Ca:P help?

[Lilithlee]

Hello,

I'm looking into getting a russian but first I doing my research. I'm building a binder up for of info, and my first line of bussines was food.
I got lot of good info from this site and well as other.

However when I came across Ca P Ratio I got confused. I understand the idea that high in fiber food are good and and high in protein are bad.
To sum it up, I don't understand the Ca P, or the 2:1 which is recommened. I tried google it and it still went over my head. Can anyone help me out?

 

[Annieski]

http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/nutrient.htm
I found this chart helpful with trying to get the calcium/phosphorus ratio to be optimal. Hope it helps.

 

[elvis]

Oh wow, Annie that's a great chart. Thank you

 

[ekm5015]

Yea that is a great chart. It is hard to understand the 2:1 ratio without knowing the nutritional content of the food. Basically you want the AT LEAST 2x's more calcium than phosphorus in the foods he eats. Otherwise the tort may not recieve enough.

 

[Madkins007]

To build healthy bone and organs, you need:
- calcium as the main structure
- some phosphorous, to keep the bone tough and flexible
- some vitamin D, to enable the cells to use the calcium
- heat and water
- exercise
- trace minerals and vitamins.

Too much calcium and you get brittle bones. Too much phosphorous, and you get soft bones. How much of one related to the other is the Ca: P Ratio.

20mg of calcium and 20mg of phosphorous is a 1:1 ratio.
20mg of calcium and only 10mg of phosphorous is a 2:1 ratio.
10mg of calcium and 20mg of phosphorous is a 1:2 ratio (Although, I like to write it so the phosphorous is always a 1, to make it easier to compare, so I would write it as 0.5:1 ratio.)

Depending who you read, tortoises should have a 1:1 to 5:1 ratio. I think about 1.5:1 to 2:1 is a safe zone to aim for.

Ca: P IS NOT the most important number in the universe, although we sometimes may make it seem like it is. There are a lot of foods with tiny amounts of calcium in them, but even less phosphorous, so the Ca: P looks GREAT on paper, but the tortoise is not getting a healthy amount of calcium out of it. Hibiscus leaves, for example, only have 18mg of calcium in 100 grams of leaves- a rather puny amount, but they have a great Ca: P of 4.5:1!

We usually suggest diets that AVERAGE about a 2:1 ratio or so over a week. You don't usually have to make a big deal about it, though, just balance very high and typical greens together.

 

[Lilithlee]

To build healthy bone and organs, you need:
- calcium as the main structure
- some phosphorous, to keep the bone tough and flexible
- some vitamin D, to enable the cells to use the calcium
- heat and water
- exercise
- trace minerals and vitamins.

Too much calcium and you get brittle bones. Too much phosphorous, and you get soft bones. How much of one related to the other is the Ca: P Ratio.

20mg of calcium and 20mg of phosphorous is a 1:1 ratio.
20mg of calcium and only 10mg of phosphorous is a 2:1 ratio.
10mg of calcium and 20mg of phosphorous is a 1:2 ratio (Although, I like to write it so the phosphorous is always a 1, to make it easier to compare, so I would write it as 0.5:1 ratio.)

Depending who you read, tortoises should have a 1:1 to 5:1 ratio. I think about 1.5:1 to 2:1 is a safe zone to aim for.

Ca: P IS NOT the most important number in the universe, although we sometimes may make it seem like it is. There are a lot of foods with tiny amounts of calcium in them, but even less phosphorous, so the Ca: P looks GREAT on paper, but the tortoise is not getting a healthy amount of calcium out of it. Hibiscus leaves, for example, only have 18mg of calcium in 100 grams of leaves- a rather puny amount, but they have a great Ca: P of 4.5:1!

We usually suggest diets that AVERAGE about a 2:1 ratio or so over a week. You don't usually have to make a big deal about it, though, just balance very high and typical greens together.

I get now, THANK YOU, so much!

Okay, and you also have to make sure the Ca. P is as good as the paper say it is but checking. Got Ya...