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Effect Of Calcium Supplement On Eyesight Of Western Tiger Salamanders, Abigail Horner, Dennis Ferraro

UCARE Research Products

There has been some discussion in herpetoculture about adding calcium supplements to the diets of salamanders. Adding calcium supplements to a salamander’s diet has been indicated to contribute to blindness. Calcium supplements are usually given to reptiles and amphibians to prevent dietary deficiencies, particularly metabolic bone disease. The link between lack of calcium and metabolic bone disease is well established in reptiles, but is lacking significant research with regards to amphibians. Within the eye of a salamander, there are calcium channels that mediate photosynthetic rods in the absence of light. With a calcium rich diet, it is believed that these …