Is the cuttlefish/turtle bone good for tortoise?

[Zoeclare]

Tortoise Trust? Bit retro.

 

[turtlesteve]

"Cuttlefish bone is a long-standing method of providing extra calcium to tortoises, and especially to turtles, as it floats readily in water. The main chemical constituents of cuttlebone are calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, calcium phosphate, magnesium salts and an abundance of micro-trace elements. Despite its high gross calcium content, cuttlefish bone is relatively poorly absorbed, and as such should not be relied upon as the sole source of calcium supplementation. It can, however, be employed as a secondary source."

Tortoise Trust Web - Promoting Proper Bone Development

Tortoise Trust Web - A site dedicated to the conservation and captive care of Chelonia

www.tortoisetrust.org

Cuttlebone contains only trace amounts of calcium phosphate, but bone is almost all calcium phosphate.

Here is an equally old but correct reference:

www.finchwench.wordpress.com/2008/08/02/cuttlefish-bone-is-neither-a-bone-nor-of-a-fish-but-it-is-good-for-birds-in-any-case/amp/

 

[turtlesteve]

And to add.... the majority of published husbandry references for tortoises, especially older ones, contain outdated, inaccurate, or harmful information - and it is far from obvious because there is plenty of good information mixed in.

Sorting the mess out is a big reason this place exists.

 

[Tortisedonk7]

I agree that the “cuttle bone” is good for them. Maybe it also simulates the tort comping on the occasional animal or fish bone in the wild.
What I don’t understand is why people give their torts calcium powder supplement... where would they ever get that amount/concentration of calcium in their natural world??!

 

[turtlesteve]

I agree that the “cuttle bone” is good for them. Maybe it also simulates the tort comping on the occasional animal or fish bone in the wild.
What I don’t understand is why people give their torts calcium powder supplement... where would they ever get that amount/concentration of calcium in their natural world??!

They would actually get neither. In the wild the only calcium supplement they might get is bits of bone, or carnivore feces, both of which are based on calcium phosphate not calcium carbonate. Maybe some species could eat land snails, but that would be the only exception (and the meat in the snail would be very rich in P).

Best I can tell, the recommendation for calcium carbonate (cuttlebone or calcium powder) was originally devised because tortoises were historically fed inappropriate diets that were high in P and low in Ca. So, in this situation, supplementing Ca without P makes sense. If the base diet already has a proper Ca-P ratio, supplementing only Ca provides no benefit and may cause harm.

 

[pawsplus]

Amazing that you guys all think you know better than Andy Highfield. Wow. ​

​

 

[Lokkje]

This is a little awkward but I would appreciate on all sides we don’t be insulting to one another and please don’t paint with a broad brush when you’re actually directing your opinion to one or two people. The article that was quoted for Andy Highfield said that cuttlebone was fine for tortoises but that it shouldn’t be the primary source of calcium. Many people use food items to supplement calcium and then use cuttlebone while other people use powdered calcium carbonate and either way is perfectly reasonable as long as the tortoise gets adequate calcium. I am not an expert herpetologist but I am an expert in bone metabolism as I am an endocrinologist however my expertise is limited to human bone and it’s both similar and different to tortoise bone. All of us are trying to do the best we can for our tortoises and provide them the best environment and the best nutritional sources we can and it would be nice to share ideas without personally attacking one another as we do so. I am aware that some of the more experienced members get frustrated when certain things are repeated that are known to be incorrect, and there Is no one that I have ever met in any area of expertise that is 100% correct in everything. In medicine things change with increased knowledge, just as in other fields. So everybody please calm down, just share information, and please try to avoid sniping at one another or being aghast that somebody may not agree with everything that one expert claimed. It takes a great deal of pleasure out of trying to share information and read on the forum when these types of conversations occur.

 

[Lokkje]

And by the way, not that it matters, but I also put powdered calcium carbonate in small amounts on the food that I give on Sundays in addition to providing the cuttlebone.

 

[solidsounds17]

Am I the only one whose hatchling doesn’t seem too keen on cuttlebone?

 

[Lokkje]

No, my desert tortoises won’t touch the cuttlebone. Only my leopard will eat it and only once in a while. That’s why I give the extra supplement of calcium carbonate on the food once a week and I try to buy dried plants from Will that won’t grow here and have more healthy calcium.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

This is a little awkward but I would appreciate on all sides we don’t be insulting to one another and please don’t paint with a broad brush when you’re actually directing your opinion to one or two people. The article that was quoted for Andy Highfield said that cuttlebone was fine for tortoises but that it shouldn’t be the primary source of calcium. Many people use food items to supplement calcium and then use cuttlebone while other people use powdered calcium carbonate and either way is perfectly reasonable as long as the tortoise gets adequate calcium. I am not an expert herpetologist but I am an expert in bone metabolism as I am an endocrinologist however my expertise is limited to human bone and it’s both similar and different to tortoise bone. All of us are trying to do the best we can for our tortoises and provide them the best environment and the best nutritional sources we can and it would be nice to share ideas without personally attacking one another as we do so. I am aware that some of the more experienced members get frustrated when certain things are repeated that are known to be incorrect, and there Is no one that I have ever met in any area of expertise that is 100% correct in everything. In medicine things change with increased knowledge, just as in other fields. So everybody please calm down, just share information, and please try to avoid sniping at one another or being aghast that somebody may not agree with everything that one expert claimed. It takes a great deal of pleasure out of trying to share information and read on the forum when these types of conversations occur.

AMEN

 

[Tortisedonk7]

This is a little awkward but I would appreciate on all sides we don’t be insulting to one another and please don’t paint with a broad brush when you’re actually directing your opinion to one or two people. The article that was quoted for Andy Highfield said that cuttlebone was fine for tortoises but that it shouldn’t be the primary source of calcium. Many people use food items to supplement calcium and then use cuttlebone while other people use powdered calcium carbonate and either way is perfectly reasonable as long as the tortoise gets adequate calcium. I am not an expert herpetologist but I am an expert in bone metabolism as I am an endocrinologist however my expertise is limited to human bone and it’s both similar and different to tortoise bone. All of us are trying to do the best we can for our tortoises and provide them the best environment and the best nutritional sources we can and it would be nice to share ideas without personally attacking one another as we do so. I am aware that some of the more experienced members get frustrated when certain things are repeated that are known to be incorrect, and there Is no one that I have ever met in any area of expertise that is 100% correct in everything. In medicine things change with increased knowledge, just as in other fields. So everybody please calm down, just share information, and please try to avoid sniping at one another or being aghast that somebody may not agree with everything that one expert claimed. It takes a great deal of pleasure out of trying to share information and read on the forum when these types of conversations occur.

Well said. Thank you.

 

[enchilada]

cuttlefish bone ✅
turtle bone ❌