The Importance of Calcium for Reptiles

Reptiles make amazing pets no matter if you’re an adult or a child, which is why they’re so popular. A huge reason why reptiles are popular pets is that they’re easy to care for. Unlike dogs and cats, they don’t shed, enjoy living in their terrarium and are easy to feed.

But like many other pets, there are certain requirements for having pet reptiles. You have to set up their terrarium with the right temperature and living environment, as well as feed them according to their required dietary needs for their breed. Different reptiles will have different dietary necessities, with some needing small animals to survive every few days and others feasting solely on insects and fruits and vegetables.

However, one important requirement that reptiles need is calcium to grow and maintain strong bones just like humans. In the wild, reptiles get loads of son to help maintain strong bones. However, indoor pet reptiles need calcium supplements and an artificial source of UVB rays to maintain healthy amounts of calcium in their bones and blood.

Reptiles can’t simply absorb necessary calcium for their diet without active vitamin D (which is also known as vitamin D3). This helps the reptile’s intestines absorb calcium from their food source. The UVB light then gets absorbed through the skin and helps convert inactive vitamin D into active vitamin D3 for their body’s to maintain healthy bones.

Why Calcium Is Important

Calcium is important for reptiles for a number of reasons. It’s vita for growing strong and healthy bones, metabolism and muscle function. If a reptile’s blood calcium levels get too low, they can develop a condition that’s called hypocalcemia, which causes the reptile to suffer from muscle twitches and lethargy. But low blood calcium levels can also cause metabolic bone disease, which happens if the reptile has a blood calcium deficiency. This, in turn, causes their body to take calcium from bones in order to maintain blood levels.

A growing reptile won’t develop correctly and might have soft bones that are more prone to developing fractures. To prevent this from happening to your pet reptile, you’ll need to have proper UVB light inside its terrarium and provide calcium supplements.  While some reptile foods bought at pet stores are low in calcium, you’ll need to also purchase calcium supplements to introduce with their regular foods.

How Symton’s Black Soldier Fly Helps

The bearded dragon is a common reptile pet, known for its docile temperament and unique features. However, these reptile pets especially require calcium supplements in order to thrive. While you can always purchase additional calcium supplements, you can also already provide them with meals that are loaded with the calcium their body needs to grow and maintain strong bones. We offer premium black soldier fly larvae, which isn’t just a healthy and delicious meal for your reptile pets (especially bearded dragons), but it also contains 80 times more calcium than other common feeding insects like mealworms.

We raise our black soldier fly larvae on a probiotic-treated grain and grass diet, which contains high levels of calcium the reptile’s body need to be healthy. Because of their calcium to phosphorus ratio makes them perfect for your reptile, with no additional need for calcium supplements or dusting. In fact, the calcium content in the larvae is natural and much better than any calcium powder product, which mainly consists of CaCO₃.

Your pet reptile deserves that best and the best starts with Symton’s black soldier fly larvae!