Tortoise ate mold?

yay14

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So i have this terracotta pot in my torts enclosure where i grow some weeds for him and it develepod some mold and today i caught him standing on his back legs with his mouth on the moldy area of the pot. I am not sure if he was eating it or licking it or whatever but is this fine? I have now removed the pot just incase.
 

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Mrs.Jennifer

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Are you sure it’s mold? Terra cotta pots get a white patina over time from mineral deposits from water. Is it crusty or soft?
 

Tom

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So i have this terracotta pot in my torts enclosure where i grow some weeds for him and it develepod some mold and today i caught him standing on his back legs with his mouth on the moldy area of the pot. I am not sure if he was eating it or licking it or whatever but is this fine? I have now removed the pot just incase.
In your other recent thread, you showed pics of rocks your tortoise had eaten and pooped out.

Your tortoise's diet is deficient in minerals. We have a product over here in the US called "MinerAll". Its made by a company called Sticky Tongue Farms. It was originally developed for captive bred chameleons, but it works great as a mineral supplement for tortoises too.

This is most commonly seen when tortoises are fed a diet of mostly grocery store greens without enough fiber and variety added in. To be clear, the rock/mineral eating is caused by a mineral imbalance, not a lack of calcium. Many people see this and decide to up the calcium supplementation. This is a mistake and usually makes things worse because calcium alone further upsets the mineral imbalance.

If you can't find MinerAll over there, look for something similar. Re-read the feeding section here to see about all the food amendments you could be adding in:
 

yay14

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In your other recent thread, you showed pics of rocks your tortoise had eaten and pooped out.

Your tortoise's diet is deficient in minerals. We have a product over here in the US called "MinerAll". Its made by a company called Sticky Tongue Farms. It was originally developed for captive bred chameleons, but it works great as a mineral supplement for tortoises too.

This is most commonly seen when tortoises are fed a diet of mostly grocery store greens without enough fiber and variety added in. To be clear, the rock/mineral eating is caused by a mineral imbalance, not a lack of calcium. Many people see this and decide to up the calcium supplementation. This is a mistake and usually makes things worse because calcium alone further upsets the mineral imbalance.

If you can't find MinerAll over there, look for something similar. Re-read the feeding section here to see about all the food amendments you could be adding in:
Ok i actually have something called Calcioreptin that helps with mineral but i have not used it in a while. But him not getting anough mineral could that affect the shell in anyway or what happens when they have a lack of mineral and have this affected his health do you think? Also how often should mineral supplemnets be fed?
 
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Tom

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Ok i think i actually have something that helps with mineral but him not getting anough mineral could that affect the shell in anyway or what happens when they have a lack of that also how often should mineral supplemnets be fed?
Over the long term it could have all sorts of deleterious biological effects. Short term, it shouldn't be any problem if you remedy the situation.

How often to supplement? It varies. For a normal adult male on a good diet, once a week or never. For a growing baby or egg laying female, two or three times a week would be fine. For a tortoise like yours that is demonstrating clear signs of an issue, I'd supplement every other day for a couple of weeks and then taper it off.

There is no scientific, well studied, exact answer to this question. This sort of thing is done by "feel". This is part fo the "art" of tortoise keeping. 10 people could do it 10 different ways and all be "right". Or wrong...
 

yay14

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Over the long term it could have all sorts of deleterious biological effects. Short term, it shouldn't be any problem if you remedy the situation.

How often to supplement? It varies. For a normal adult male on a good diet, once a week or never. For a growing baby or egg laying female, two or three times a week would be fine. For a tortoise like yours that is demonstrating clear signs of an issue, I'd supplement every other day for a couple of weeks and then taper it off.

There is no scientific, well studied, exact answer to this question. This sort of thing is done by "feel". This is part fo the "art" of tortoise keeping. 10 people could do it 10 different ways and all be "right". Or wrong...
ok i dont think i have used this for a couple of months maybe 4-5 so do you think he can have gotten any serious problems in that time? Also so i should feed calcium once a week nutrobal once a week and the mineral supplement 3-4 times a week for the upcoming weeks and then maybe 2 times a week. And since his shell only has some give and has not gotten softer i don't think the lack of minerals has affected the shell am i correct for thinking this?
 

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ok i dont think i have used this for a couple of months maybe 4-5 so do you think he can have gotten any serious problems in that time? Also so i should feed calcium once a week nutrobal once a week and the mineral supplement 3-4 times a week for the upcoming weeks and then maybe 2 times a week. And since his shell only has some give and has not gotten softer i don't think the lack of minerals has affected the shell am i correct for thinking this?
All sounds good.

No, this should not have had a lot of effect on the shell.
 

yay14

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All sounds good.

No, this should not have had a lot of effect on the shell.
Ok so as long as i start supplementing minerals from this point forward all should be good with his healh overall?
 

Tom

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Ok so as long as i start supplementing minerals from this point forward all should be good with his healh overall?
Diet, hydration, exercise, temperatures, lighting, supplementation, and D3 production all play a role in overall health.
 

yay14

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Diet, hydration, exercise, temperatures, lighting, supplementation, and D3 production all play a role in overall health.
Ok but if all those thing are good and lack of mineral is the only problem should it be all good if i start suplmenting minerals from this point forward?
 

Tom

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Ok but if all those thing are good and lack of mineral is the only problem should it be all good if i start suplmenting minerals from this point forward?
That is my best guess.
 

yay14

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That is my best guess.
Ok but how would i know incase things werent fine like if the lack of minerals did happen to do some damage to his health what would be the symptoms?
 
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yay14

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That is my best guess.
Also the mineral suplement i was thinking of giving does not conatin any calcium so i found a place that sell Miner-all indoor so i should buy that and use that instead right?
 
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Tom

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Also the mineral suplement i was thinking of giving does not conatin any calcium so i found a place that sell Miner-all indoor so i should buy that and use that instead right?
I only have experience with the MinerAll and it has been effective for me.
 

Tom

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Ok but how would i know incase things werent fine like if the lack of minerals did happen to do some damage to his health what would be the symptoms?
Do a search for symptoms of MBD in tortoises for a better answer that I could give.
 

yay14

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Do a search for symptoms of MBD in tortoises for a better answer that I could give.
Oh ok so lack of minerals can lead to MBD got it. But from what i see he has no symptoms of Mbd do it should be all good :)
 

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