Best multivitamin

Status
Not open for further replies.

Rubble1212

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Rubble
Any suggestions on a multi I currently use the zilla multivitamin spray but I'm running low.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I've always used the herpavite brand. The blue container.
That being said I also dont use it very much lol.
I've heard the repashy brand is good too.

-Brandon
 

Ellentomologist

Hatchling Member
I use herptivite, by Rep-Cal, personally. It is a beta carotene product, which is important for reasons found below... I have also heard excellent things about Vit-All from Sticky Tongue Farms.

When it comes to multivitamins, most reputable brands are pretty good. What you want to keep an eye on is the Vitamin A source. Some supplements use retinol, others use beta carotene and other carotenoids.

Retinol is an animal product, essentially. It's fat soluble and as a result was at one point believed to cause issues with vitamin A overdose if misused. Now, the good news: A toxic dose of Vitamin A is nearly 100 times higher than the desired dose and is rather hard to achieve. In fact, the piece of research that first brought fourth concerns about Retinol-based vitamin supplements was shown to be faulty... In short, despite the fact that you CAN use this type of vitamin supplement to cause a Vitamin A overdose your reptile, it is very, very difficult.

Carotenoids meanwhile are plant products (hence the carrot in the name) and are actually vitamin A precursors which will be passed harmlessly is the animal aleady has enough vitamin A in it's system. The issue with this vitamin A source is that there is relatively little research as to which reptiles can or cannot convert carotenoids into Vitamin A. Generally speaking, herbivores can convert carotenoids into vitamin A, as they would otherwise not have a vitamin A source. With carnivores, however, this ability is sometimes lost - for instance part of the reason Cats need to eat meat (are obligate carnivores) is because they lost their ability to make Vitamin A from carotenoids. Now, the good news: So far, the carnivorous reptiles I know that have been tested have retained their ability to convert Carotenoids into Vitamin A, such as found this study on Leopard Geckos: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpn.12924 . This means that most reptiles can convert carotenoids into the needed Vitamin A.

Now, since Bearded Dragons are omnivorous and eat both plants and animals, it is virtually guaranteed that they have the ability to convert carotenoids into Vitamin A. So, since you really can't cause a vitamin A overdose your reptile with carotenoids, using a carotenoid-based product for your bearded dragon is what I would recommend. As an additional bonus, this may brighten up your beardie's color as outlined in this reptiles magazine article: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Lizard-Care/Beta-Carotene-Reptile-Color/

Hope this helps!
-Ellen
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank
Taking my beardie for a walk

Forum statistics

Threads
155,854
Messages
1,255,182
Members
75,936
Latest member
KarmaChild99
Top Bottom