Calcium supplement

[Laura1412]

good afternoon hope everyone is well
I am wanting to no if this calcium supplement I have been advised to get is good or not I have been speaking to the Arcadia product manager John about there basking bulbs and he got on about this calcium supplement which he says is very good and am just wanting advise from you guys before I bought it for my clyde thanks

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I'm sorry I've been raising torts for 17 years . The only calcium I give my torts is ground egg shells : I dry the egg shells for 24-48 hours then I run them through a coffee grinder to get them in a powder to put on their food .

 

[Laura1412]

Thanks for the respose grandpa turtle 144 I only use a pinch of calcium powder 1-2 times a week this is why I thought I would ask fo advice coz to be using everyday seems a lot

 

[Tom]

good afternoon hope everyone is well
I am wanting to no if this calcium supplement I have been advised to get is good or not I have been speaking to the Arcadia product manager John about there basking bulbs and he got on about this calcium supplement which he says is very good and am just wanting advise from you guys before I bought it for my clyde thanks

It says "One part magnesium". This is confusing and its followed by some seemingly scientific jargon that is meant to dazzle an ignorant potential customer.

One part Mg to what? How many other parts and of what? It says its pure calcium, which would actually be toxic and dangerous, and then it says there is one part Mg., so its not "pure" Ca. No supplement is pure calcium and its not pure anyway if it has another element present. Most supplements are made of calcium carbonate. This is generally known to be safe, effective and has been tested for decades.

We are usually using a calcium carbonate supplement to correct an inappropriate Calcium to Phosphorous ratio. Like what happens when people feed mostly grocery store greens. It is generally accepted the the correct Calcium to Ph ratio is 2 parts Calcium to one part Ph. But that ratio is for people who are already feeding food with the correct Ca to Ph ratio. If you are correcting a ratio that is off, you don't want more Ph, you would want less. This is also important for people with insectivores whose store bought food insects tend to have a very low Ca to Ph ratio, and so you don't want a Calcium supplement with added Ph. So where does Mg fit into this? I don't know. I eat bananas (High in Mg…) to prevent leg cramps after a workout...

Best, in my experience to avoid new-fangled marketing schemes with solutions to problems that don't exist. Use a plain calcium carbonate based supplement for your calcium supplementation. I've been using the ZooMed brand and the Rep-Cal brand for decades and they work. They work for me and for everyone that uses them.

In more recent years, I've also started adding MinerAll once a week or so to my supplementation routine. And I usually add a vitamin supplement once a week or so too. Just tiny little small pinches of all of this stuff is all that is needed for a single tortoise, unless your single tortoise is an 80 pound sulcata…
When I'm feeding a lot of high calcium weeds and cactus, I often skip the supplements entirely. I'll supplement egg-laying females and growing babies more than adult males, as a general rule too.

 

[Laura1412]

Thanks Tom much appreciated I'll stick with calcium iv already got which is the zoo med one he is just tryin to sell the product the fool I knew u guys would put me right thanks

 

[Markw84]

good afternoon hope everyone is well
I am wanting to no if this calcium supplement I have been advised to get is good or not I have been speaking to the Arcadia product manager John about there basking bulbs and he got on about this calcium supplement which he says is very good and am just wanting advise from you guys before I bought it for my clyde thanks

Laura

With our tortoises getting a good diet of leafy greens and weeds, we shouldn't have the problem with enough magnesium that perhaps a carnivorous reptile that does not get that in it's diet. Collard greens, cilantro, grape leaves, mulberry leaves = all have high magnesium levels compared to what a tortoise would need.

Magnesium does help the metabolism regulate calcium and vitamin D in the body, so it is important. But with a good diet as suggested on TFO, should accomplish that. So I agree that whether egg shells, or cuttlebone, or the old standard Rep Cal - I think we are good with those choices and don't need to spend the $ on a formula like this that is a bit vague in what it really contains.

 

[Laura1412]

Thanks @Markw84 i will just stick with the zoo med calcium that I use now thanks for your response much appreciated

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I leave a cuttlefish bone to be chomped when necessary.
If Tidgy doesn't chomp for a while, I will scrape a bit onto her food twice a week..
This guy is trying to sell you something you don't need.

 

[Laura1412]

Yea I'm not buyin it tidgys dad I have got cattle bone in enclosure but all Clyde does is climb over it

 

[Tom]

...have got cattle bone...

Well there's your problem. Cattle bones are much to large and too hard for a little russian tortoise to bite into. Try a cuttle bone and see how that works out.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Well there's your problem. Cattle bones are much to large and too hard for a little russian tortoise to bite into. Try a cuttle bone and see how that works out.

What's a cattle bone ?

 

[Tom]

What's a cattle bone ?

Are you one of those vegan types that has never eaten a T-bone steak?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Are you one of those vegan types that has never eaten a T-bone steak?

Oh ! A cow bone .

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I thought it was something like a salt block .

 

[Tom]

Oh ! A cow bone .

I'm pretty sure Laura misspelled "cuttle" bone, and I was just teasing her a bit. She's probably sleeping right now, but she'll wake up in the morning and hopefully have a good laugh.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I'm pretty sure Laura misspelled "cuttle" bone, and I was just teasing her a bit. She's probably sleeping right now, but she'll wake up in the morning and hopefully have a good laugh.

She will . And she will fit in here great !

 

[Laura1412]

thanks Tom a very interesting thread to wake upto made me laugh,these iPhone keypads are not the best things to type on quickly really enjoy this forum u guys are a brilliant set of people and me and my Clyde are forever in ur debt we was in a bit of a mess wen I joined this forum listing to the advise given wen I purchased Clyde from pet store and if it was nt for all ur help we would still have been and if not worse thanks a bunch I love u all