Emergen-C Fizzy Drink Soaks

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
2,312
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, So Cal
Yes. I did. After brumation, about a week after wake up, I soaked my tortoises in water with Emergen-C added in. I have done it again. My plan is to do as a once a month thing. Preventative health. I am sharing to get my fellow tortoise geeks' opinions. I have attached pictures of the product for us humans. The ingredients, I researched most, to be sure no harm. Hope I didn't miss something.

I have used this stuff myself for many years. I use it everyday. Old people support stuff. When I get hurt, I add MSM powder, each scoop is 1000 mg, to it and get fixed up super fast. We're talking sprains, broken wrist, foot. Stuff like that.

Your thoughts are always appreciated.:tort::<3:

20190419_090755.jpg 20190419_090808.jpg
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,389
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
The ingredient picture is a bit too fuzzy for these old eyes to see, but I can't see any harm in it. I would never have thought of using this product as I thought it was for getting over a cold faster.
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
2,312
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, So Cal
Thank you Yvonne! I use them to stay sane. Ha. ;)
The B vitamins. And the magnesium.
Of course, Vitamin C is always very helpful.

I think I did the orange flavor for tortoises. Found that ingredient list online. They also make one with some probiotics but need to research those good bacterias first.

Here is the company's link about ingredients.
https://www.emergenc.com/our-ingredients
 

Attachments

  • GUEST_3003c5a9-668c-49ef-9a94-69c1f3a14063.jpeg
    GUEST_3003c5a9-668c-49ef-9a94-69c1f3a14063.jpeg
    71.7 KB · Views: 18

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,389
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I don't think they need lactobacillus or sugar, but it's a pretty small quantity.

I'll send a shout-out to our resident scientist, Will - @Kapidolo Farms
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
2,312
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, So Cal
Thank you, Yvonne. :) I did notice them perking up quickly, both times. And then I thought I better share. Either to avert a possible icky I missed, or perhaps to have a new way to keep our beloved shellies healthy.
 

jsheffield

Well-Known Member
Moderator
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2018
Messages
3,114
Location (City and/or State)
Westmoreland, NH
I think that the old standard, carrot baby food, might work as well or better than emergen-c.

Coincidentally, I read an article this morning on the benefits of probiotics in turtle/tortoise husbandry:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4735124/

Mazuri tortoise feeds also contain probiotics ....

Jamie
 

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
I’m thinking “fizzy” drinks, and sugars and artificial coloring just doesnt sound right. I’m with Jamie, if a tort needs anything...a good soaking (maybe in carrot puree), but not unid fizzy drinks.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,389
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Let's don't de-bunk until we hear from Will or @Markw84 . I never thought to feed my turtles or tortoises bread, but recently read an article where some zoo someplace started giving their giant tortoises bread every so often because of the iodine in it for goiter. So just because we've never heard of it doesn't mean it's not good.
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
2,312
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, So Cal
Thanks for that link Jamie. I am a big believer in probiotics. It means "for life". Versus antibiotics meaning against life. I make my own kombucha, kefir, jun, cultured foods. I even add kefir to the food we give a community colony of cats. To keep them healthy. They are. Good stuff. Thanks.
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
2,312
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, So Cal
Hi Maro2Bear. Emergen-C doesn't have much artificial that I can tell, if any, by reading the ingredient list. They use beet juice concentrate, for instance, for color on the box I am using right now, which is cherry flavored. The picture I posted above.
 

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,041
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
Probiotics can be very beneficial, espeically when a tortoise (or any animal) has been given antibiotics or parasite treatment as the gut flora is what controls how well and what foods are digested properly. The problem is that the gut flora of any animal can be very specific and will change with diet and location the animal is living. The gut flora for a human is very different than that of a tortoise. Just as the gut flora of a radiated will be different than that of a red foot.

I always put some of the eggshell in with hatchlings as they go into the brooder box, to help them get any head start to the gut flora from the mom and egg. Just this last year, the wildlife sanctuary in Mayanmar did some experimenting with different growth curves for hatchling G platynota with one group on their regular feed, and the other also having feces from the mothers added to the food.

That product shown above is not probiotic and more of a supplement boost as marketed. The biggest item is vitamin C as citric acid. I don't see harm, but I also would be concerned about it disturbing the balance of the needed gut flora as it is not a reptile or certainly tortoise based proportion of needed vitamins and minerals.
 

Bowzie

New Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2019
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
uk
I’m thinking “fizzy” drinks, and sugars and artificial coloring just doesnt sound right. I’m with Jamie, if a tort needs anything...a good soaking (maybe in carrot puree), but not unid fizzy drinks.
hi can i just ask what is carrot puree? is it just blended cooked carrots? tia
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,389
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
hi can i just ask what is carrot puree? is it just blended cooked carrots? tia
When a tortoise has stopped eating and his eyes are swollen shut, it is helpful to soak it in Gerber strained carrots (high vitamin A content), mixed with warm water.

So as to not take this thread off topic, you can go to our 'search' box and type in "carrot baby food soaks" and it will bring up quite a few threads where this subject has been talked about.
 

ascott

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
16,138
Location (City and/or State)
Apple Valley, California
Yes. I did. After brumation, about a week after wake up, I soaked my tortoises in water with Emergen-C added in. I have done it again. My plan is to do as a once a month thing. Preventative health. I am sharing to get my fellow tortoise geeks' opinions. I have attached pictures of the product for us humans. The ingredients, I researched most, to be sure no harm. Hope I didn't miss something.

I have used this stuff myself for many years. I use it everyday. Old people support stuff. When I get hurt, I add MSM powder, each scoop is 1000 mg, to it and get fixed up super fast. We're talking sprains, broken wrist, foot. Stuff like that.

Your thoughts are always appreciated.:tort::<3:

View attachment 270266 View attachment 270267

Can you be certain that the "fizzy" in the title does not occur when the tort is placed in it? The fizz is what concerns me....
 

BeeBee*BeeLeaves

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
2,312
Location (City and/or State)
Orange County, So Cal
Can you be certain that the "fizzy" in the title does not occur when the tort is placed in it? The fizz is what concerns me....

Hi Angela! The fizzy does stop. I did it as a booster of sorts. I guess what compelled me to do it was the after brumation jitters. I read the ingredients, and thought this might be good. But as Markw84 pointed out, the vitamins and minerals are human based proportions. They all ate their Mazuri afterwards. It was a booster thing. I, on the other hand, drink Emergen-C daily. Preventative thing.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
Probiotics can be very beneficial, espeically when a tortoise (or any animal) has been given antibiotics or parasite treatment as the gut flora is what controls how well and what foods are digested properly. The problem is that the gut flora of any animal can be very specific and will change with diet and location the animal is living. The gut flora for a human is very different than that of a tortoise. Just as the gut flora of a radiated will be different than that of a red foot.

I always put some of the eggshell in with hatchlings as they go into the brooder box, to help them get any head start to the gut flora from the mom and egg. Just this last year, the wildlife sanctuary in Mayanmar did some experimenting with different growth curves for hatchling G platynota with one group on their regular feed, and the other also having feces from the mothers added to the food.

That product shown above is not probiotic and more of a supplement boost as marketed. The biggest item is vitamin C as citric acid. I don't see harm, but I also would be concerned about it disturbing the balance of the needed gut flora as it is not a reptile or certainly tortoise based proportion of needed vitamins and minerals.
I agree 100% gut flora would be very species-specific even in humans we have two different intestines with different bacteria needs. But a product formulated specifically for certain tortoise would be a pretty good way to go, I imagine it would be pretty expensive though
 

ascott

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
16,138
Location (City and/or State)
Apple Valley, California
Hi Angela! The fizzy does stop. I did it as a booster of sorts. I guess what compelled me to do it was the after brumation jitters. I read the ingredients, and thought this might be good. But as Markw84 pointed out, the vitamins and minerals are human based proportions. They all ate their Mazuri afterwards. It was a booster thing. I, on the other hand, drink Emergen-C daily. Preventative thing.

I think what concerned me is the "fizz"... I mean humans are designed to expel "fizz" (aka gas) and I just wonder if the ability is within the reptile to process the "fizz" (gas)???? I do not know, but I do know believe that they would experience fizz in their natural life?
 

Pastel Tortie

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Messages
4,264
Location (City and/or State)
North Florida
I think what concerned me is the "fizz"... I mean humans are designed to expel "fizz" (aka gas) and I just wonder if the ability is within the reptile to process the "fizz" (gas)???? I do not know, but I do know believe that they would experience fizz in their natural life?
Granted, my direct experience is limited to three turtles (one Gulf Coast box turtle and two mud turtles), but I have observed "turtle gas" bubbles from their posteriors when they're in the water. It wasn't the kind of thing that could be written off to air bubbles trapped around the carapace. Sometimes there's turtle gas preceding turtle poop.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
There is that old myth about pigeons and rice or pigeons and Alka-Seltzer tablets you can't feed them either cuz they expand and blow up
 

New Posts

Top