calcium powder

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Cassidy

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I bought calcium powder at petsmart and it says to give him a pinch but when I give it to him on his food he never eats it should i give it to him and if so how much, it doesnt say.:(
 

AnthonyC

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When he gets hungry enough he'll eat it. I use about a teaspoon and just sprinkle it over everything.
 

laramie

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Hi Cassidy,
here is what I do: I wet Wilbur's food (usually I give him romain lettuce when I give him his calcium) and then speinkle some calcium powder on the romaine. I then take the lettuce out and put it into a separate bowl and pour the calcium (which is a liquid now) over the lettuce. That is what works for me.
 

FADE2BLACK_1973

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I bet it is Rep-Cal. That is what I bought from PetSmart for all my retiles here while back. Now I never have a problem. I add about 1/2 teaspoon of Rep-Cal onto Spikes greens (Romaine, turnip and mustard greens, with chopped up Timothy grass hay) once aday and he loves it. If your tortoise is small then a pinch will work and kinda mix it around in the greens so it will not be just sitting on top. You could also add a cuttlebone in there with him so he gets his calcium intake. Now this is how I do things but every reptile is different.
 

Madkins007

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Remember that calcium powder is bitter (go ahead, taste a bit- it won't hurt you and can actually be good for you, especially for women!)

My torts did not like the flavor, so I added it to their sweet fruits (I have Red-foots, remember) to cover the taste. Eventually, everything was OK.

Tortoises generally choose high calcium foods over low calcium ones, even if the low calcium food tastes better or has other good nutrients, so there is probably not much to worry about with overdosing, but there are dosage guidelines you can find in the Library, linked below.
 

Redstrike

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I filled a cheap plastic salt shaker with calcium powder. This allows me to sneak it onto their food in very small amounts so they aren't discouraged from eating the "treated" food.
 

Missy

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I put it on the soaked Mazuri and mine eat it up :)
 

FADE2BLACK_1973

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Spike does not mind how much Calcium powder I add to his food. But I do know that alot of reptiles are picky about what is added to their food, I know this all too well. Dusted it on crickets, meal and super worms over the years with no problems. But for the reptile that I had that would eat greens and mixed fruit diets. I just mixed it in. If it was too much then they would let me know so I would just mix less in the next batch or take away part and add extra fresh back.
 

AnthonyC

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Hey great idea using the shaker, Chris. I may "borrow" that one!! ;):)

Redstrike said:
I filled a cheap plastic salt shaker with calcium powder. This allows me to sneak it onto their food in very small amounts so they aren't discouraged from eating the "treated" food.
 

CtTortoiseMom

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Redstrike said:
I filled a cheap plastic salt shaker with calcium powder. This allows me to sneak it onto their food in very small amounts so they aren't discouraged from eating the "treated" food.

Great idea! I hate how much comes out at once.

Also, if a large part that was dusted was left uneaten a couple squirts with the water bottle seems to help.
 

Redstrike

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CtTortoiseMom said:
Redstrike said:
I filled a cheap plastic salt shaker with calcium powder. This allows me to sneak it onto their food in very small amounts so they aren't discouraged from eating the "treated" food.

Great idea! I hate how much comes out at once.

Also, if a large part that was dusted was left uneaten a couple squirts with the water bottle seems to help.

I "commandeered" the idea from Mike Pingleton's RF book...credit goes to Mike!
 
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