# What is the best calcium powder?



## JaySparks (Jul 13, 2017)

I have a 11 month old hermman's. so far I've been giving him nutrobal 2 times a week. I also have calci dust available but I was told that it doesn't have a good ratio for tortoise and I was advice to use nutrobal. My tortoise doesn't seem to be a fan of it and will avoid food that contains the calcium dust he will eat it eventually but I think he is turned off by the taste or smell. How much calcium should I dust in his food? I usually sprinkle 2 times. 

In his enclosure I have an MVB I believe is 70 watt , and I also have an arcadia UVB t5 tube that I usually leave on for about 4 hours.

`nutrobal
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Reptiles...=UTF8&qid=1499996358&sr=8-1&keywords=nutrobal

Calci dust
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vetark-Cal...TF8&qid=1499996399&sr=8-4&keywords=calci+dust


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## Markw84 (Jul 13, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> I have a 11 month old hermman's. so far I've been giving him nutrobal 2 times a week. I also have calci dust available but I was told that it doesn't have a good ratio for tortoise and I was advice to use nutrobal. My tortoise doesn't seem to be a fan of it and will avoid food that contains the calcium dust he will eat it eventually but I think he is turned off by the taste or smell. How much calcium should I dust in his food? I usually sprinkle 2 times.
> 
> In his enclosure I have an MVB I believe is 70 watt , and I also have an arcadia UVB t5 tube that I usually leave on for about 4 hours.
> 
> ...


The calci dust does not contain Vitamin D3 or other minerals. The Nutrobal does. So that would be the choice if you are trying to give a complete calcium + D3 and mineral supplement. Just be sure not to overdose as Vitamin D can be overdosed in dietary form. Probably wouldn't eat it if you had that much powder on the food! I think those who use things like that do so only once a week.

I never have added any powders to my tortoises' food. I rely on good Calcium / Phosphorus ratios in dietary choices and give Mazuri at least a few times a week, which has those things in it. A cuttlebone is always present in the enclosure even though the tortoise may go a month or more and ignore it. Your UVB light will allow for all the D3 your tortoise needs and it cannot be overdosed by metabolic processes. The body self-regulates that.


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## JaySparks (Jul 13, 2017)

Markw84 said:


> The calci dust does not contain Vitamin D3 or other minerals. The Nutrobal does. So that would be the choice if you are trying to give a complete calcium + D3 and mineral supplement. Just be sure not to overdose as Vitamin D can be overdosed in dietary form. Probably wouldn't eat it if you had that much powder on the food! I think those who use things like that do so only once a week.
> 
> I never have added any powders to my tortoises' food. I rely on good Calcium / Phosphorus ratios in dietary choices and give Mazuri at least a few times a week, which has those things in it. A cuttlebone is always present in the enclosure even though the tortoise may go a month or more and ignore it. Your UVB light will allow for all the D3 your tortoise needs and it cannot be overdosed by metabolic processes. The body self-regulates that.



I feed my baby tortoise mazuri too. I give him 3 pellets per serving he loves that stuff and I usually feed him mazuri 2 times a week. A cuttle fish bone is always present but it has now gone kinda brown due to the soil. My tortoise diet is pretty poor TBH I am growing him weeds all the staples you would want to give them but they are taking a while to grow. I feed my tortoise the following food Lamb lettuce,romained lettuce, cucumber, endive,salad cress, wild rocket, dried flowers mix and mazuri. I feed lamb lettuce everyday and I alternate each of these foods everyday. I know this is not the best diet but it's only till the weeds grow. Any suggestions of what to feed that I can get from the supermarket?

This is the flower mix I use usually give it to him whenever I feed mazuri.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shelled-Wa...00606&sr=8-4&keywords=shelled+warriors+flower


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jul 13, 2017)




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## JaySparks (Jul 13, 2017)

Grandpa Turtle 144 said:


> View attachment 212595


Is there a particular type of egg shell I should use? Would it need to be unbleached and organic? Would i need to wash the egg white residue or just let it dry. This is a good idea btw.


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jul 13, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> Is there a particular type of egg shell I should use? Would it need to be unbleached and organic? Would i need to wash the egg white residue or just let it dry. This is a good idea btw.


I just let them dry out for 24-48 hours ! Some people wash them or boil them . But they have to pass for people to eat ( hard boiled eggs )and in wild the empty egg shell just falls to the ground !


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## Redfool (Jul 14, 2017)

You can also just go to a health food store and get calcium carbonate. Find out their favorite food and sprinkle once a week. My redfoots are outdoor pets so I don't worry about D3


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 14, 2017)

I also don't dust food.
But back when I DID, I found that the supplements made by REPASHY were excepted by my tortoises in the food.
(Nothing else that I found was.)


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## Redfool (Jul 14, 2017)

I only dust three or four months before egg laying season


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 14, 2017)

Redfool said:


> I only dust three or four months before egg laying season


Yours have a season?
I wish mine did. It's eggs 24/7
I need to rehome my males.


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## Redfool (Jul 14, 2017)

Yes, my redfoots breed in Floridas rainy spring and summer, a lot of chicken clucking from my male during this time. Egg laying is usually Sept through Jan.


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## RosemaryDW (Jul 14, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> My tortoise diet is pretty poor TBH I am growing him weeds all the staples you would want to give them but they are taking a while to grow. I feed my tortoise the following food Lamb lettuce,romained lettuce, cucumber, endive,salad cress, wild rocket, dried flowers mix and mazuri. I feed lamb lettuce everyday and I alternate each of these foods everyday. I know this is not the best diet but it's only till the weeds grow. Any suggestions of what to feed that I can get from the supermarket?



Sounds like you'r doing a good job with what is available to you.

You might increase the amount of chicories, like the endive. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, and escarole; you might even find something labeled as dandelions.

The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok or any kind of choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well.

What kinds of ethnic markets are near you, they tend to have some good items. Indian, Persian, Asian? Let me know and I can suggest what to look for. If you have a hispanic market, (not sure about London), they will probably sell cactus. It will be labeled as "nopales."

Wherever you are, you should be able to manage a pot of spineless opuntia cactus. (I see it on Amazon.uk but it's pricey.) Stick it in a pot and ignore it for a few months. It's great food and you won't need much.


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## Markw84 (Jul 14, 2017)

RosemaryDW said:


> If you have a hispanic market, (not sure about London), they will probably sell cactus. It will be labeled as "nopales."
> 
> Wherever you are, you should be able to manage a pot of spineless opuntia cactus. (I see it on Amazon.uk but it's pricey.) Stick it in a pot and ignore it for a few months. It's great food and you won't need much.



I rely on grape leaves and opuntia cactus as a principle supply of calcium. It is sooo rich in calcium and tortoises love it. For very small tortoises, I grate a bit and put it on top of their food. Super high in calcium and almost 10:1 ca to phos ratio. So it balances out all the other foods and ensure plenty of Ca. Grape leaves are even higher in Ca content and still a 4:1 ca to phos ratio. If you can grow or buy them - a great food to get the overall calcium levels up in a meal.

Dandelion is also great if it's true dandelion. about as much Ca per pound as opuntia but a more "normal good" ca to phos rate of 3:1.
Chickory has about 1/2 the calcium of dandelion about the same ratio ca to phos.
Endive has about 1/2 the calcium of chickory and the same ration of ca to phos.

I find all my tortoises really like all of the above items, so they are all eaten when served!

So using the opuntia, grape leaves, or dandelion as "toppings" is a great way to balance most any meal of "normal" greens you are finding.


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## JaySparks (Jul 14, 2017)

Markw84 said:


> I rely on grape leaves and opuntia cactus as a principle supply of calcium. It is sooo rich in calcium and tortoises love it. For very small tortoises, I grate a bit and put it on top of their food. Super high in calcium and almost 10:1 ca to phos ratio. So it balances out all the other foods and ensure plenty of Ca. Grape leaves are even higher in Ca content and still a 4:1 ca to phos ratio. If you can grow or buy them - a great food to get the overall calcium levels up in a meal.
> 
> Dandelion is also great if it's true dandelion. about as much Ca per pound as opuntia but a more "normal good" ca to phos rate of 3:1.
> Chickory has about 1/2 the calcium of dandelion about the same ratio ca to phos.
> ...


My little guy loves endive and cucumber he just can't resist. I believe the flower mix I have contains dandelion flowers. IDK if this is the type of dandelion that is good for tortoises https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shelled-Wa...74&sr=8-1&keywords=dandelion+shelled+warriors.


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## JaySparks (Jul 14, 2017)

RosemaryDW said:


> Sounds like you'r doing a good job with what is available to you.
> 
> You might increase the amount of chicories, like the endive. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, and escarole; you might even find something labeled as dandelions.
> 
> ...


is this the cactus you're talking about?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Opuntia-mi...qid=1500053171&sr=8-1&keywords=opuntia+cactus 
Would I need to trim the spikes of the cactus? and would it still grow here in the uk because the weather is terrible lol. I have a market 6 minutes away from me its mainly caribbean but there is an asian supermarket too. I can always go to chinatown in soho they sell all types of veg. If could put some pictures up of what to look for I would appreciate it. I noticed that there different names for stuff here in the UK.


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jul 14, 2017)

This is it .


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jul 14, 2017)

Grow it as a house plant !


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 14, 2017)

Redfool said:


> Yes, my redfoots breed in Floridas rainy spring and summer, a lot of chicken clucking from my male during this time. Egg laying is usually Sept through Jan.


Any day that my back feels up to it, I can go outside and dig up eggs.
There is no stop to the mating. No stop to the egg laying.
It's really just too much.
I'm in S.E. Florida


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## Kapidolo Farms (Jul 14, 2017)

Redfool said:


> You can also just go to a health food store and get calcium carbonate. Find out their favorite food and sprinkle once a week. My redfoots are outdoor pets so I don't worry about D3



This might be the better idea in that it may well be less expensive and Calcium Carbonate is the most absorb-able form of calcium. People health food stores have it with and without D3 as well.


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## RosemaryDW (Jul 14, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> is this the cactus you're talking about?
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Opuntia-mi...qid=1500053171&sr=8-1&keywords=opuntia+cactus
> Would I need to trim the spikes of the cactus? and would it still grow here in the uk because the weather is terrible lol.



No, it was this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/CactusPlaz...F8&qid=1500048561&sr=8-5&keywords=opuntia+pad

The second one is "spineless" but does have some prickly bits on it. Either would be fine. Some owners let their tortoises eat it as is (they have tough jaws), others scrub or burn the pricklies off.

As Grandpa Turtle says, it can be grown indoors. It will take a while to get going but once it does, you'll be set.



JaySparks said:


> I have a market 6 minutes away from me its mainly caribbean but there is an asian supermarket too. I can always go to chinatown in soho they sell all types of veg. If could put some pictures up of what to look for I would appreciate it. I noticed that there different names for stuff here in the UK.



If you have the time, look through this thread: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-tortoise-chef.153728/.

I'm afraid you'll have to go through the entire thing to find them but I've got quite a few posts in there about different foods that can be found at Asian and other markets, with plenty of pictures. Because they are Asian, the English translations should be similar in both our countries. About the only plant I can think of that is called by something else is cilantro (coriander).

No clue what they sell in Caribbean markets; I'll have to find out!


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## RosemaryDW (Jul 14, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> IDK if this is the type of dandelion that is good for tortoises https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shelled-Wa...74&sr=8-1&keywords=dandelion+shelled+warriors.



Yes.

Dandelions grow pretty low to the ground so you'll need a bit of space to grow more than a few at a time. But that may be all you need for a small tortoise.


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