Too much cuttlefish bone ?

Cottons

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I found out that cuttlefish bone is great for tortoises. But is it possible for my tortoise to have too much cuttlefish bone? After leaving an eight inch cuttlefish bone in his enclosure for about two weeks, my 3 inch russian tortoise finished it. I noticed him passing urates more (2 times a week). He is hydrated and I had already cut off high oxalic acid containing greens. Is that way too much calcium for him? Should I limit his supply of cuttlefish bone and what is the sufficient amount of calcium? Please help :)
 

Tom

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Urates are the by-product of protein digestion. Not from calcium.

You might take a look at what foods you are feeding and what the calcium content is. The calcium to phosphorous ratio too.

I typically see overconsumption of calcium in tortoises that are fed a lot of grocery store greens that haven't had amendments added.

Also, does this tortoise ever see direct sunshine? What type of indoor UV are you using?
 

Cottons

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Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
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Urates are the by-product of protein digestion. Not from calcium.

You might take a look at what foods you are feeding and what the calcium content is. The calcium to phosphorous ratio too.

I typically see overconsumption of calcium in tortoises that are fed a lot of grocery store greens that haven't had amendments added.

Also, does this tortoise ever see direct sunshine? What type of indoor UV are you using?
He lives semi-outdoors, mostly on the balcony during the warmer periods but I would take him in sometimes when it gets windy. He uses the zoo med reptisun 12 inch strip light and a ceramic heat emitter.
We only get 'direct sunlight' for about 7 am to noon, perhaps I should bring him in during afternoon?

About the foods, I have to admit that I feed a lot of grocery store greens ( salad mix, bok choy, mustard greens and some that i cannot find the translations) I am currently trying to grow weeds from seeds and cacti, since pesticides are used nearly everywhere. I'll try my best to reduce the amount of grocery greens and foods to high in protein. And by amendments, what does it mean?

Thank you for helping out.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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About the foods, I have to admit that I feed a lot of grocery store greens ( salad mix, bok choy, mustard greens and some that i cannot find the translations) I am currently trying to grow weeds from seeds and cacti, since pesticides are used nearly everywhere. I'll try my best to reduce the amount of grocery greens and foods to high in protein. And by amendments, what does it mean?
So much contradictory info on this subject. Its simple. What do they eat in the wild. Grass, weeds, leaves, flowers, and succulents. Feed them a huge variety of these things, and you'll have a healthy tortoise. All of these species are very adaptable when it comes to diet and there is a very large margin of error, and many ways to do it right. What if you don't have this sort of "natural" tortoise food available for part of each year because you are in the snow? You will have no choice but to buy grocery store food. What's wrong with grocery store food? It tends to lack fiber, some items are low in calcium or have a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio, and some items have deleterious compounds in them. All of these short comings can be improved with some simple supplementation and amendments. A pinch of calcium two times per week will help fix that problem. You can also leave cuttle bone in the enclosure, so your tortoise can self-regulate its own calcium intake. What about fiber? Soaked horse hay pellets, soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets, Mazuri tortoise chow, "Salad style", "Herbal Hay" both from @TylerStewart and his lovely wife Sarah at Tortoisesupply.com, or many of the dried plants and leaves available from Will @Kapidolo Farms. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Add in arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find. If you mix in some of the aforementioned amendments, these grocery store foods will offer plants of variety and fiber and be able to meet your tortoises nutritional needs just fine. I find it preferable to grab a few grapevine or mulberry leaves, or a handful of mallow and clover, or some broadleaf plantain leaves and some grass, but with the right additions, grocery store stuff is fine too. Grow your own stuff, or find it around you when possible. Tyler and Sarah also sell a fantastic Testudo seed mix that is great for ALL tortoise species and also super easy to grow in pots, trays, raised garden beds, or in outdoor tortoise enclosures. When that isn't possible, add a wide variety of good stuff to your grocery store greens to make them better.
 

Cottons

New Member
Joined
Feb 29, 2020
Messages
17
Location (City and/or State)
HK
So much contradictory info on this subject. Its simple. What do they eat in the wild. Grass, weeds, leaves, flowers, and succulents. Feed them a huge variety of these things, and you'll have a healthy tortoise. All of these species are very adaptable when it comes to diet and there is a very large margin of error, and many ways to do it right. What if you don't have this sort of "natural" tortoise food available for part of each year because you are in the snow? You will have no choice but to buy grocery store food. What's wrong with grocery store food? It tends to lack fiber, some items are low in calcium or have a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio, and some items have deleterious compounds in them. All of these short comings can be improved with some simple supplementation and amendments. A pinch of calcium two times per week will help fix that problem. You can also leave cuttle bone in the enclosure, so your tortoise can self-regulate its own calcium intake. What about fiber? Soaked horse hay pellets, soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets, Mazuri tortoise chow, "Salad style", "Herbal Hay" both from @TylerStewart and his lovely wife Sarah at Tortoisesupply.com, or many of the dried plants and leaves available from Will @Kapidolo Farms. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Add in arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find. If you mix in some of the aforementioned amendments, these grocery store foods will offer plants of variety and fiber and be able to meet your tortoises nutritional needs just fine. I find it preferable to grab a few grapevine or mulberry leaves, or a handful of mallow and clover, or some broadleaf plantain leaves and some grass, but with the right additions, grocery store stuff is fine too. Grow your own stuff, or find it around you when possible. Tyler and Sarah also sell a fantastic Testudo seed mix that is great for ALL tortoise species and also super easy to grow in pots, trays, raised garden beds, or in outdoor tortoise enclosures. When that isn't possible, add a wide variety of good stuff to your grocery store greens to make them better.
Thank you for such a detailed explanation and for helping ?
 

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