Cuttlebone. Good idea or not?

[Tom]

What about a female with possible MBD and obvious shell damage from horrible husbandry and calcium deficiency?

Giving loads of calcium every day will not fix the problem any sooner than giving the correct amount of calcium, all else being equal. MBD takes a long time to manifest and it takes a long time to recover from it. The tortoises body can only assimilate calcium so fast. The body can only use a certain amount of calcium. Say a hypothetical tortoise can use a maximum of 10 "units of calcium daily. Whether there are 10 "units" of calcium in the daily diet or 100 "units", the tortoise can only use so much. On the days we load them up with calcium, they do not get enough of some of the other minerals and trace elements they need. This is why it all needs to be "balanced".

 

[leigti]

Possibly minerall would be more beneficial in this situation. I know some people here use it.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Giving loads of calcium every day will not fix the problem any sooner than giving the correct amount of calcium, all else being equal. MBD takes a long time to manifest and it takes a long time to recover from it. The tortoises body can only assimilate calcium so fast. The body can only use a certain amount of calcium. Say a hypothetical tortoise can use a maximum of 10 "units of calcium daily. Whether there are 10 "units" of calcium in the daily diet or 100 "units", the tortoise can only use so much. On the days we load them up with calcium, they do not get enough of some of the other minerals and trace elements they need. This is why it all needs to be "balanced".

I didn't know if maybe calcium supplement should given 2-3 times a week in such a situation. I've been doing a calcium soak 1-2 times a week. That's when I take warm water and mix it with a tablespoon of liquid calcium with vitamin D3 for her to soak in. She refuses to eat anything except night crawlers and with her being so unhealthy and sick (literally juuuuust getting over being septic) I can't refuse her pickiness. Once she is fully healed from the sepsis and whatever the heck is going on with her lung, I'll play hardball with the stubbornness on the food.
That's not saying I don't also offer other food. I offer it daily. She just won't touch it.
Anyway, just wanted to know your thoughts on a situation like this to see if they were different and better from mine.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Possibly minerall would be more beneficial in this situation. I know some people here use it.

?

 

[leigti]

?

Minerall is a vitamin supplement for reptiles.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Minerall is a vitamin supplement for reptiles.

Oh so it's a brand name, like Reptivite?

 

[Yvonne G]

"Miner-All" made by Sticky Tongue Farms.

 

[Angel Carrion]

"Miner-All" made by Sticky Tongue Farms.

Minerall is a vitamin supplement for reptiles.

I'll look into this. Thank you