Won't eat cuttlebone

[Vanessa Black]

I got Ned, my Russian, a cuttlebone/calcium bone as a Christmas gift and he won't eat it. How do I get him to eat it?

 

[Big Charlie]

You can grate a little on his food. Sometimes they'll go a long time without eating it, and then dig in. Just leave it where he can reach it.

 

[Bee62]

You can try to break the cuttle bone in small pieces and put them in a food bowl.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My tortoises will go for months with hardly a nibble. Then start eating them like potato chips.
I throw out a lot each year because they get nasty/fouled before they get eaten.
It's best to leave them there. They'll get eaten eventually and tortoises seem to know when they need it.
I've had tortoises without access to cuttlebone eat rocks as a substitute.

 

[Reptilian Feline]

We sometimes give cuttleboone to our Giant African landsnails, and as you all know, snails like to mess things upp. Cuttlebone can be cleaned fairly well with a hard toothbrush and some elbow grease. That way it can last longer until the tort decide he wants it.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I've found that many bird shops sell broken cuttlebone cheap by bulk.
Apparently bird keepers don't want broken ones. Your tortoise couldn't care less.

 

[Gwen Loves Tortoises]

I got Ned, my Russian, a cuttlebone/calcium bone as a Christmas gift and he won't eat it. How do I get him to eat it?

I buy the calcium powder so I can sprinkle it on his food. My baby Sheldon is male Russian tortoise and he likes it.

 

[Reptilian Feline]

View attachment 226153

But they do have coffee grinders on hand in the wild?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

But they do have coffee grinders on hand in the wild?

No! But I don’t want sharp edges ! But I’m shure Starbucks is in the wild selling coffee ![emoji56]

 

[Destben]

I’m making my own with this How to make home-made calcium blocks for tortoises (Recipe!)
https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...alcium-blocks-for-tortoises-(Recipe!).102895/
I haven’t done it yet because my tort started eating the cuddle bone and I want to find heart shaped silicone baking sheets lol.

 

[Gwen Loves Tortoises]

But they do have coffee grinders on hand in the wild?

You’re funny!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

But they do have coffee grinders on hand in the wild?

I'm sure in the wild, a lot of tortoises find eggs and shells on the ground and they eat them as is.
Grinding them is just a human touch to help things along.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I'm sure in the wild, a lot of tortoises find eggs and shells on the ground and they eat them as is.
Grinding them is just a human touch to help things along.

I’ve been feeding my torts egg shells for almost 18 years ! And no soft shells or shell rot in any of them ! And grinding them up isn’t a human touch it’s for faster digestion!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

You’re funny!

When you get my age ,you either get grumpy or funny . And funny is more fun ! But thank you .

 

[Gwen Loves Tortoises]

I'm sure in the wild, a lot of tortoises find eggs and shells on the ground and they eat them as is.
Grinding them is just a human touch to help things along.

Think so ... lots ... mmm I don’t know Tortoises have calcium deficiency so I really wonder how the get vitamins and calcium in the wild ... my baby Sheldon absolutely loves broccoli and it has lots of vitamin D so I give him broccoli every day

 

[Gwen Loves Tortoises]

When you get my age ,you either get grumpy or funny . And funny is more fun ! But thank you .

Aww that’s nice yes I want to be funny it’s more fun

 

[Destben]

Think so ... lots ... mmm I don’t know Tortoises have calcium deficiency so I really wonder how the get vitamins and calcium in the wild ... my baby Sheldon absolutely loves broccoli and it has lots of vitamin D so I give him broccoli every day

According to the tortoise table broccoli isn’t really good for torts I would be careful with it

 

[Gwen Loves Tortoises]

Well that’s interesting because he just loves it. I’m pretty sure I read some where it’s fine. I’ll say this I’ve read many interesting facts about Tortoises and to be honest some say yes and some say no and it confused me ... so I just go with my gut instinct I also feed him lots of kale and romaine I’ve tried other tortoise friendly greens but he says (my tortoise) yuk lol and peep this my co worker has a tortoise and he’s a big boy and he eats all kinds of fruits n veggies like squash and zucchini and bell peppers and watermelon which is his fav and he’s already 50 years old. It’s called love and our pets know this that’s why they live so long.

 

[Destben]

Well that’s interesting because he just loves it. I’m pretty sure I read some where it’s fine. I’ll say this I’ve read many interesting facts about Tortoises and to be honest some say yes and some say no and it confused me ... so I just go with my gut instinct I also feed him lots of kale and romaine I’ve tried other tortoise friendly greens but he says (my tortoise) yuk lol and peep this my co worker has a tortoise and he’s a big boy and he eats all kinds of fruits n veggies like squash and zucchini and bell peppers and watermelon which is his fav and he’s already 50 years old. It’s called love and our pets know this that’s why they live so long.

It’s up to you for sure [emoji16]. But the tortoise table is a generally excepted place on this forum where you can find good things to feed your tortoise and things you should not or feed only sparingly.