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Post by jennasaur on Aug 29, 2005 13:02:18 GMT -8
I guess this should go in here. I give my hermit crabs powdered cuttlebone for extra calcium. I was wondering is this would be good for iguanas for extra calcium??
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Post by LotharsPeople on Aug 29, 2005 16:59:20 GMT -8
Jenna, If you are feeding a proper diet, you really do not need to provide a calcium supplement. I started giving Lothar calcium dusted on his food a couple of times a week but after more research I realized it was not needed. Some say yes, some say no. It will be interesting to see the answers to this question. Remember, if you feed him a proper diet he will get all the calcium he requires for a healthy life.
Of course, without UVB he will not produce d3 and therefore cannot metabolize sufficient calcium no matter how much is provided in his diet.
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Post by IguanaKing on Aug 29, 2005 17:36:21 GMT -8
If you use a Calcium supplement, you should really just stick with a powder made specifically for reptiles. When my igs were babies, I used T-Rex Carnivorous Reptile Formula. Now...iguanas aren't carnivorous, but, the formula for herbivors contains phosphorus, an element that your ig will get plenty of from his veggies, so it shouldn't be supplemented. An even better plan is to use a supplement made for humans and grind it up into a powder.
When your ig is a baby, the food can be dusted with the supplement 2 or 3 times a week. When he grows up, like LP said, a proper diet will eliminate the need for supplements. Also, as LP said, UVB lighting is absolutely critical so your ig can produce D3 which will allow his body to absorb the calcium in his food. What kind of lighting do you have for him?
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Post by jennasaur on Aug 29, 2005 17:54:57 GMT -8
Since I just got him all I bought was a heat lamp for him. When I get paid next week I'm going to buy the fixture that holds the fluroscent light and 2 regular bulbs. And I'm going to buy a repti-glo 5.0. That's good, right?
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Post by Merlin on Aug 29, 2005 18:56:56 GMT -8
I'd go with the tried and true Reptisun 5.0 or the Iguana lite 5.0 (same bulb different packaging) I would not use the cuttlebone. It is the skeleton of a cuttlefish(squid) and is probably not the best source for an iguana's calcium. Rep Cal calcium does not include phosphorus.
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Post by Marie on Aug 29, 2005 22:27:24 GMT -8
i use plain calcium carbonate tablets made for humans myself. They have to meet the FDA standards where animal supplements do not. Also it is less expensive. I use a pill crusher. I supplement calcium though because of the volume of food that my older iguanas eat is so little.
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Post by LotharsPeople on Aug 30, 2005 2:28:04 GMT -8
When I was giving a calcium supplement I was using the same as Marie. Used a small grinding mill for coffee to pulverize them, so easy.
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Post by jennasaur on Aug 30, 2005 8:10:10 GMT -8
Yeah. I think I'm gonna buy calcium carbonate. I need to go find it. Where do you think I could buy it?
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Post by Marie on Aug 30, 2005 9:30:20 GMT -8
Any pharmacy in the vitamin and mineral section. I buy mine at WalMart.
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Post by jennasaur on Aug 31, 2005 13:07:57 GMT -8
I wish I had a Walmart near me. Everyone seems to get everything there!!! Lucky people who have Walmarts near them! I'll probably go look tomorrow when I buy my UVB light.
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Post by jennasaur on Sept 1, 2005 9:05:58 GMT -8
I have another question. My mom has calcium pills that she doesn't use but they also have Magnesium in it. Would I be able to give these?
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Post by IguanaKing on Sept 1, 2005 9:51:49 GMT -8
I haven't done any research as to how much Magnesium an iguana needs in their diet. Its very likely that a human pill will contain too much of it. I'm not absolutely sure about that though. But, since I'm not sure, I would have to say that its probably not a good idea.
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Post by jennasaur on Sept 1, 2005 9:55:48 GMT -8
Lol. Okay. No problem. I'll just buy the calcium carbonate stuff.
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Post by rocmills on Sept 1, 2005 16:37:30 GMT -8
While I do have a bottle of ReptiCal - I often forget to use it and instead use a "personal" mixture. Using a pill crusher, I powderize soy protein, alfalfa, and calcium - all of which *I* take on a daily basis in non-powder form - and sprinkler a wee bit on the iggie food maybe once a week.
They seem to love it, and it hasn't hurt them yet.
I'd think you could use any human-consumable vitamin/mineral so long as it contains *only* what the ig needs and only if your dosage is reasonable.
--Roc
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