Calcium dust and MVB

[Loganator]

I just replaced the dreaded Zilla compact coil flourescent UVB with a Powersun UV MVB 100w. Do I need to reduce the calcium/D3 dustings? Currently I dust Izzy's crickets with calcium 6 days a week and one day a week with a multivitamin dust.

He is 6 months old, happy, active, eats good (although he will only eat veggies that are yellow in color), poops good. Loves his daily baths.
He's in a 40 gal tank, with the cool side at 74-76 degrees, warm side 99-103 degrees with a infrared temp gun.

I've read that you can overdose them on calcium/D3 and want to make sure I don't do anything to harm him.

Could someone also tell me if the fact that he won't eat any green colored veggies is going to be a problem. He will only eat veggies that are yellow (corn, yellow bell peppers, yellow squash). But he loves them and eats alot, so I know he's getting some veggie nutrients. I just didn't know if there was something specific they need from a green veggie that he's not getting from the yellow ones.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[fresnowitte]

If you just changed to MVB then you now need the Calcium without D3. I would dust calcium one feeding 5 days per week and Multivitamin one feeding 2 days per week. Once your beardie is about 1 year you can reduce the calcium to 3 days per week.

EDIT:

Just keep offering the greens he will eventually take to them. Try hand feeding a few bites of greens each day you might beable to get him to take a few bit that way.

 

[WAFisherman]

Loose the D3 right away. Stinks to have to toss it, but you need to.

Work in getting him more into the greens. If you have good UVB and a good well rounded diet, a slight sprinkle of calcium a few times a week should be all you need. Vitimins and other supplements shouldn't be needed. But only if you are good at providing a well rounded diet. Just like people, we should be fine if we get enough sun, eat healty, exercise, and control our stress - without having to take extra vitamins and supplements.

An overdose of D3 and other vitamins can be just as dangerous as not getting enough. A propper diet will ensure safe levels of nutrients and you won't worry about being to much one way or the other. Check out the beatufildragons site that has a breakdown of foods that are good and not so good.

When I want my beardies to start eating their veggies, I back off a little on the bugs and keep a fresh bowl of veggie salad in at all times. In the evening, I put in a bowl of greens and give him some bugs. I make sure all bugs are eaten, but leave the salad. In the morning when he comes looking for food, he'll eventually start checking out the greens. When I get home from work, the salad is often gone. But if he knows I"m around, he'll wait patiently for the bugs and turn his nose at the salad...

 

[Loganator]

Thank you. I will discontinue the calcium with D3 immediately, and pick up some calcium without the D3 this afternoon.

I'll try this "tough love" approach with the greens. Backing off on his crickets some, especially in the mornings, to force him to check out his green salad. I do leave salad in there available to him all day, but he will only eats the yellow stuff from the bowl and ignore the green. I hate to eliminate the yellow, so he only has the greens available. By offering him the yellow at least I know that he eating some veggies.

 

[WAFisherman]

Try just adding less of the yellow. Mix it in like a tossed salad. Also, try different forms of the same food. For example, so beardiers hate chopped up bits of squash. But if you shred\grate it just right (not to fat, not too skinny) the love it for some reason. Also, there was a time my beardie only ate dried up greens. I'd keep putting fresh stuff in there, and he just wasn't touching. One day I forgot to add any fresh and the lights had dried some up to crunchy little bits. He eventually ate those, but did not not want the fresh stuff... Just keep trying things and be patient...

 

[fresnowitte]

I usually get my babies to start eating salad by doing just that. Serve salads first sense younger beardies are the hungriest usually in the morning when they first get warmed up. :wink:

Also if you shred the yellow stuff it will stick to the greens forcing them to get a bite of greens every now and then.

Here's a link to order the Calcium online you want the green label on the second row;
http://www.petmountain.com/brands/50/1/rep-cal.html?gclid=CKOjwd-C_ZgCFRwDagodhFMnmQ

 

[Loganator]

Wow! Thanks, Barbara. That is sooo much cheaper. Our local pet store sells the same brand for twice that!

Okay, tomorrow morning, I am going to shred the yellow veggies and mix it in with his greens. We'll see. :wink:

 

[fresnowitte]

Your welcome!
Everything is much cheaper online if you need links to anything let us know.

I haven't shopped in a pet store for along time now. The last time I purchased the vitamins from our local pet store it was $12.95 for calcium and $23.95 for the multivitamin. How outragious! Huh?

It will not harm your beardie to give him the calcium with the D3 until you order comes in, just wouldn't want to use the D3 for prolonged periods with a MVB.

Have you tried Mustard Greens? That is the favorite green with my beardies.
Do you have this link?
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html