egg shells

Grandpa Turtle 144

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He has examined many dozen, maybe hundreds of stones. They were all urate/urea concretions. But beyond his personal observation he looked at all published accounts. If the calcium overabundance were a thing, it's be out there in the published world.

This is what shows up with calcium
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=tortoise+calcium+stone

Here is a similar search for
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=tortoise+urinary+stone

Knock yourself out.

As for source ingested, smaller particles might always be more readily digested than big particles. Also keep in mind sometimes stone eating has been associated with a lack of dietary fiber or seedy items in the diet which facilitate bolus motility. If those things are calcium rich, well as long as it doesn't accumulate or block, it might not be so bad.

@Grandpa Turtle 144 thanks for letting me know, thank you much.
Im truly sorry . I wouldn't try to anger anyone .
 

Anyfoot

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One more question then I'm going to knock my self out with your links.
Are eggshells a good source of calcium?
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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I'm positive there are better types that you can buy in the store , but I don't trust the chemicals you can buy in the stores ! Egg shells are natural , no chemicals or preserving chemicals or color dies are added to them !
 

Kapidolo Farms

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I'm positive there are better types that you can buy in the store , but I don't trust the chemicals you can buy in the stores ! Egg shells are natural , no chemicals or preserving chemicals or color dies are added to them !

Well, they are the result of what the chickens ate. I have gone ever more to buying organic, I imagine organic eggs would be better than others. Not a guarantee by any means, but better. Besides you already have it on hand.
 

leigti

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Well, they are the result of what the chickens ate. I have gone ever more to buying organic, I imagine organic eggs would be better than others. Not a guarantee by any means, but better. Besides you already have it on hand.
Any chicken eggs that come from home raised backyard chickens are going to be healthier than what you get in the store. Even the so-called organic. To be certified organic the chickens must be fed vegetarian food. But chickens aren't vegetarian. The chicken feed I use is organic, non-GMO, corn and soy free. And it also has fish meal in it. I would feed my tortoises my own chicken egg shells but not any bought from the store.
 

THBfriend

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Doesn't too much calcium powder contribute to the cause of kidney stones?
Not that I know of. Kidney stones are mainly calcium oxalate, not calcium carbonate. Which is one reason why it's said that you shouldn't feed oxalate-rich plants like spinach to tortoises.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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I did. I debunked your ridiculous story about "torts fishing for cuttlebone" which you brought up as an argument for eggshell being "more natural". It isn't.
No you didn't ! But this looks ridiculous ! But have a nice day !
 

THBfriend

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No you didn't ! But this looks ridiculous ! But have a nice day !
Yes, I did. People who've done excursions into the habitat of Greek and Hermann's tortoises have found cuttlebone there (source: this book, for example). Not just on beaches, but also further inland, probably carried there by birds. Wild tortoises get most of their calcium from their food and water. Additionally, they nibble on limestone, animal bones, eggshell (from small birds and the like, certainly not big chicken eggs), and also cuttlebone.
Eggshell is mostly calcium carbonate, as is cuttlebone. The difference is that eggshell has a tougher, more crystalline structure, which is harder to digest for an animal without a very acidic stomach (i.e. tortoises). You can somewhat remedy that by grinding the eggshell into fine particles, to increase the attack surface. Cuttlebone on the other hand has a very porous structure already, and therefore can be more easily absorbed without having to be ground. It practically crumbles into powder automatically when tortoises chew on it.

PS: it's an error to type a space in front of the ending punctuation of a sentence. But have a nice day!
 
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Kapidolo Farms

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Not that I know of. Kidney stones are mainly calcium oxalate, not calcium carbonate. Which is one reason why it's said that you shouldn't feed oxalate-rich plants like spinach to tortoises.
Show me one clinical result of a stone being Calcium-anything in a tortoise. Just one.

I know there is a preponderance of anecdotal 'calcium' stones, non of those reports include an analysis of the material in the stone.

"it's said . . ." That's why we have TFO. I'm saying stones aren't calcium concretions and I can back that up with quotes from well regarded vets who study tortoise nutrition, and published accounts.

I know there is such a whirlwind of "it's said" out there. Hard to keep it all straight.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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Show me one clinical result of a stone being Calcium-anything in a tortoise. Just one.

I know there is a preponderance of anecdotal 'calcium' stones, non of those reports include an analysis of the material in the stone.

"it's said . . ." That's why we have TFO. I'm saying stones aren't calcium concretions and I can back that up with quotes from well regarded vets who study tortoise nutrition, and published accounts.

I know there is such a whirlwind of "it's said" out there. Hard to keep it all straight.
Thank you @Will maybe he will argue with you for awhile and give me a brake . Thank you again
 

Anyfoot

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