Calcium

[Emmon91]

Hey everybody,
I am worried about the amount of calcium my western Herman is getting. He has a cuttlefish bone in his enclosure but he wont go near it. I have tried using the supplement powders also, but when I sprinkle even the smallest amount on his food he wont touch it.
His diet is mostly weeds (dandelions and clovers) from the garden, when I cant get the weeds I use bagged baby leaf salad from the shops, he has some prickly pear cactus maybe twice a month as well. I also treat him to the odd pellet, but only on the odd occasion.
should I be worried about calcium or is he getting it from his diet?

Any advise or reassurance would be much appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Whitneyrae]

To help my powdered calcium "stick" I sprinkle it on her greens and then mist a little bit of water on top, that will usually help quite a bit.

 

[Emmon91]

To help my powdered calcium "stick" I sprinkle it on her greens and then mist a little bit of water on top, that will usually help quite a bit.

He just avoids it altogether, I don't know if its a smell or something. Dandelion flowers are his favourite thing ever he usually runs over when I place them in but if I've put any calcium powder on he wont go near.

 

[MrFrost]

Hey everybody,
I am worried about the amount of calcium my western Herman is getting. He has a cuttlefish bone in his enclosure but he wont go near it. I have tried using the supplement powders also, but when I sprinkle even the smallest amount on his food he wont touch it.
His diet is mostly weeds (dandelions and clovers) from the garden, when I cant get the weeds I use bagged baby leaf salad from the shops, he has some prickly pear cactus maybe twice a month as well. I also treat him to the odd pellet, but only on the odd occasion.
should I be worried about calcium or is he getting it from his diet?

Any advise or reassurance would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Normally you should be very careful with calcium/phosphorus supplements to not go overboard with how much you're giving to the tort. The calciumhosphorus ratio for torts is 2:1 and should be fed regularly food that respects this ratio. It is good to diversify and giver the tort irregularly some other food, but your main aim is to make the tort get used to the 2:1 ratio foods.

This info is from a iguana care website, but since iguanas are also herbivores, the info is equally useful for torts too:

Vegetable ratios
http://www.iguanaden.org/diet/calphosveg.htm

Fruit ratios
http://www.iguanaden.org/diet/calphosfruit.htm

Understanding the ratios
http://www.iguanaden.org/diet/calphosfruit.htm

 

[christinaland128]

Hey everybody,
I am worried about the amount of calcium my western Herman is getting. He has a cuttlefish bone in his enclosure but he wont go near it. I have tried using the supplement powders also, but when I sprinkle even the smallest amount on his food he wont touch it.
His diet is mostly weeds (dandelions and clovers) from the garden, when I cant get the weeds I use bagged baby leaf salad from the shops, he has some prickly pear cactus maybe twice a month as well. I also treat him to the odd pellet, but only on the odd occasion.
should I be worried about calcium or is he getting it from his diet?

Any advise or reassurance would be much appreciated.

Thank you

I bought this stuff which was recommended by someone here at the forum. It smells like blueberry so they go nuts for it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0004E85CW/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20