my turtles shell is going a bit soft
i know i need to give it calcium but it wont eat calcium pellets!!
what else can i give them that has calcium in it?
or how can i make it eat pellets?
2007-02-21 19:50:05 · 13 answers · asked by dom-da-bom 2 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
oh yeah its an Australian Eastern Long/Snake Neck Turtle so its like 98% carnivourous and it wont eat and greens/vegetables/fruits
2007-02-22 07:36:52 · update #1
If your turtle wont eat the pellets you should try cuttlebone. Its like a floating log that her can nibble at when he wants more calcium. If his shell is pretty bad already I reccommend getting him the calcium blocks that you can put in the habitat. It will dissolve in the water and get into his shell. All those are available at local pet stores or aquarium stores. You can probably pick up both for under 15 dollars.
2007-02-22 01:58:29 · answer #1 · answered by lonelypaige 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. 'Gut-loaded' crickets or worm have been fed a diet of calcium and vitamin powder and offer turtles a good dose of nurtients.
2. Making a turtle eat pellets takes some tough love- just feed it pellets only for a couple weeks.
3. Besides calcium, the animal needs D3, either in the diet or from a lamp that offers UVB lighting, and other good nutrition. A solid diet and other cares work together to help with things like this.
2007-02-22 08:18:17 · answer #2 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had the same problem with my turtles until i switched there food to Gammarus pellets, it has a min 2% calcium witch they would not eat straight away but they got sick of eating feeder fish and pinkie rats thawed of course, put a few pellets in the water once they taste it they will soon return to a hard shell provided you have the correct lighting remembering that calcium can not be absorbed without vitamin D3 which Gammarus has D3 at 570IU/kg
2007-02-21 23:49:32 · answer #3 · answered by jungle_farnorth 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Common thought is that dairy is high in calcium, therefore, good for you. Unfortunately, this is NOT TRUE. Dairy is high in calcium, but it's also high in protein and your body needs calcium in order to process protein. So all the calcium in dairy is used by the body immediately and doesn't get stored. Plus, dairy causes a hystamine response in most people and increases the amount of mucus your body produces. So if you have allergies, dairy is best avoided during allergy season or when you have a cold. Try getting your calcium from the same place the cows get it for their big, strong bones - dark, leafy greens!!
2016-05-23 22:26:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can get powder and powder insects. You really shouldn't feed your turtle commercial food. Its not that expensive to go out and buy a few crickets or a 1000 mealworms. Flukerfarms.com has deals where you can get 500 crickets delivered to your door for $5! Thats super mega cheap.
When you buy calcium powder, make sure its phospherus free. I have ReptoCal, its in a green-ish bottle with a dinosaur eye on the front. It works well and I've never had a problem getting Hachi to eat it. Just make sure you have a UV light so he can process it properly.
2007-02-22 01:46:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
there is something called calcium powder, but buy the phospherous free calcium powder because phospherous blocks out the calcium. Prepare the turtle a nice little salad as a meal with a lttle bit of vegies a little bit of fruits, then add a couple of sprinkles of phospherous free calcium powder and mix it all together and give it to him/ or her.
as i already told you to just prepare a salad , maybe try crushing the pellets and mixing them into the salad or whatever food you give him.
heres a petco care sheet:
http://www.petco.com/CareSheets/petco_CareSheets_Nav_154.aspx#Turtles
just pick which turtle is yours and it will give you all the info.
2007-02-21 23:31:30 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I give my tortoise "turtle bones" for his soft shell. They are basically big chunks of calcium that turtles like to bite and chew off of. You can probably get them at a petstore, heres the website.....
http://www.zoomed.com/html/new_products.php
2007-02-22 11:21:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Crush the pellets and mix them up in something else the turtle will eat.
You gotta trick it.
Turtles are stupid.
C'mon I'm sure you can outsmart it.
2007-02-21 19:55:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Spinach and Broccoli are quite high in calcium, feed your turtle that.
2007-02-21 20:00:22 · answer #9 · answered by FaceFullofFashion 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well i use Cuttlebone for my turtles. It keeps there shell realy strong and its realy cheap. You can purchase it at your local pet shop! I also use Powderd milk. It works fine!
thanx :)
2007-02-22 02:22:04 · answer #10 · answered by lovemaster1995p 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋