times. Paper towels over the sand would work pretty well for short term.
  
  
• Coat your feeder insects with calcium powder +D3 for every bug. Leave a tiny dish (I use a gatorade cap) of pure Calcium in the tank for if they need extra. They can tell and will go and lick it if they need it.
  
  
• An easy moist hide box is to take an old plastic take-out box, cut a hole big enough for the gecko to fit, tape the cut edge so it isn't sharp, and keep the top on so it holds moisture. Use coconut husk, vermiculite (if you're comfortable knowing he won't eat any going for bugs, make sure it's pesticide free and all that), or this article has a lot of good ideas. Just add water once in a while to keep it moist.
  
  
• Changes in cares, rearranging tank objects, change of seasons, warmth, etc can change feeding habits. If his tail grows back in better it won't be as big of a deal but with how it is he doesn't really have as much fat reserves. If he's not eating and pooping at least once a week you might think of taking him to the vet. One of mine made a huge egg that got stuck so she didn't eat for a month and started losing weight. Had to do some force feeding.
  
  
• You can use one of those small kitchen scales and track his weight.
  
  
• You might not even notice him shed if he does it quickly, but the most common thing I've seen is it getting stuck on toes. If they can't get it off they can lose their toes. Just a small thing to keep an eye on, and the moist hide would help.

I use this calcium 5x a week for a single feeding:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Calcium-Vitamin-Reptile/dp/B005FTMHFC/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_199_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=49KCZE8NNZY8RZNW9K61

I use this vitamin powder 2x a week for a single feeding:

https://www.amazon.com/HERPTIVITE-Multivitamin-reptiles-amphibians-Bottle/dp/B00076HT3S

You can feed an exclusive diet of live mealworms (many breeders do). They're relatively easy to keep if you put them in the fridge and throw in a slice of potato or carrot once a week (before you feed your gecko -- I just put mine in a dish for my Leo to eat whenever he is hungry). Make sure you supplement with a multivitamin... I use www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00167S5GC and leave a small dish of calcium http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FTMHFC out.

No worries. I do appreciate the feedback of "hey, be nicer". I guess it could have been a bit more focused.

As for particular brands? I can offer what I use and I have had good luck with so far, but I wouldn't call my saying it anything more than one owners opinion or anything. I can say I've not done a deep dive of research into the companies and products....

I use Herpivite for a multivitamin, and Zoo Med branded calcium powder (We use the D3 once a week, and non-D3 the rest of her meals).

A common concern with D3 calcium is that they can over dose your pet on D3. In an ideal setup, they would produce all the D3 they need from UV exposure and their normal meals. It's a balancing act, so it's strongly recommended you get and keep both. The bearded dragon discord links this chart as a suggest dusting/feeding plan.

It's not unidentifiable. In fact, I already did it for you three months ago. It's almost certainly a Greek (aka spur-thighed) tortoise. If you see these spurs on his backside, it's a Greek tortoise.

I recommend you familiarize yourself with the care sheet from TortoiseForum. Here are the major points:

Substrate

The best possible substrates for housing Greek tortoises indoors are a 50/50 mix of top soil and play sand, cypress mulch and aspen wood shavings. (Personally I'd use cypress mulch instead of Aspen, since it's less likely to mold. NEVER use cedar.)

Food

Offer weeds such as Dandelion, clover, plantain, hawksbit, cat's ear, wild strawberry, and thistle. Store bought greens like collards, mustards, kale and turnip can be offered sparingly. Commercial diets such as Mazuri are excellent for helping the tortoises maintain good weight but again should be offered only in moderation. (I can buy dandelion greens in the grocery store here. Also, since your tortoise has metabolic bone disease, a SERIOUS condition, be diligent in dusting all food with calcium powder with D3. D3 is something that you'd supplement occasionally in a healthy tort that gets lots of UVB. Yours has been starved of UVB, and therefore needs more D3 for a while.)

Water

A shallow water dish should be available to them at all times for drinking and soaking and should be changed frequently. Tortoises defecate in water so keeping the supply clean is a must.
They also appreciate occasional misting of their environment and may see it as rain. This prompts them to empty their bowels and drink. (Animals need water. A bit of a no-brainer.)

Lighting

When housing them inside, proper lighting is essential for keeping them healthy. Mercury vapor bulbs which provide both UVA and UVB are a personal favorite of mine. A 100-150 watt vapor bulb is installed on one end only of the indoor unit and this makes for a perfect basking area. The opposite end should remain cool. You can also use a regular spot light for the basking area so long as it reaches a temperature of 95-100F. In this case, a fluorescent UVB emitting bulb will need to be installed as well. (You should ALWAYS have a UVB bulb in your enclosure. Replace it every six months, or yearly if you use a mercury vapor bulb. NEVER use a coil-shaped bulb. These bulbs are a suitable replacement for coil-shaped ones.)

Housing

Indoors, the construction of a "tortoise table" will suit the needs of these creatures well. A 3 by 6 foot unit made of plywood will suffice for a single adult and up to a pair of adults. Wood is always recommended over plastic or glass so that the tortoises cannot see out. This way they will learn their boundaries and it will lessen their attempts to escape. (Don't keep them in glass aquariums. The ability to see outside without being able to go outside can stress your tort. They don't understand transparent glass, and will never learn how to deal with it.)

In addition to the caresheet excerpts above, I recommend you give your tort a good 20-minute soak in warm (not hot) water once a week. Captive torts are almost always mildly dehydrated. Soaking encourages them to drink. It also allows them to absorb water through their cloaca.

Finally, although this tortoise is easy to care for, it is a serious responsibility. Just as you can't feed a dog nothing but table scraps, you can't provide inadequate food and UVB to your tortoise. A bit of daily sunshine just isn't enough. If you're here seeking help for your animal, I can only hope it's because you want to put in the effort to rehabilitate him.

If you want to keep your tort, do your own research and learn how to make him happy and healthy. If it seems like too much responsibility, put him up on craigslist. Mention the soft shell in the ad, and that he's free to anyone with tortoise experience. You can tell who's qualified by asking just a few questions about how they intend to house and care for the tortoise.

Thank you, I will definitely go shopping for an umbrella plant ASAP! Will the monsoon misting system be ok for him or would he prefer a drip system? The supplements I purchased are Zoo Med Reptivite (with D3) and Zoo Med Repti Calcium (with D3). I plan on dusting his food with calcium 3x a week and the vitamin once a week. Thank you for your help, I'm so excited for my little guy!

How many crickets per day? You should supplement what the crickets are eating by dusting them with calcium powder when you feed them to the chameleon. This is a well reviewed calcium supplement without vitamin d3. You will want to give him calcium with vitamin D3 a couple times a month. Here is an example of that.

Calcium helps with muscle control and a deficiency could be contributing to your chameleon's prolapse.

You don't really need a block. Most people use the calcium powder (Also look into versions without vitamin D3, buy both with and without) that you can find at nearly any store. Pet stores certainly will have it, but WalMart near my house has it as well, even though the reptile/fish selection is limited to one half an aisle. Also put some of the calcium without D3 in a little dish (I use a milk jug lid) and they'll take part if they feel like they need more calcium.

Calcium Without D3:

Add-On Item (Cheaper)

Non Add-On Item

Calcium With D3:

Add-On Item (Cheaper but a lot smaller)



Non Add-On Item

Also look into a separate vitamin.

This will give you the options necessary for size and with/without D3.

THIS

I have never used that brand so I’m not sure. Here is a few links to the stuff that I use




https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti-Basking-Reptiles/dp/B000255OSQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_28?keywords=basking+lights&qid=1565795394&s=gateway&sr=8-28


https://www.amazon.com/Reptile-Slimline-Lighting-Fixture-18-Inches/dp/B00780X1O2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=uvb+bar+reptile+light&qid=1565795346&s=gateway&sprefix=uvb+bar&sr=8-3

This one is kind of expensive, if you look around you can find one cheap, I’m just using this one as an example. It’s the basic one that I see a lot of owners using.

https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Outback-Terrarium-Gallon/dp/B07BL2TGLG/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=reptile+enclosures&qid=1565795444&s=gateway&sprefix=reptile+emclosures&sr=8-3



https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Calcium-Vitamin-Reptile/dp/B005FTMHFC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=reptile+calcium&qid=1565795564&s=gateway&sprefix=reptile+calcium&sr=8-3