Too much cuttlebone?

[Trvrdvs]

Hi everyone,

My young Greek tortoise seems to be really munching on his cuttlebone lately and I’m wondering if maybe he lacked calcium with his previous owners or if there’s another issue. I think his last owners fed him mainly romaine, but I’ve been trying to give him a variety including some romaine, bok choy, collard greens, endive lettuce, and dandelion greens. I’ve also recently just got some tortoise hay and food topper from tortoisesupply, and have tried to introduce some Mazuri LS. I did catch him biting on the piece of slate I put into his enclosure also. Could this indicate an imbalance and should I be offering him any other supplements? Should I not offer cuttlebone all the time? Thank you

 

[TortoisesRescueJo]

I keep cuttlebone all the time with my tortoises and they nibble on it whenever they want..

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Sometimes tortoise devour cuttle bone, after all it is for them to satisfy any calcium gravings.

What kind of UVB do you offer? I am asking because vitamin D from the UVB helps absorb calcium.

 

[Trvrdvs]

Sometimes tortoise devour cuttle bone, after all it is for them to satisfy any calcium gravings.

What kind of UVB do you offer? I am asking because vitamin D from the UVB helps absorb calcium.

Arcadia 12% HO T5

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Arcadia 12% HO T5

That's good, what distance?

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

I don't give cuddle bone or store-bought calcium to my tortoises

 

[Trvrdvs]

That's good, what distance?

its about 17" right now, it was at about 15" but i moved it up recently

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

its about 17" right now, it was at about 15" but i moved it up recently

Okay, that is good. 15 inches might sometimes be too close. Of course impossible to tell without a solar meter.