General Care Discussion :: what are cuttle bones?

[Speedygirl]

I i am just wondering what are cuttle bones and wear do you get them. thanks

[Pizza]

White oval shaped bones, usually that of a squid or alike. You find them in the bird section of a pet store.

If feeding to your turtle, remove the hard backing off one side (most cuttlebones will have this). It is easily distinquishable which side has the hard backing, it's hard, where the other side is chalk-like, you can dig your nail into it. Best to scrape off the hard backing with a knife of some sort. Also remove the metal ring off it if your cuttlebone came with it.

It is also preferred to break or cut the cuttlebone into small bite sized pieces for turtles, it's easier for them.

[Hoooneylynn]

Speddygirl, just to let you know, there is a search engine at the top of the page. There have been MANY threads on cuttlebone, and although we are here to help, we ask that you please search before asking questions, because this cuttlebone thread has already been answered MANY times. Thanks

[Speedygirl]

Thanks for the reply. I'll look into it.

[industrial_girl_2000]

It's funny because I was wondering where cuttlebone came from too....never knew they came from squids. Thanks Pizza!

[lotsofpets]

Actuallly cuttlebones come from cuttle fish, which are not squids, although the are in the same Class- Cephalopoda. (Phylum Mollusca)

[d0eb0y]

it does look like a squid to be honest. But it is known as CUTTLE FISH



Pretty weird lookin thing huh

[Speedygirl]

cool, but kinda weird. Anyways thanks for the replys!

[pumpkinsherbet]

i didn't know that either. nifty.

[SpotsMama]

The stuff of nightmares....

[pumpkinsherbet]

i didn't even know there was a cuttle fish

[SpotsMama]

Sorry to stray from the subject, but cuttlefish really are interesting. The cuttlefish, along with the squids and octopuses (octopi?) are very intellegent. They are supposed to be curious, innovative (!) and lively. They are escape artists - they'll climb/slither out of their aquariums if they aren't secured.

Sound like anyone we know?

[pumpkinsherbet]

octopi/octopuses tomayto/tomahto according to dictionary.com favourite marine animals (also favourite food) along w/ jellyfish. i have a video of an octopus eating a shark. marine life is very fascinating.

[lotsofpets]

I heard about an experiment once where scientists put an octopus in a aquarium by itself and on the opposite side of the room there was another aquarium full of fish. The next day they were shocked! The octopus was in the aquarium where the fish had been and all of the fish were gone!

[da sAUCE!]

yeah they are supposed to be very smart. Anything with a built in smoke screen is the bomb in my eyes.