Russian Tortoise Vitamins

Linds94

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Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
27
Location (City and/or State)
Utah
Hello! I am getting a baby Russian Tortoise this summer (so excited!) and I am trying to get things ready nice and early so I am all prepared for it when it arrives. There is a lot of conflicting information about vitamins and calcium, what all is needed for a baby Russian?

Do I need both cuttlefish/calcium blocks AND the powder, or just one or the other? What kind of vitamin mix should I be using?

Thanks in advance!
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

Guest
the Cuttlebone should be available if the tort feels like chewing on it. Powder (or eggshells) should be offered as part of the diet. With a balanced varied diet, you really shouldn't need any extra vitamins. There are multivitamins that can be dusted or sprayed on the food. Really won't hurt.
 

Linds94

New Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
27
Location (City and/or State)
Utah
the Cuttlebone should be available if the tort feels like chewing on it. Powder (or eggshells) should be offered as part of the diet. With a balanced varied diet, you really shouldn't need any extra vitamins. There are multivitamins that can be dusted or sprayed on the food. Really won't hurt.

Thank you!! Do you know of any good brands of multivitamins, or will any reptile multivitamin do well?
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

Guest
Thank you!! Do you know of any good brands of multivitamins, or will any reptile multivitamin do well?
Personally, I try to do as much as possible naturally through diet. I wash and keep my eggshells from my breakfasts for my reptiles, dry the shells, and grind them to powder using a coffee grinder. No extra preservatives or caking agents of storebought calcium powder. 30 years of reptile owning and never had a case of vitamin deficiency in any of my reptiles.

Most of the store-bought vitamins are sugar and chemicals with a little bit of calcium, D3, and maybe a little bit of a betacarotene. With tortoises, it's really easy to meet vitamins through the diet. You add tiny bits of vitamin-rich veggies and a sprinkle of egg shell powder once in a while in their daily diet, and you won't have any problems.

Remember that only a tiny amount of a vitamin is actually metabolized. The rest is flushed out, so you really don't need a lot any particular food to hit the needed levels.
 

Linds94

New Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Messages
27
Location (City and/or State)
Utah
Personally, I try to do as much as possible naturally through diet. I wash and keep my eggshells from my breakfasts for my reptiles, dry the shells, and grind them to powder using a coffee grinder. No extra preservatives or caking agents of storebought calcium powder. 30 years of reptile owning and never had a case of vitamin deficiency in any of my reptiles.

Most of the store-bought vitamins are sugar and chemicals with a little bit of calcium, D3, and maybe a little bit of a betacarotene. With tortoises, it's really easy to meet vitamins through the diet. You add tiny bits of vitamin-rich veggies and a sprinkle of egg shell powder once in a while in their daily diet, and you won't have any problems.

Remember that only a tiny amount of a vitamin is actually metabolized. The rest is flushed out, so you really don't need a lot any particular food to hit the needed levels.

This is super helpful, thank you so much!
 

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