Eats everything??

[Tony the tank]

Well brougt the girl home from the vet..and though it was a little cloudy it was 79*F.. So decided to let everyone out..they all kept there distance from one another.. No issues

She started to chow down on the grass and weeds..then wandered over to the stones around the pools edge(it's fenced)and started to try to eat them...then like a good sulcat found a pile of dog poop I and the misses must have missed and got a few bites in before I noticed...so then she moved on and started to eat dirt..
..is this normal.. Or is she lacking something in her diet?? Or could it be that the PO never fed her and that's what she did to fill herself and now it's just habit?

Thoughts opinions?

 

[Yvonne G]

My mother-in-law (way back in the olden days when my kids were very young) used to say that they ate dirt and other non-edible stuff because they were lacking something in their systems. So, years and years and years later, I'm applying that to my tortoise-keeping. I bought Sticky Tongue Farms Miner-all and whenever I have one that tries to eat substrate, I sprinkle the Miner-all over their food for a few days. It usually makes them stop eating the substrate.

 

[ewam]

I don't know if tortoises do that but dogs eat dirt when they don't have enough vitamins in there diet. Maybe it's the same for torts, not sure.

 

[Tony the tank]

Would like to order the Miner all.. But all the Internet places I found that sell it are in Cali... Hate to pay more for shipping than he product and still have to wait 7-10 days for it to arrive..

Anyone know of a local place in the northeast that sells Miner all?[/b]

 

[ewam]

What is miner all?

 

[Tony the tank]

Miner all is a type of Vitamin..(but not really Vitamin).. That's comprised of minerals..Just minerals.. zinc,iron,magnesium and other trace minerals pretty extensive list..It's been around for a while..use to be only sold by Sticky tongue a reptile breeder/ store.. Now it's sold by a few distributors..

 

[ewam]

Ok I will look for that around here. You should search Miner all then a coma then where you live.

 

[wrmitchell22]

I am told Sulcatas taste everything, and that has been true for Boulder thus far. He usually only tries unedible things once and then leaves them a lone. One time I found him chewing violently on a piece of concrete, lol!

 

[Tony the tank]

Wrmitchel..you probably missed my other post..today at the Vet..She pooped out quite a few rocks..Not small either..One was the size of a peach pit..

 

[Yvonne G]

I buy mine at Petsmart.

 

[Tony the tank]

Went to petsmart and petco the other day..they had repcal calcium and herpavite..No miner all and no Nekton rep..found a place in fla has it $6 bucks for the miner all and $7 for shipping..

Someone should really open a pet supply shop around here that caters to the reptile enthusiasts..

 

[Yvonne G]

We have a member in New Jersey, username "john", who has a reptile supply business. Also, on the east coast is "coastal". I don't think the shipping would be as bad buying from one of them.

John = http://www.mauitortoise.com

coastal = http://coastalsilkworms.com/store

But man...you're talking $13! What's $13 against your tortoise becoming impacted from eating dirt?

 

[Tony the tank]

Yvonne..it's not about the money..Its I hate the fact that I have to pay more for shipping than the product... Might have to order two..just so I can feel good about it..

 

[fbsmith3]

In my opinion, when any animal eats dirt, they’re searching for minerals that are lacking.

 

[Tom]

In the meantime regular calcium powder will work too. Before I got the Miner-all, I used plain calcium powder (Rep-cal) and that stopped the rock eating for me. Now I've got the Miner-all and that seems to be working too. You can also pick up some cuttle bone from the bird section of any pet store.

 

[Tony the tank]

Well ordered the miner all..2 bottles and some lg cuttlebones...(Thanks for the Idea Tom..) [/i]

 

[Yvonne G]

Yvonne..it's not about the money..Its I hate the fact that I have to pay more for shipping than the product... Might have to order two..just so I can feel good about it..

I understand and feel the same way!