Wild calcium sources.

Anyfoot

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Something I've often wondered and it's just a question of curiosity.

We give our captive torts calcium in forms of cuttlebone, eggshell and/or calcium powder. Obviously there is calcium in foods too.
If a tort eats some cuttlebone or someone sprinkles some powder 2 or 3 times a week, we consider this normal. I've watched some of mine devour cuttlebone, which seems a lot of calcium to me.
What sources in the wild gives them as much calcium as we give them in captivity?
 

Anyfoot

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Yeah dandelions, nettles, sow thistle, grape leaves for example all have calcium, from what I've read nettles have a high quantity of calcium in them.
 

stevenf625

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My tort likes chewing on locally occuring Coquina rocks which is a type of limestone where you can see bits of seashell in it - probably what he'd do if he was back in the old country.
 

RosemaryDW

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Mine also eats decomposed seabed, conveniently located in my yard. :) Didn’t go back to cuttlebone, at least not yet.
 

TammyJ

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My grandmother was addicted to eating chalk.
Any comments? Is chalk pure calcium?
 

Anyfoot

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I think natural chalk is a form of calcium. One of my friends gives hers limestone.
I've caught mine scraping moss off rocks. Is there calicium in moss that grows on rocks?
 

Millerlite

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Depends on the tortoise in the wild. I would guess the plants they eat have lots of calcium. And like above mentioned snails and other dead animals they come by. Interesting thinking tho

Kyle
 

WithLisa

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Yeah dandelions, nettles, sow thistle, grape leaves for example all have calcium, from what I've read nettles have a high quantity of calcium in them.
Depends on the soil, plants growing on calcium rich soil also have more calcium (that's why I use eggshells to fertilize the enclosure). As far as I know testudo species are mostly found in areas with lots of limestone, I don't know about other species.

My grandmother was addicted to eating chalk.
Any comments? Is chalk pure calcium?
What kind of chalk? Natural rock chalk is calcium carbonate (about 40% calcium), same as egg shells but more porous, so probably easier to digest for tortoises. Blackboard chalk can also consist of gypsum (about 30% calcium) or something else entirely.
Anyway, quite a strange habit. :D
 

Anyfoot

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@WithLisa
When I used to grow vegetables I always failed when it came to sprouts, until one yr I added calcium to the soil, that year sprouts were good.
If a plant requires a high calcium soil to grow, would it still grow if the soil was calcium deficient?
When I feed my torts dandelions am I guaranteed that there is a sufficient amount of calcium in the dandelion for it to grow?
 
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