tortoise won't eat calcium
- Thread starter Kristie
- Start date
Mine refused calcium blocks initially, I tried again a month or two later and they ate it. You can also make your own by ordering FOOD GRADE (very important) calcium carbonate, mixing it with a little fruit or veggie and baking it on low to form a chalky block. You can get that on amazon.
Thank you your info helped me I asked a few ppl and they told me to just feed him different kinds of lettuce.
Found a picture of the blocks I made...
Can I ask how much you are putting on his food? Sometimes people overdo it and the taste puts the tortoise off. It should just be the tiniest sprinkle, like fairy dust!
Not good advice from those "ppl"!
Lettuce does not have an abundance of calcium. And most lettuce has a poorer calcium to phosphorus ratio. Endive is best with a 2.5:1 along with your greeleaf and redleaf at 2.7:1.
Better still, add in some greens with good amounts of calcium plus a good calcium phosphorus ratio. For example, grape leaves have a 4:1 ratio, BUT an equal amount of grape leaves will have over 7 times the calcium as in the same amount of endive. Also things like...
Opuntia (pricklypear) pads & fruit
Mulberry leaves
Dandelion
Hibiscus leaves
I also leave a cuttlebone in the enclosure. sometimes it lasts a month or more and is ignored, other times, it is eaten in a day.
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
- Messages
- 10,876
I've been feeding my torts eggshells , I run them through a coffee grinder until they are a powder .
I believe torts find eggshells in the wild . But I have never seen a tort fishing for saltwater cuddle fish . And then cleaning it to get to the cuddle bone washing it , drying it out to eat it ! And I know the tort don't go shopping for store bought chemicals! But I've only been doing this for 17 years . But do what you think is best and have a great day !
I believe torts find eggshells in the wild . But I have never seen a tort fishing for saltwater cuddle fish . And then cleaning it to get to the cuddle bone washing it , drying it out to eat it ! And I know the tort don't go shopping for store bought chemicals! But I've only been doing this for 17 years . But do what you think is best and have a great day !
Some of us keep a very small saucer or plastic lid full of calcium powder in the enclosure. But, if you just take a small pinch of the powder between your thumb and index finger, then distribute it over the greens and mix it up so you can't see it, he should eat it.
Like Grandpa Turtle said, grind up eggshells into powder. You don't even have to grind them up, just hard boil the egg and give them some bits with the shell still on. They will get the protein and the calcium. They eat small snails, shell and all, no problem! As for the cuttlebone, you can buy it at the pet shop/supply store and you can either leave a piece in their enclosure, and/or also, you can grater it in a nutmeg grater (the fine part of the grater) right onto their mixed weeds and veggies, moisten and mix up the whole meal and serve. I do this calcium "blast" about twice per week, and just leave a piece of the cuttle bone available all the time in the enclosure.
