I am putting this on the boxie forum, but it may apply to torts just as much.
I have 2 youngish 3-toeds. This spring and early summer i was digging up what i presume are night crawlers (which are rumored to be very nutritionally-balanced for reptiles). My boxies sure are enthused about these.
But as the summer wore on, hotter than average, these worms got harder and harder to find. Eventually i could find no more (this was a few weeks ago). I did find a few good beetles, but not many.
Meanwhile, i was growing some mealworms, and these were pupating left and right, and some hatching into darkling beetles. So i was feeding the beetles (i think when i drop the beetles on the floor and let them struggle upside-down a while, they may waste a bunch of their defensive chemical -- in any case, my boxies would eat a few of these). And little piles of pupae. And an occasional soft-looking mealworm would get thrown in.
Now, my oldest turtle, Felter, had not touched his cuttlebone since i got him in June. And my little guy Rorg had not nibbled much.
But after eating mealworm stages instead of earthworms for a while, they both became ravenous for cuttlebone! Yesterday evening i was hearing loud cracking sounds from both enclosures for quite some time. I was amazed how much Rorg ate just in the last 20 hours or so.
So i conclude that if your turtle spurns calcium supplements, it MIGHT be that his diet is so balanced that he does not need it. On the other hand, if he does crave calcium...
BTW this morning i found 3 small snails and also a bunch of big soldier fly larvae getting ready to pupate, which i fed my appreciative turtles. And i have compost piles going with the BSFL which should soon attract the worms again also.
It has been hot here.
Also BTW i have never fed my turts commercial reptile food.
I have 2 youngish 3-toeds. This spring and early summer i was digging up what i presume are night crawlers (which are rumored to be very nutritionally-balanced for reptiles). My boxies sure are enthused about these.
But as the summer wore on, hotter than average, these worms got harder and harder to find. Eventually i could find no more (this was a few weeks ago). I did find a few good beetles, but not many.
Meanwhile, i was growing some mealworms, and these were pupating left and right, and some hatching into darkling beetles. So i was feeding the beetles (i think when i drop the beetles on the floor and let them struggle upside-down a while, they may waste a bunch of their defensive chemical -- in any case, my boxies would eat a few of these). And little piles of pupae. And an occasional soft-looking mealworm would get thrown in.
Now, my oldest turtle, Felter, had not touched his cuttlebone since i got him in June. And my little guy Rorg had not nibbled much.
But after eating mealworm stages instead of earthworms for a while, they both became ravenous for cuttlebone! Yesterday evening i was hearing loud cracking sounds from both enclosures for quite some time. I was amazed how much Rorg ate just in the last 20 hours or so.
So i conclude that if your turtle spurns calcium supplements, it MIGHT be that his diet is so balanced that he does not need it. On the other hand, if he does crave calcium...
BTW this morning i found 3 small snails and also a bunch of big soldier fly larvae getting ready to pupate, which i fed my appreciative turtles. And i have compost piles going with the BSFL which should soon attract the worms again also.
It has been hot here.
Also BTW i have never fed my turts commercial reptile food.