what is the best type of calcium suppiment?
calcium
- Thread starter krissy2288
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Maggie Cummings
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Cuttle bone is the best IMHO, but you could also use powdered calcium and I don't have a jar to read the label. So if you want you could sprinkle powdered calcium over the food but I notice when I do that my small tortoises generally eat the stuff that does not have calcium on it. I think it must taste bad or funny. I use cuttle bone it's cheap and easy...like some men I know...lol
Although I am a new tortoise parent, here is a picture of what was recommended to me at the local pet store. I having been sprinkling on Smiley's food every couple of days. It also has Vitamin D3 since I am in the process of buying my UVB bulb.
Evan
Evan
do you think grinding cuttle bone over her food is good?, because i think im gonna do that.
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Maggie Cummings
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Why aren't you just leaving the cuttlebone in the pen? Having them grind away at the cuttlebone also helps to keep the beak trimmed...and they will generally use it when their instinct tells them they need calcium...IMO
To answer your question, cuttlebone is the best source of calcium...
To answer your question, cuttlebone is the best source of calcium...
maggie3fan said:
Does that mean with a cuttlebone (provided the tort is nibbling on it) you do not need calcium dust? I'm keeping my tort primarily on grass. I found it with some pyramiding that had already begun. I don't want to feed the sulcata anything it doesn't need, namely treats.
ok i'll try just putting it in there but i was thinking of grinding it over her food cuz it would probably get really dirty if i just put it in there.
krissy2288 said:
They seem to like it after it sits there for a while and gets dirty. Mine don't touch it until its been there at least a month.
Yvonne
ok cool
aktech23 said:
Pyramiding is usually caused mostly by poor hydration, even in grassland species. This has been demonstrated in a couple different studies. Does your tortoise have access to any humid microclimates and fresh water?
While there is nothing wrong with food grade cuttlebone (non-food grade contains contaminants and heavy metals), it is just calcium carbonate.
Any calcium carbonate is calcium carbonate- whether it is pet calcium supplements, coral sand, human calcium supplements, etc. You can get a jar of pure calcium carbonate powder at a health food store for a lot cheaper per ounce than most other sources.
You can predict how calcium is absorbed by grain size- the smaller grains are absorbed better than larger grains. A simple test is adding some to vinegar- the faster and more completely the calcium is dissolved the better it is absorbed by the body.
By that measure, powdered calcium is better than chunky calcium.
No matter which kind you use, remember that too much calcium is about as bad as too little. Usually a pinch every week per tortoise is about all you need if you have a good diet.
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Maggie Cummings
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Pyramiding is caused from several things, hydration not being one of them. Pyramiding is caused from improper or not a correct diet, lack of humidity, lack of exercise and lack of enough or incorreect UVB lighting. The actual pyramids are made from protein and calcium and they look like bones with holes in them. If I have the time today I will hunt up the pictures I have from dead tortoises that show exactly what the pyramids look like. While lack of correct humidity is one of the causes of pyramiding it does not cause pyramiding by itself. I mean no disrespect when I say that this is the first time I am hearing of incorrect hydration causing pyramiding, and
I am an experienced keeper Geochelone sulcata and Gopherus agassizii are my specialties so to speak. My family has been involved in turtle and tortoise rescue for 35 years or so...
I am an experienced keeper Geochelone sulcata and Gopherus agassizii are my specialties so to speak. My family has been involved in turtle and tortoise rescue for 35 years or so...
Well, I'm always open to learning new things, but I, too, have never heard that poor hydration causes pyramiding. I really doubt its true, because in the desert tortoises may go for weeks or even months between drinks. Talk about poor hydration!! If you have any links to research showing this to be true, I'd love to read it.
Yvonne
Yvonne
Madkins007 said:
maggie3fan said:
alot of people are saying that small sulcatas need some humidity when they are small and it helps with pyramiding.
mine isn't too bad, i found the sulcata walking in the street, no one claimed it after we contacted all of the proper sources.
it's 7 1/2" SCL when we found it last June. the damage was done already. Now its getting 95+% of its diet from grass growing in my yard.
I just want to be sure it grows out of them as much as possible!
it's an outdoor animal. I have a heated enclosure and daytime temps are usually in the 70's all winter.
I gets its water from our sprinkling system. he knows when the puddles will be there and never drinks from its dish
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Maggie Cummings
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aktech23 said:
But there's a difference between humidity and hydration. To me, hydration is drinking. Yes, small Sulcata needs humidity to help prevent pyramiding. When I have a small Sulcata I generally soak them every other day. But I also keep their substrate moist and that creates ambient humidity...Your Sulcata will never lose the points it already has, but with correct growth they will lessen so they are almost not noticeable...
OK gang, here are the definitions from Wikipedia (so that there is no misunderstandings).
Hydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. "To hydrate is to fill or add water."
Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity.
Humidity indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. High humidity makes people feel hotter outside in the summer because it reduces the effectiveness of sweating to cool the body.
Hydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. "To hydrate is to fill or add water."
Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity.
Humidity indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog. High humidity makes people feel hotter outside in the summer because it reduces the effectiveness of sweating to cool the body.
i have heard about this experiment they are doing (i forget were) but they are having some torts live in a plastic like tortoise table in an 1/2 inch of water and are fed mostly protien and they have know signs of pyramiding so i do believe in the water theory...
Krissy I wish I knew were you heard or read this. I can not imagine a tortoise living in 1/2 inch of water without getting shell rot or other fungus. And when you say they were fed mostly protien what type of protien are we talking about plant or animal? What type of tortoises?
aktech23 even adult Sullys in the wild set themselves up in a humid hide during hot summers. By digging burrows and urinating in them. Although yours are probably not living in a similar enviornment to Africa, IMHO Humidity is a factor in any torts life no matter the age or type. Just my opinion.
aktech23 even adult Sullys in the wild set themselves up in a humid hide during hot summers. By digging burrows and urinating in them. Although yours are probably not living in a similar enviornment to Africa, IMHO Humidity is a factor in any torts life no matter the age or type. Just my opinion.
im pretty sure they were red foots and it was an experiment from some scientists, so it just siad they fed them crude protien... they did it for about 2 years. and i guess it worked.. at the bottom of the arctical it said don't try this at home, its so cruel how people can test on animals like that.
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