Dusting dubias?

[Ed Zeppelin]

This kid I get my doobies from gave me some calcium dust. Is it beneficial to dust the doobies with the extra calcium or is that just an unnecessary step?

 

[Mr. P]

No do not dust!!! Calcium is not good for T's, the dust is mainly for lizards.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Heres the story behind the rumors by Stan himself...
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/CalciumMoltMyth.html

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Insects tend to have a low calcium to phosphorous ratio. For captive insectivorous reptiles this can lead to metabolic bone disease in some circumstances. Dusting the insects with calcium, often with D3 added, and gut loading the insects are common ways for lizard keepers to deal with this issue.

This does not appear to be an issue with tarantulas, "true" spiders, mantids, centipedes, scorpions, or any other predatory insects, arachnids, or other arthropods that I'm aware of. No need for dusting.

 

[Ed Zeppelin]

Insects tend to have a low calcium to phosphorous ratio. For captive insectivorous reptiles this can lead to metabolic bone disease in some circumstances. Dusting the insects with calcium, often with D3 added, and gut loading the insects are common ways for lizard keepers to deal with this issue.

This does not appear to be an issue with tarantulas, "true" spiders, mantids, centipedes, scorpions, or any other predatory insects, arachnids, or other arthropods that I'm aware of. No need for dusting.

Gotcha. Thanx for the 4-1-1.

 

[Dave Jay]

Heres the story behind the rumors by Stan himself...
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/CalciumMoltMyth.html

I've tried to research this and all I could find is that too much calcium can indeed cause the thickening of an invertebrates exoskeleton , in crustaceans! In crustaceans calcium is used to fortify certain parts of their exoskeleton so calcium levels do play a part in the formation of the exoskeleton and excess calcium (usually environmental) can be deposited in the exoskeleton in some cases.
Calcium is not used by insects or arachnids to fortify their exoskeletons so excess calcium is not deposited there, the composition of their exoskeleton is different than that of a crustaceans' exoskeleton so it can't serve as a depository for excess calcium in the system, it's just not how their bodies work.
It's really besides the point though, dusting the outside of a feeder insect is not going to result in the spider ingesting it anyway, they don't even bite their heads off, they just suck their guts out and throw the skins away!

 

[Ed Zeppelin]

I've tried to research this and all I could find is that too much calcium can indeed cause the thickening of an invertebrates exoskeleton , in crustaceans! In crustaceans calcium is used to fortify certain parts of their exoskeleton so calcium levels do play a part in the formation of the exoskeleton and excess calcium (usually environmental) can be deposited in the exoskeleton in some cases.
Calcium is not used by insects or arachnids to fortify their exoskeletons so excess calcium is not deposited there, the composition of their exoskeleton is different than that of a crustaceans' exoskeleton so it can't serve as a depository for excess calcium in the system, it's just not how their bodies work.
It's really besides the point though, dusting the outside of a feeder insect is not going to result in the spider ingesting it anyway, they don't even bite their heads off, they just suck their guts out and throw the skins away!

Gotcha. So I guess I'm glad I didn't fork over that ten bucks for one of the jars of calcium dust that would've taken me a hundred years to use up.