# does calcium powder expire?



## CourtneyAndCarl

There is an expiration date on my calcium powder, I wasn't even aware that it could expire. However, there's also an expiration date on Kleenex boxes, so I was just wondering if it was one of those things where it's not actually complete trash after it expires.


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## Tom

Calcium carbonate does not "expire". Go ahead and use it up, even if it takes 10 years.


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## Redstrike

Tom said:


> Calcium carbonate does not "expire". Go ahead and use it up, even if it takes 10 years.



Unequivocally seconded!


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## Madkins007

Calcium carbonate is a mineral, and minerals, like salt, rarely 'go bad'. 

As for the tissues- I just checked a box nearby and saw nothing like that, although I can see where lotion-infused tissues might dry up fairly quickly.

Just FYI- did you know that the 'expiration dates' on MOST consumer products don't really mean much, and are often just a bit of sales psychology?


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## Tom

Hey Mark, If a calcium supplement contains D3, does the D3 deteriorate and lose effectiveness over time? This is not an issue in sunny Southern CA, but it might be in Nebraska or someplace like that.


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## CourtneyAndCarl

Hey, now, I also live in Nebraska so you are outnumbered by us Nebraskans here


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## tyguy35

would mineral supplement expire I have one that expired a year ago im afraid to use it. Im guessing no because its minerals.


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## CourtneyAndCarl

That's the problem I'm facing now. I have a jar of calcium powder without D3 that I only use to dust my leo's crickets, but it expired in April. I went out to buy a new one but could only find some with D3 added, so I had to buy that. Now I guess I will just switch out which one I use occasionally.

I also just realized that calling a leopard gecko a "leo" on this forum might be a little misleading


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## Tom

Yeah most people on THIS forum don't feed their "Leo's" crickets. 

I don't think a mineral supplement will degrade any more than a calcium supplement. Now vitamins would be a different story...


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## reticguy76

Isnt commercial mineral supplements processed ?? processed food items usually have some sort of expiration date or at least best if used by date


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## chicagojohn

I agree with all of the above comments in that the calcium content will remain the same.
If it has vitamin D3 in it, as Tom said, that will degrade over time. This degradation is related to storage temperature; as a rule of thumb, degradation rate doubles every 10Â°C.
We keep ours in a refrigerator at just above 0Â°C where it will last roughly four times longer than at ambient temperature -- that is, the D3 part.

I think it's important to have D3 introduced along with the calcium since unless your tort spends all of its time outside all of the time, they won't get the same level of D3 indoors even with various UVB lights, as they do in sunlight. The other thing to mention about calcium carbonate, is that it can come from a variety of sources. Ground oyster shell provides a calcium carbonate that is non-crystalline and can be ground to a very fine particle distribution which increases its surface area and promotes absorption, assuming D3 is also present.

Also, phosphorus in levels that are not properly balanced with calcium can adversely affect absorption. Fruits like bell peppers and tomatoes have an adverse calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in comparison with most leafy greens like dandelion, plantain, wild grape leaves, violet leaves, and so on. Some leafy greens, such as spinach, contain elevated levels of oxalic acid which can act to remove calcium by converting it to calcium oxalate. So is a good thing to screen vegetation for the highest calcium-to-phosphorus, lowest levels of oxalic acid, and absence of toxins.


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## Madkins007

Other than a few drugs and a scattering of other products, true expiration dates (as in established by research and indicating when something looses it beneficial values) are few and far between. In fact, many consumer group studies have shown that lots and lots of expiration dates are used to convince consumers that the items HAVE TO be used by a certain date but are not based on anything actually happening to the product.

This gives the makers two benefits- 1. people use the stuff up faster or just plain toss it out and buy more when the date gets close, and 2. it tricks the customer into thinking this is more natural or 'fresher' than it really is.

"Best if used by" dates are even trickier most of the time. Again, it tends to make us think the stuff is fresh somehow, and urges us to use it all up faster- which means buying more of it.

While there is a possibility that something like the filler or some preservative in pure calcium carbonate MAY go bad eventually, it is more likely to just taste a bit more stale' 

As for the D3- I would LOVE to see a study about how much available D3 there is in powdered calcium after a typical amount of time it spends on the store shelf. D3 is not nearly as effective in powdered form anyway (liquid is a LOT better), and I would bet pretty much anything you want to offer that it has lost at least half its punch after sitting on the shelf, unopened, for about 6-12 months.

(As for studies on lights vs. dietary D3 benefits- the results are all over the place. There are a lot of variables and it makes it hard to compare apples to apples.)


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## CourtneyAndCarl

Hmm, I have a flukers liquid vitamin supplement (smells like orange juice, that always makes me wonder) that I got which seems to keep my sickly leopard gecko rearing. It says it's for use with all reptiles but I haven't used it for my tort. Is this something that I should be putting on his food every once in a while as well as the calcium powder?


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## dmmj

Expiation dates on calcium powder, sounds like something california would come up with.


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## expo tort

dmmj said:


> Expiation dates on calcium powder, sounds like something california would come up with.



I resent that.


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