Supplements

[rosie4posie]

I have seen mixed messages about using multivitamin and calcium supplements.

I'm getting a two year old male Russian tortoise.

What are your opinions?

 

[Paradon]

I think it's easier to just give them Mazuri tortoise chow a long with the regular food or some Repashy Superveggie sprinkle over their food as a way to make up for what is missing in the captive diet. Some species of tortoise, like the Indian star, can be difficult to raised to adulthood using what's available as captive food; they seem to show improvement after giving complete food like Mazuri, Agrob and Superveggie and actually grow and reproduce. giving multivitamin and calcium supplements can cause them to overdose according to people who make Mazuri and Allen Repashy. Calcium Pills can make people have a heart attack and should only be used with doctors' adivice.

 

[JoesMum]

It really depends on diet and the age of your tortoise.

With a good varied diet and especially in adult tortoises no supplement is needed. If you are feeding a complete diet like Mazuri, you probably don't need supplements either.

Extra calcium in young, growing tortoises can be given by powder or cuttlebone and is beneficial. However, be aware that tortoises cannot process the calcium without Vitamin D3 and the best source of that is natural sunlight or UVB from a lamp source.

 

[Paradon]

You have to be careful giving multivitamin and calcium supplements and not got overboard. It can be very dangerous. And plus variety is very difficult to do in captivity, especially when we don't know much about their wild diet and what they eat from hour to hour, day to day, season to season. What they eat in depends on the hour of the day, the day, the season and the location. There hasn't been much studies and research done on reptiles and their wild diet. And base on what is available to us, the captive diet can be quite limited. Not to mention for the average person, like me for example, it is very difficult to do; that and trying the get the dosage of the vitamins and calcium right.

 

[Madkins007]

A good diet is the best option, but if this is difficult or you are unsure, you can offer some supplementation as insurance. The most common recommendations would be to add a small amount of calcium 1 to 3 times a week (depending on how low your food options are and how big the tortoises are), and a pinch of a good multivitamin less often than that.

 

[Paradon]

I still think you have to be careful, though. Even I won't take the multivitamin and calcium supplements without consulting a physician.

 

[dmmj]

Like said above a good varied diet is best. some people on here use TNT from carolina pet supply, If I remember correctly. Also cuttle bone is a good choice for a calcium supplement.