Dosing D3 is a pretty exact science and should be done with utmost care. It is extremely toxic and overdosing can lead to renal failure in animals.

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ahh I shall be sticking to my nutrobal n limestone flour(plus lots of uvb) then me thinks!



Katie

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I does D3 using a Ca/D3 suppliment bought from boots. I have worked out the dosage's and just grind the tabs in a pestle/mortar and dust as appropriate.

I also use UVB bulbs. But i have experemented sucsessfully using supplimentation and diet to totally remove UVB from the equasion.

This had no notable effects in the 2 month period but i decided that the animals long term health was more important that my test (not that my test damaged the subject in any way) and replaced the tube.

Behaviour changed under the tube, for the better, traits i put down to personallity only when i changed it i noted the difference. I used two baby bearded dragons, from 1 week old to 9 weeks in the test.

EDIT TO ADD:-

D3 is a very strong substance and is not somthing to mess with. Pure D3 can cause near instant death, or long term effects such as heavy bones, calcified lumps, liver damage and renal damage. This is not a substance i would intend on messing with, at least not with other lives.

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Firstly, none of us consider ourselves 'experts', just tortoise enthusiasts who have learned from experience and learning.

Our tortoises aren't in the wild though are they..........we cannot possibly provide them with everything they would eat in the wild, their diet consists of over 300 weeds and flowers. The best we can hope to achieve is 'as near to natural' as we can (hence the push for outdoor enclosures, natural environments, being treat like a tortoise). As I explained in detail in a post last night, the UVB levels are very low in the UK compared to their natural environment, thus resulting in calcium deficiancy.........there isn't a bulb on the market that could go anywhere near replicating the sun, perhaps there will be in 10 or 20 years time, but for now we have to supplement with extra D3 to ensure healthy bone and shell growth. It's all down the the sun really, lack of uvb means lack of D3 which in turn means insufficient calcium.

As to the question of overdosing with Nutrobal, this is extremely rare and there has only been 1 known case in the last decade. To overdose on Nutrobal you would have to literally spoon it on daily......a light sprinkling is all you need. I would be vary wary of conconting my own D3 supplements, to me this is very risky, I'd rather stick with something tried, tested and proven.

Dan, if you wish to experiment with the health of your tortoises that is your choice, but I'm confused as to why you would want to deprive your tortoise of uvb and purely rely on D3 supplementation? What could be better than free uvb from the sun??

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Phoebe

Keeping: Hermanns and Whitei's

That is just peeps and not the authorites who make the stuff. The 'once or twice a week' regime related originally to other countries nearer to their natural habitat according to Vetark and was not altered to suit this country until fairly recently. As always ask the experts not the peeps!

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Take care
Sue

www.tortsmad.com
wizzasmum@aol.com

Dan, if you wish to experiment with the health of your tortoises that is your choice, but I'm confused as to why you would want to deprive your tortoise of uvb and purely rely on D3 supplementation? What could be better than free uvb from the sun??[/quote]


Agreed Jo and far more important to my mind is the feel good factor that uvb brings. We are all well aware of how much more active our torts are when the sun shines and indeed how much better people function with adequate uvb levels. I'm sure we have all heard of SAD the condition mainly affecting people with indoor jobs or lifestyles over the winter months. As always nature knows best

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Take care
Sue

www.tortsmad.com
wizzasmum@aol.com

What a real pleasure it is to read your posts Phoebe and Sue

And very well put, to the above thread

Agreed Jo and far more important to my mind is the feel good factor that uvb brings. We are all well aware of how much more active our torts are when the sun shines and indeed how much better people function with adequate uvb levels. I'm sure we have all heard of SAD the condition mainly affecting people with indoor jobs or lifestyles over the winter months. As always nature knows best[/quote]



I think I must have been a tortoise in a previous life I love the sun, as much as I can get and never fail to feel jealous of my tortoises long sleep through the winter.

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Phoebe

Keeping: Hermanns and Whitei's

LOL Rachael look what you made me do ...... :icon_redface:

LOVE the selection of new smilies, especially the irate one , wonder if that was put there just for me?

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Phoebe

Keeping: Hermanns and Whitei's

I know tortoises (via rescues) as I'm sure other people working with rescue/rehoming, who have survived (I am not talking about quality, but survival) without correct calcium supplementation for decades. I also know a tortoise that survived 6 years with no calcium, no UVB, no heating, no basking lamp, no exercise and a lettuce diet, before dying quite a slow and painful death. Tortoises never die quickly, you won't see their health deteriorate before your eyes.. it'll be so gradual that is why most inexperienced owners don't even realise they're doing something wrong.

I am only saying this because I think that a 2 month experimentation would be pointless with tortoises. To experiment with any valid results you'd have to be running for at least a decade, maybe 2 to be sure... and then, if it fails... it is far too late for the tortoise to recover.