Re: [gecko]Walk about farms gecko dust

[Doug Johnston]

Just to confuse things further... Over the last few years, I have been keeping both geckos (Phelsuma and Rhacodactylus) and several species of chameleons. Chameleons are very easily over supplemented, so over the years I have been reducing and refining my supplementation schedules with the chameleons, and doing the same for the geckos. During that time, I have used Dr. Donoghue's products occasionally, but not consistently. Two years ago, my gecko breeding came almost to a complete halt. My Phelsuma in particular (with the exception of the standingi) produced almost no eggs at all. In addition, they were lethargic and I lost several breeders for no apparent reason. After careful consideration, and chatting with both Julie and Leann, I decided to go back to my original (and successful) supplementation regimen (only for the geckos)... Reptivite/D3 and Herptivite, 2:1, at every feeding (this is what Leann recommends). I did this last year at the beginning of the breeding season. During this entire time, I was using Reptisun 5.0 UVB producing tubes. I have also always fed the Phelsuma fruit baby food mixed with honey, spirulina, calcium, etc. once per week. I gut load my crickets extremely well with fresh fruit and veggies and either the cricket gut load mixture from the www.adcham.com site or Dr. Donoghue's commercial mixture. I think the standingi kept up their breeding because in addition to the crickets and fruit baby food, they also got zophobos once per week (being large enough to eat them). At any rate, the results of going back to the old supplementation regimen was almost instant! Last year, after a slow start, I got near normal numbers of eggs, with excellent hatch rates. The young have been as healthy as before, with no infant mortality. Unfortunately, the results of the previous problems left me with several unmated animals, which I've been slowly finding mates for. I had no pairs of guimbeaui or cepediana, former favorites! I have hopes for a better year this year. One group of Phelsuma that did not respond last year were my P. v.nigra v.nigra. Hopefully, they will be in better condition this year! Leann Christenson wrote: 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 -- Doug Johnston http://pages.sbcglobal.net/scubadug