yesterday at work I had a guy tell me I need calcium supplement (like I use for my uro) for my snakes.i told him he didn't know his butt form a hole in the ground,cause my snakes eat mice and mice have bones wich have calcium.i'm I right or wrong on this one

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1.0.0 anerythrisc corn -Fletcher
1.0.0 nigerian uromastyx-Burtis
1.0.0 rainbow boa-Kaa
2.0.0 cats-Stripper & Spot
0.1.0 chilean rose T-Ceilia
0.0.1 Emperor scorpion-Tank
1.0.0 snow corn-Fat mike
1.0.0 okeetee corn-freddy

Yes you are right - snakes digest everything from their food, fur, fat, bones, the lot and get all the nutrients and calcium they need. Now it is a personal preference that you can put calcium supplement on the food items every now and then to increase the snake's intake but it's not necessary.

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004

Yeah, you don't need a calcium supplement for your snake unless its a green snake. However, its not just a snake's prey that gives it its calcium, its the fact that they can actually metabolize the calcium on their own. You can give a lizard all the calcium in the world, but none of it will be absorbed into the body without UVB. Snakes can do it without.

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

. You can give a lizard all the calcium in the world, but none of it will be absorbed into the body without UVB. [/quote]
Not entirely true Mat,,,leopard Geckos will take and do need calcium powder and do not benefit fron UVB lighting

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

well ken, you get the general gist of what furryscaly said. And by the way, there have been some friends of mine to tell me that after adding a UVB bulb to the top of their leo's cage, the attitude, health, etc etc all "improved". Now this could have been from the UVB it could have just been a coincidence. Just giving all of the facts. Even though Leopard Geckos are nocturnal, i truly believe that even the little daylight UVB the leo sees can never hurt, if anything it could be of some use even though it is not necessary. I don't use UVB for my Leopard Geckos either.

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

I wasn't trying to put Furryscaly down,,,he's an extremely intelligent and important member to HC. So I am sorry if I came across that way,,,my appologies.. I just wanted to point out that it is not just snakes that get there calcium froom ingested sources (rodent/bone calcium) and that not all lizards require UVB for metabolic processing
My mistake

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

lol, no offence taken Ken I'd probably do the same had someone else posted that. I shoulda said diurnal lizards. The fast majority of geckos, being nocturnal, do not require any UVB. I appreciate the compliment though

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

No offence, but I would tell your friends to remove the UV light from their gecko's, there have been alot of cases where leo geckos have gone blind from having exposure to UVB, it is completly unessassery for a nocturnal speicies who are not accustomed to bright lights and will do more harm than good in the long run.

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I'll think of something to put here soon.......

oh i'm sorry ken, i didn't mean to come off as being mean or something. Just stating fact. I hear what i'm saying in my head but it's always taken a different way when someone reads it. That's the downside to the internet.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

UVB lighting will not cause blindness in leopard geckos. Some albino animals (of ANY species) have more sensitive eyes and skin, and high levels of UV (of any kind) should be avoided long-term. This is not exclusive to leopard geckos, OR to nocturnal reptiles, but is a problem experienced by ALL red-eyed albinos of any species (including humans).
This makes the breeding of diurnal albino lizards a bit of an ethical dilemma, since these species require UVB, but their eyes can be damaged over time by excessive exposure to it. (It's pretty much a guarantee that they'll lose their vision over time).

For any leo that does NOT have red eyes, UVB exposure can be just as beneficial as it can be for any other reptile (it's good for us mammals, too). Although they are nocturnal and do not REQUIRE special lighting, their bodies are still able to make use of it. Additionally, the more natural lighting affects their brain chemistry, producing more natural behavior.
I have a full-spectrum light over my leo display tank. While the UVB producing properties have long since worn out, the light still produces UVA (is "full-spectrum" like a plant grow-light), and I notice vastly improved color and activity in the animals in this tank (super-hypo tangerines). My leopard geckos do NOT spend all day in their hides. They emerge occasionally to move from place to place, and occasionally to bask in the open. In particular, my gravid females seem to prefer to lay in the open on the hot side during the day, a behavior that probably reflects their increased need for D3 and calcium.