Lighting and heating for RETF

[jasonm96]

I think it has been shown that they can absorb calcium through vitamin D3 supplements but it's very risky. I had a few when I was a kid, no UVB and they did not develop MBD. Sometimes this is the case and sometimes not. It was standard back then not to provide UVB, it was thought they didn't need it or use it. There's better understanding now that UVB is more natural and safer for insectivores. Some books have stressed that tree frogs are particularly sensitive and could be easily overdosed on vitamin D3 supplements.

We know now that being nocturnal does not mean animals wouldn't be exposed to UVB or if they only receive little UVB, then they'd develop skin thin to allow low UVB to utilised (leopard geckos have thinner skin than a bearded dragon for instance, which allows more UVB to them at lower light levels). If no UVB, they'd find dietary D3 (nocturnal burrowing frogs such as pacman frogs are barely exposed to it and would probably get theirs in fish, frogs, snakes, rodents etc). The leaves red eyes sleep on would certainly get UVB and you gotta look at their diet as well, insects don't provide vitamin D3 and there's no vitamin dust in the wild, only vitamin D3 from the sun and inside whole vertebrates.

[acpart]

As I've said in other similar discussions, I don't find that the frogs eat the crickets right away so the crickets have time to groom the D3 off. Also, the frogs do tend to spend some of the day asleep in the open. I do maintain some day gecko populations with D3 supplementation only, but I provide UVB to my RETF trio for the reasons listed above.

Aliza

[Diver]

Why not provide UVB for the Day Geckos too Aliza? It's a far, far better way to correctly meet the D3 requirement in all animals.

[acpart]

I am actually doing that with my current pair of female gold dust day geckos. I had originally taken the advise of Leann and Greg Christensen (www.daygecko.com) when I got my first day gecko about 12 years ago. At that time I was new to planted vivs and didn't want to have to worry about changing out the florescent tube every 6 months (they had gone to great lengths in their book to recommend a specific type of light that would show the gecko's colors the best and I didn't want to have to try to find one every 6 months). I did keep that day gecko for 11 years. Now I have other reptiles that need UVB so I have a regular 6 month light change and the new day geckos are included.

Aliza