# Nutrobal and Calcium or just Nutrobal



## alisondragon (Aug 24, 2008)

Hi Guys

When we bought our beardie the guy in the shop gave us Nutrobal and told us to dust his food with it every 3rd day I have now read a few things which have said that we should be dusting his food with Calcium as well please can you advise on this.

Many thanks 


Alison


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## awh (Aug 20, 2008)

all food needs dusted 
the rule is calcium 5 days , nutrobal 2 days 
most including me do calcium monday to friday then nutrobal saturday and sunday


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## Big_Rich (Aug 11, 2011)

As above, calcium mon-fri then nutrobal sat-sun.

I assume they gave you the correct lighting aswell...like a UV?


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## TEENY (Jan 4, 2008)

Calcium through week and nutrobal on wekends. I only dust 3 days a week with calcium for my chams and once on weekend and they are healthy as can be


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## bizarre1 (Apr 8, 2010)

As above. calci dust 5 days, nutrobal 2 days


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## 0123456789 (Feb 18, 2011)

I only use nutrobal for my berber it says on it that its a calcium balancer and multivitamin supplement so do i need calcium as well?


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

0123456789 said:


> I only use nutrobal for my berber it says on it that its a calcium balancer and multivitamin supplement so do i need calcium as well?


I only use nutrobal for my lizards, as they are unable to uptake calcium without vitamin D3. If you do the same, make sure you follow the instructions and use it sparingly, as there is a small risk of vitamin overdosing.

As you have seen, many people opt to use calcium alone for 5 days and nutrobal for 2. This won't do any harm, but it is not how nutrobal was designed to be used and doesn't provide usable calcium for much of the week.

A good (12%) UV light will help with calcium take up as well, but make sure you follow the manufacturer's instructions for use.


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## Nix (Jan 23, 2008)

Just wanted to note a little point

Vitamins are not stored by the body so any excess is excreted. It would be of much better benefit to your skink/beardie/other calcium requiring rep that if you are dusting nutrobal you do it split over the week IE weds and sun is better than sat and sun. 

Calcium should be on all the feeds in between. Hope this helps!


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## alisondragon (Aug 24, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice went back to the pet shop where we bought him from and they said to just use the nutrobal so im now more confused than ever now but he is eating well dust with nutrobal mid week and then on the weekend and so far so good


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## lee young (Oct 14, 2009)

Beardies can overdose on vitamins, particularly vitamin D, as can any mammal, but any excess clacium will pass right through them, which is why people recommend nutrobal twice a week. If you have a good UV light and the correct diet, then every day with nutrobal could prove risky.


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

lee young said:


> Beardies can overdose on vitamins, particularly vitamin D, as can any mammal, but any excess clacium will pass right through them, which is why people recommend nutrobal twice a week. If you have a good UV light and the correct diet, then every day with nutrobal could prove risky.


I agree that, if you can't / don't know how to use nutrobal safely, it's better to be cautious. It is designed to be used daily, though.


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## fardilis (Mar 22, 2011)

alot of shop's say nutrobal is a calcium/d3 balancer as that's what it's advertised as but in reality it has very little calcium in in and is mostley vit's.

as above 5 day's calc 2 day's nutrobal.

also may i add that without calcium reptile's can't absorb/digest d3 and that you can't overdose calcium but you can overdose on vit's.


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## Jeffers3 (May 18, 2010)

fardilis said:


> alot of shop's say nutrobal is a calcium/d3 balancer as that's what it's advertised as but in reality it has very little calcium in in and is mostley vit's.
> 
> as above 5 day's calc 2 day's nutrobal.
> 
> also may i add that without calcium reptile's can't absorb/digest d3 and that you can't overdose calcium but you can overdose on vit's.


 
That's not true! It's mostly calcium carbonate. The reason the "calcium" appears low is because it's in the carbonate form. The molecular weight of calcium is approx 40 and calcium carbonate is around 100. This means that the maximum amount of calcium in your supplement can only be about 40% of the total weight! This applies to both nutrobal and your "calcium" supplement.

and, whilst we're on the subject...... calcium overdosing is also possible! It results in hypercalcemia. It's also linked to vitamin D3 metabolism, which is why the right balance of vitamins and calcium is required. Nutrobal was developed by Peter Scott, one of the top reptile vets in the country to stop the high incidence of metabolic bone disease that afflicted captive reptiles before the product was introduced. It has been incredibly successful, but some people still criticise it!


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