Tortoise won't eat cuttlebone?

[sauronofmordor]

So my female Russian Tortoise was eating rocks, so I got her a cuttlebone as I saw to do on this site. However, she refuses to bite it. Any recommendations?

 

[hunterk997]

It's usually used for the tort to nibble on if it needs more calcium. Not a treat or food. It'll disappear over time.


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[Tom]

Sometimes the rock nibbling is not due to a calcium deficiency. Sometimes it is due to a mineral imbalance or shortage of something else. I have had good luck curbing the rock eating by adding "MinerAll" to the diet two or three times a week. Still leave the cuttle bone. Sometimes they will ignore it for months before nibbling on it.

 

[pappabear1973]

I do not wish to dude track this or high jack it. However... fit the miner all, . Isn't that for meat eating/ insect eating reptiles or amphibians. I would be concerned of any added protein in the diet. I have read that it can be bad. However for the deployment itself, what does that offer. This intrigues me. Thanks

 

[cemmons12]

Some torts just wont eat a cuttlebone. My Russian will go through spells where she will or will not eat hers. I just leave it in for her in case she takes notion to nibble on it. I also wash it off with just warm water every so often.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Put in the habitat enclosure for eating at will. Sometimes it takes time for them to have that will. With new foods and stuff, tortoises go in slooooooooow motion, but eventually they come around. My tortoises have taught me "patience". : 0

 

[biochemnerd808]

Eating rocks doesn't always mean that the deficiency is calcium, like Tom said. Another good multivitamin source is TNT from Caroline Pet Supply (I hope the link works). It is made of ground up plants, and can be safely given to herbivorous tortoises.

As far as the cuttlefish bone, you have a few different options:
-You could soak the cuttlefish in cucumber juice, I've heard that this makes it smell more delicious to tortoises.
-You could scrape a little of the cuttlefish onto the greens you feed
-You can decide not to worry... honestly, my tortoises go for months without touching their cuttlebone. Then all of a sudden they will chow down, especially gravid females.

 

[Tom]

I do not wish to dude track this or high jack it. However... fit the miner all, . Isn't that for meat eating/ insect eating reptiles or amphibians. I would be concerned of any added protein in the diet. I have read that it can be bad. However for the deployment itself, what does that offer. This intrigues me. Thanks

I think your question is relavent to the topic.

MinerAll was designed as a way to supplement minerals, and correct an improper calcium to phosphorous ratio in the diet of chameleons and other insectivores. Yes, that is true. However it is only a mineral supplement. It contains no added protein or anything else. Just minerals and trace elements.

This protein thing is another issue. Protein is not the villain that it was once thought to be and studies, as well as people's personal experiences, have revealed that most tortoises do take advantage of SOME protein in the wild when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[sauronofmordor]

Thanks guys. I was aware my tortoise wasn't supposed to eat the whole thing like instantly and that she was supposed to nibble at it. It just that she was searching for rocks even though she was aware it was there, and ended up using it as a pillow for an afternoon nap. I will order some Miner-All from amazon. Thanks again.

 

[mikeh]

Re: RE: Tortoise won't eat cuttlebone?

So my female Russian Tortoise was eating rocks, so I got her a cuttlebone as I saw to do on this site. However, she refuses to bite it. Any recommendations?

You can try crushing the cuttlebone into same size pieces or smaller as the rocks she was eating.
(Some of my torts will not bite into larger limestone rocks, but will readily eat them when crushed into tiny pieces.)

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