cork bark

[John]

hey everyone hope all is well quick question i had a piece of large cork bark in my table ive noticed my loepards chewing at it i have read that in the wild they will eat bsrk but im unsure if cork is ok anyone know thanks john

 

[Neal]

I'm not familiar with cork bark, however the consenses of the forum seems to be that cypress mulch is the best option for bark type substrate, you might consider switching to that if you are unsure its safe to eat.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I personally think that if it's not food they shouldn't eat it...

 

[John]

sorry nobody got the question im not using cork bark as a substrate i had a large piece as a hiding place its been written several times that leopards in the wild will eat and or chew tree bark possibly too maintian there beaks im not sure if cork bark is ok i mean ive read that tomato plants make great cover for leopards but i also read the leaves were poisonous too leopards thanks john

 

[Yvonne G]

Lots of folks use floating cork bark as docking areas for water turtles. I think if it were harmful, that wouldn't be a practice. However, I really can't say for sure as I have no first hand knowledge of this.

I don't like my tortoise to eat things that are not actual food. If I have a tortoise that is eating his substrate or the bark off his house, I change it out just to be safe.

 

[dmmj]

I guess I would want to know is, if they tried it only once or is a repeat performance. I personally would not any of mine eating wood or bark simply because I would be afraid of them getting splinters in their lips or in their gut and causing problems. I would not want an expensive vet bill for something that is probably 100% preventable.

 

[egyptiandan]

It shouldn't be a problem to eat some of the cork bark. There are no splinters in cork bark as it's the bark of the cork oak tree. This is where we get all the cork for bottles.
I might though think that they were doing it looking for some calcium. You might want to add a dish of calcium or a piece of cuttlebone to the enclosure.

Danny

 

[stells]

I use cork bark with my tortoises... i have noticed some picking at it on occassions... and they have come to no harm by doing so... cork doesn't splinter... its soft so no risks of splinters... i have been using it for about 3 years... with no problems at all...

Usually when i have seen them picking it has been when i have gotten round to feeding them abit later on in the day... and they are looking for food... mine don't do it all of the time... the last time was quite a while ago now...

 

[John]

thank you dan and kelly for the straight forward answers too a simple question i do have a cuttlebone in there enclosure and i give them calcium almost daily thanks again john