Homemade Calcium Carbonate Blocks

Make your own?

  • I have!

    Votes: 2 8.3%
  • Sounds interesting...

    Votes: 13 54.2%
  • I'd rather not bother.

    Votes: 9 37.5%

  • Total voters
    24
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jkingler

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Awesome! I can't wait til my CaCO3 finally shows up so I can make some...:D
 

jkingler

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Success!

I made Calcium treats for Deedle last night, since my 5lb bag of Food grade ground limestone powder, a.k.a. CaCO3 powder, finally arrived. I just mixed the powder with water, rolled it around with a bit of Hawksbeard, and voila! Fossilweed! Or Deedletreats. Currently unsure as to what I am (not) going to patent them as, but long story short, Deeds loves 'em!


Exhibit A:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exVMCnCVzdw&context=C3be9bfeADOEgsToPDskI-s9NTO-C5Qvyb1atKINTk

Exhibit B:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S8O...xt=C321b6c1ADOEgsToPDskLwA1MJljHY6doA3IpAElof

Exhibit C:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lh5...xt=C321b6c1ADOEgsToPDskLwA1MJljHY6doA3IpAElof

2vmxefk.jpg


Deedle, wanting more?
2q00hf6.jpg


So yeah. Deedle has not once touched the cuttlebone. Soaked and weathered some. Left some pure and dry. Nada. But as soon as I put that CaCO3 molded Hawksbeard in, it was showtime. It may not be for every tort, but it certainly works for me and mine so far!
 

shelledfriends

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Great news Joe! So did you take a specific amount of water and keep adding calcium powder till you got the desired consistency? How long did you wait before it hardened? Also, any special tips you want to share with those of us who want to give this a go?

Thank you.
Michael
 

jkingler

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I laid down some cling wrap on my cutting board.

Then I wet the weed, then threw a generous amount of powder on there, and threw some water on top of that.

Then I put on a rubber glove, sort of rubbed the powder over the weed until it was the 'right' consistency.

Then I folded the cling wrap over itself, left it there to dry overnight and part of the next day, got impatient, and put it in with Deedle.

And the rest is history, haha.

P.S. Then I added some CaCO3 to my cereal today. Didn't taste any different, and I am sure it didn't hurt my dental health any. ;)
 

Terry Allan Hall

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Madkins007 said:
I'm kind of 'eh' about the blocks, but I do see a lot of possibilities. Wild torts do occasionally eat 'hardened' forms of calcium- snail shells, eggs, and even bones and doing so may well satisfy other needs besides just seeking calcium, like wearing their beaks and so on.

I have not tried any of this, but I got to thinking and wondered if you could...
- Add a bit of flavored gelatin or powdered drink mix to get some flavor and overcome the bitter taste for the tortoises that are reluctant to try it otherwise.
- Mix in some vitamins, most likely crushed human tablets.
- Mix in some 'flavor chunks', like dried fruits/veggie bits
- Bake it in a silicone mold, like a mini-muffin mold, so you combine the baking and release elements in one.
- Put a hole in it so you can hang it or secure it off the ground to keep it cleaner and to provide some enrichment to the tortoises.

I made a block last spring and mixed in a package of Strawberry Jello w/ a lb. of limestone flour and water...torts were interested enough to gnaw on it all late spring/summer/early fall, finished almost all of it by the time Inside Time rolled around.

I really think the red color made a bigger impression than the flavor, though...a friend made one, using the same recipe, but substituted Lime Jello and her torts ate very little, if any
 

shelledfriends

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Guys,
I made my second batch today and was wondering about any possible 'chemical' reactions that might occur when calcium carbonate powder is mixed with water (cold or warm). Any thoughts on that? Also, when making home made blocks should I use cold water or warm water?

Here is what I did today, I ground dried rose petals and hibiscus flowers in a spice grinder and then added about 4oz of this to just about boiling water and mixed it well. I let the water cool down a bit and then started adding the food grade calcium carbonate powder till the consistency was where I could make patties of sort with the mix. Now I have these 'patties' drying in a cookie pan. I will use the patties with the tortoises once they are dry.

Anyways, while they are drying I couldn't help but wonder if I should worry about stuff like growth of mold, bacteria etc on the patties.

Any thoughts? Thank you.

Michael
 

jkingler

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Never seen any mold on my molds, but If you notice any, let me know. I don't think it is a very good substrate for mold to grow on, though, seeing as it is basic...
 

Floof

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Iiiiinteresting. I may have to try this. One of my russians loves gnawing on her cuttlebone, but none of my other torts seem to take much interest. I wish they did, though--I'm terrible at remembering to supplement, and I always worry about someone developing a deficiency due to my forgetfulness.

Definitely will have to order some powder one of these days and give it a try. Looks like a good idea, and fun! I'll probably wind up mixing a vitamin powder into a couple to see how it goes. I have a mostly full container of SuperVeggie all-in-one supplement by Repashy that I keep forgetting to use, and it sure smells nice. I wonder if it would make calcium blocks taste/smell appetizing to those who would otherwise be less interested?
 

drgnfly2265

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I'll just buy some cuttlebones from Walmart since I just have Bowser. It'll be easier and save me time :)
 
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