Calcium conflicting advice

[pip wallace]

I am in the uk. I have a 7 month redfoot. When I bought her I was told salad leaves and dust food with calcium 5 days a week and nutrobal the other 2 days. I am questioning this after eating posts on here. Some say balanced diet needs no added calcium, others calcium 2 to 3 times a week and I’m really unsure as to what to do. I have correct humidity and temp now and diet thanks to this forum just want to solve this question now. Thank you

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I don't use any supplements for my Redfoots. Just a varied diet. Some of the stuff I feed is Kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, romaine, dandelion greens and flowers, escarole, chard, hibiscus leaves and flowers, Papaya, pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, banana, squash, mango, sweet potato, and cucumber. Occasionally maybe once a month I add crushed egg shells for extra calcium.

 

[DanB]

I am no expert but I would say it depends on what they are eating. If the food is calcium rich then I don't see the need to dust, on the other hand if they are low in calcium then dusting couldn't hurt. I have a cuttlebone in my enclosure so my tort can nibble on it when he feels the need for more calcium. Some times he leaves it alone for days, other times he nibbles on it daily.

 

[aqualungs]

I am no expert but I would say it depends on what they are eating. If the food is calcium rich then I don't see the need to dust, on the other hand if they are low in calcium then dusting couldn't hurt. I have a cuttlebone in my enclosure so my tort can nibble on it when he feels the need for more calcium. Some times he leaves it alone for days, other times he nibbles on it daily.

I’m doing the same

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Define YOUR balanced diet. I would think five times a week is excessive even for an "unbalanced" diet. There seems to be some evidence that too much calcium may cause soft tissue hardening, but the study that reports that is sketchy in my opinion. But it's the only study I can find.

If you have doubts you can offer calcium as a stand alone thing, like a small pile of powder, bits of eggs shell etc. with the idea the tortoise will choose to consume it as they need it. I had one leopard tortoise that got carried away with eating cuttle bone until the point that I believe it became impacted. After a few months it begain the at normally again and show growth, but it definitely stunted itself with eating the cuttle bone.

 

[willee638]

I tried very hard to provide every variety as naturally as possible for my red foot tort but all the greens, all the kinds of fruits & protein sources as some forum members here isn't always possible or available, so I too sprinkle some calcium with D3 on her food 2-3 times a week & a cuttlefish bone to bite on as she doesn't always like eating with the sprinkles on. There's already a UVA+UVB full spectrum bulb to help with D3 synthesis, but all this is useless unless the food has the proper nutrients. Taking your tortoise for natural sunlight 3-4 days per week 30 minutes to an hour each time is enough to synthesize D3 calcium absorption....

 

[Yvonne G]

Some keepers opt for keeping a small jar lid filled with calcium powder in the enclosure rather than adding it onto the food.

 

[Tom]

I am in the uk. I have a 7 month redfoot. When I bought her I was told salad leaves and dust food with calcium 5 days a week and nutrobal the other 2 days. I am questioning this after eating posts on here. Some say balanced diet needs no added calcium, others calcium 2 to 3 times a week and I’m really unsure as to what to do. I have correct humidity and temp now and diet thanks to this forum just want to solve this question now. Thank you

All good advice from each poster here. I agree with them, and hope they've answered your question. There is a lot of just plain bad tortoise advice out there, and a lot of it comes from pet shops, breeders and vets.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Have you checked out the Redfoots foods list yet?
Redfoot eat the widest selection of foods than any other species.
Take advantage of that.
Greens, flowers, mushrooms, protein, fruit. (Up to 60% fruit) even some vegetable matter and cactus. As well as Mazuri tortoise chow.
With a varied, healthy diet and access to UVB lighting, either by sunlight or by a T5 HO UVB strip florescent lamp, I wouldn't and don't use any supplements.
I did use it years ago. But the type I had success with my tortoises eating it is no longer available. And now, almost 10 years later, it looks like it was a waste of money in my case.

 

[willee638]

Some keepers opt for keeping a small jar lid filled with calcium powder in the enclosure rather than adding it onto the food.

Please confirm if it's true RF or some tortoises in general doesn't need to eat daily or has one large meal & fast for 2-3 days? My RF doesn't seems to seek out foods on her own without me placing it right in front of her & then she eats, she hides herself wedged between stones or under covered up shaded places most of the day. I read red foot's natural habitats has large canopies with wet damp forested floors & not much sunlight, could it be I was wrong in keeping a UV light on for most of the day making an unnatural environment for her?