Re: [gecko]Walk about farms gecko dust

[Leann Christenson]

Thanks all for information about the product.  However, what is not mentioned is how much vitamin D3 is needed by Phelsuma is directly related to the lights being used over the gecko's enclosure.  When a day gecko is kept under high level UV producing lights like Reptisun 5.0 or natural sunlight than a vitamin/calcium supplement low in D3 is idea.  When a day gecko is kept under low UV producing lights like many used by European keepers, than the D3 content needs to be higher.  When a day gecko is kept as I keep my day geckos without UV lighting, than a high volume of D3 is necessary.  [Gads, we haven't even begun to talk about vitamin A!] In Julie's recent Phelsuma article it was not mentioned that she uses UV lighting but most all of us know that this is an important part of her environmental system so lower D3 content in her day gecko supplements is good.  She does mention full-spectrum light being important to day geckos in the article however, most keepers still don't understand that full-spectrum has nothing to do with UV.   The endless confusion over the meaning of "full spectrum" continues to cause many beginner keepers to scratch their head.  By indicating which husbandry practices accompany which vitamin use we all make better sense. Leann ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, February 09, 2004 7:45 AM Subject: Re: [gecko]Walk about farms gecko dust Hello Cyndy Thanks for the kind words about our product.  One word of caution:  Our Performance Plus Gecko is a nutrient-dense product designed primarily for leopard and fattail geckos, and other species of their ilk, that are pushed for high performance (reproduction or growth). When developing the product with the excellent help of a breeder, I was amazed at the level of nutrients these geckos needed for optimal performance.   For longterm use in Phelsuma spp I suggest using it sparingly or blending it with our General Insectivore Dust or perhaps our Low Vitamin-D3 Dust.  My thinking behind this suggestion is that given the natural history of Phelsuma compared to, say, leopard geckos, one might predict that the Phelsuma have lower metabolic rates, hence lower calorie needs (but this is a guess, no controlled data). We try to balance our dusts on a calorie basis (ie xx mg nutrient per calorie of metabolizable energy). The nutrient density per calorie is higher in Perf Plus than in the other dusts I mentioned. We haven't yet done the necessary feeding trials to test Perf Plus longterm in Phelsuma.  So proceed with caution and I can make up something lower powered to blend with the Perf Plus as needed. Thanks listers for all the good info on this list.  It's a pleasure to lurk when AOL manages to actually send me list messages (I seem to miss one out of three, thus go to the archives when I have time). best regards, Sue Susan Donoghue, VMD, DACVN Owner, Nutrition Support Services, Inc. HerpNutrition at Walkabout Farm www.HerpNutrition.com