Calcium/vitamin supplements

Helen03

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
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11
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Hampshire
Hello,

I have a juvenile Hermanns tortoise that we’ve owned for about a month now. She has settled in nicely and is eating well.
I mainly feed her dandelion greens, clover, kale, romaine lettuce, bit of pepper, plantain and lambs lettuce at the moment. I have offered a few other plants from the garden such as rose, pansies and red valerian but she doesn’t seem to be too bothered by them. Is this varied enough or do I need to be foraging some more?
Also my main question is how often should I be putting the calcium and vitamins supplements into the food? Daily? Weekly? She seems to take it well with the powder sprinkled on. She has cuttlefish in with her but I’ve never seen her touch it.

Thank you for any help and advice.
 

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
Hello,

I have a juvenile Hermanns tortoise that we’ve owned for about a month now. She has settled in nicely and is eating well.
I mainly feed her dandelion greens, clover, kale, romaine lettuce, bit of pepper, plantain and lambs lettuce at the moment. I have offered a few other plants from the garden such as rose, pansies and red valerian but she doesn’t seem to be too bothered by them. Is this varied enough or do I need to be foraging some more?
Also my main question is how often should I be putting the calcium and vitamins supplements into the food? Daily? Weekly? She seems to take it well with the powder sprinkled on. She has cuttlefish in with her but I’ve never seen her touch it.

Thank you for any help and advice.
You will get varying opinions on this question. I bred and raised a great many tortoises of many different species from 1958 to 2018 and I used both calcium (Ultrafine Rep-Cal WITH D3) and vitamins (Herptivite) on all of my tortoises' foods daily with very good success and no ill effects whatsoever.
 

Helen03

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Hampshire
You will get varying opinions on this question. I bred and raised a great many tortoises of many different species from 1958 to 2018 and I used both calcium (Ultrafine Rep-Cal WITH D3) and vitamins (Herptivite) on all of my tortoises' foods daily with very good success and no ill effects whatsoever.
Thank you, I’m currently alternating calcidust which I got when I bought the tortoise and nutrobal which I bought because it has extra vitamins and minerals in it. Do you think the basis of the diet I’m feeding sounds ok or do I need more variation? Thanks
 

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
Thank you, I’m currently alternating calcidust which I got when I bought the tortoise and nutrobal which I bought because it has extra vitamins and minerals in it. Do you think the basis of the diet I’m feeding sounds ok or do I need more variation? Thanks
The diet sounds reasonably all right, but I would say that the more variety you can provide, the better. In my experience, tortoises frequently go through periods of liking one particular food item very much, then moving on to a new "favorite" food for a while, and barely eating the previous favorite item. Therefore, I recommend offering a great variety of foods to keep the tortoise happy and well fed over the long term.
 

Helen03

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
11
Location (City and/or State)
Hampshire
The diet sounds reasonably all right, but I would say that the more variety you can provide, the better. In my experience, tortoises frequently go through periods of liking one particular food item very much, then moving on to a new "favorite" food for a while, and barely eating the previous favorite item. Therefore, I recommend offering a great variety of foods to keep the tortoise happy and well fed over the long term.
Thank you that’s great.
 

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