Hi everyone,

Have just got a hermann tortoise and heard cuttlefish was good for his calcium...so i popped one in! Bruce loves it..but perhaps a bit to much, so far he has been munching it for two hours! Does anyone know wether he can have TOO much calcium? Should i take it away from him and will it do any damage to his beak if i don't?

Thanks for you help

xxx

Now this is a different question. Usually people complain that their torts aren't touching the cuttlebone...lol. The standard response back to them, is when the animal needs the calcium, they will then eat the bone. So we could say almost the same for you, he must need it and will know when to stop.

However (and with tort keeping it seems there is always a however or a but just hanging around to be added...lol), anything can be too much, even good things and it is worrying you. For your own peace of mind, you could remove it for a couple of days then place it back in...that is if he is still chomping away at it. He has some calcium in his system now, so a few days without more won't make a difference, but it buys you some time to get to know him better and for him to settle down.

White items do attract them and this could also be a small factor.

His previous diet may have been very poor and he is wanting to make up for it. Do you know the people who had him and what his diet was before? Is he eating his other food or only wanting the bone? How much of the bone actually got eaten? I can't remember if you ever said how old he was.

Is he still going for it today?

This post was last modified: 11-04-2007 07:08 AM by Jacqui.

Thanks for your reply, he has stopped a bit now but has been back to it a few times! He has the white powder from the cuttlefish all over his face! lol! Iv'e put some purple kale, dandelion leaves and dandelion heads on his table too...but he hasn't touched them. I don't know the person i bought them off-but she said she feeds them fruit and vegtables, but i heard this isn't good for tortoises so maybe he isn't used to such a boring diet! I only got him at 12pm today and he's my first tortoise so maybe i'm a bit over protective-am sure he'll start eating normally soon (hope so anyway!) xxx

Hey, the cuttlebone is good for the tortoises beak and claws, it will keep them trimmed, however i wouldnt put a full cuttle bone in if "Bruce" likes it too much, if i was you, id cut the cuttle bone into 4 parts, and place 1 part in and keep the other 3 somewhere safe, when the 1 part is gone, you leave it for a good few days and put another one in and so on.
It is not harmful, it wouldnt harm bruce in away of leaving it in there full on for him to eat.

Also, i think if bruce was raised on fruit and vegetables, that could be why hes eating the cuttlebone so much, he doesnt want weeds nor flowers, so he goes for the cuttlebone which has a rich calcium taste like veggies and fruit does.
Veggies and fruit are bad for hermanns, greeks, marginates and many mroe tortoises. Only few tortoises can eat veggies and fruit.

Your best bet is to get some supplements (nutrobal, TNT, T-REX and cuttlebone), and sprinkle the powder over the tortoises weeds and flowers, and then try feeding them... the tortoise should eventually eat.
but do keep away from veggies...if your tortoise is hermanns their diet should only be weeds, flowers & plants. you should only feed veggies when you cant find weeds (which shouldnt be often you cant find them- they are every where).

do you have any idea of how old your tortoise is?

Yes, he's two-still quite little. I have plenty of weeds in my garden for him! :-)
Will try getting some supplements for him tomorrow. How much food and water do tortoises of that age usually get through in a day? (I'm aware this is like asking how long is a peice of string!) He hasn't eaten anything but the cuttlefish and has just been plodding about all day, not touched any food or water...now he's gone for a nap i think! lol xxx

Feed him twice a day, about as much as he will eat in 20 mins. Keep a shallow water bowl that he can get in and out of in there at all times with fresh water. Soak him in mildly warm water for 15-20 mins every other day. He will drink from that soaking and should go to the bathroom in the water as well. You can order a great supplement called TNT from http://www.carolinapetsuply.com. You can also order salad hay from there thats nice to mix in with his weeds and flowers.

Just make sure you do some checking to make sure the weeds/grasses/flowers that you feed are non-toxic to tortoises.

How do you have him setup? What are you using for substrate? Do you have a heat/basking light area as well as a UVB light for him?

Welcome to your new addiction...........err I mean addition!

This post was last modified: 11-04-2007 09:10 AM by JustAnja.

Thanks justanja, Think i will give him a soak in a min see if that will help him out! Iv'e heard that tortoise's have quite unique characteristics and can recognise owners just like other domestic animals so maybe he's just getting used to his new enviroment! xxx

Do you have the phone number or email addy of the person you got him from? If so, find out what he has been eating...exactly like is the fruit apples or is it strawberries, ect.., Take the bone away for a few days. The dandies are great food sources and free, but like Anja I think mentioned make sure they also haven't had any chemicals applied to them or in their area.

What you can do with a tort that's being a picky eater due to trying to change him from a not so good diet to a much better one is this: Cut up the "good" food and then really finely cut up some of the stuff he loves (which is normally the "bad" stuff...lol) and take this really really fine stuff and mix it over the better food items. Kinda light a light coating of what he does like. Gradually (and how slow that is will depend on Bruce and how well he changes over) eat feeding try adding more of the good things and less of the bad stuff.

Warm soaks are nice because you then are sure they are getting hydrated, plus often they will use that time to expel their wastes, and third it can help a tort that is not wanting to eat to get more into an eating attitude. It's also nice because it gives you a time to give a mini physical. Time check out how he is feeling weight wise, are his eyes clear, ect..,

I also second using the TNT. Much better then anything you can get from the pet stores. Nice being able to just go online, order it and a couple of days later having it. Joe and Karen who own Carolina Supply are tort lovers, caretakers, and breeders themselves...along with being caring, friendly, helpful people.

Ok, have given him a bath now...he moved backwards for a bit then settled...went to the toilet and had a drink...now he has gone and buried himself in the woodchips on his tortoise table! Bruce seemed quite happy tho!

Can't really contact the woman as she has moved away but will try mixing good food with a tiny bit of the bad and see how he gets on. I will definatley take a lookat this TNT too-sounds like good stuff!

Am loving having a tortoise-really interesting and he's really cute too, but soooo much to think about and can't help but think of the little blighter as fragile! xxx

Larrah if the tortoise is eating that much cuttlebone then leave it for now. The animal is obviously getting nutrients because it has lacked them for some time now. He isn't doing anything to hurt himself, he's just getting what he needs. These animals are smart and are due a certain amount of credit for knowing how to help themselves. I would leave it in until it's gone and then take it from there. If you can't get a hold of the previous keeper then you have to assume the tortoise wasn't fed entirely properly. Again, leave it alone, there's nothing wrong with it eating the cuttlebone.