Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 3:56 pm
buttrflydreams06, calcium is even more important for hatchlings with growing shells than for older turtles. I don't think offering a few pieces of cuttlebone a few times a week is enough, especially if your turtle's shell is very soft, as you said. And if your turtle isn't basking under UVB rays along with that heat lamp, very little, if any, calcium is going to be absorbed either...
I would get that UVB light so your turtle can bask under it as well as the heat lamp (have them next to each other over the basking area).
You didn't say what pellet you're using, but I'd get Reptomin Baby---it's made for smaller turtles and has a bit more calcium in it than many other pellets. Your turtle is small and probably won't automatically eat cuttlebone, but offer it anyway. Since your turtle is really small, make the pieces very small and thin, so they can be bitten and broken up easily. And I would keep a few pieces floating in the tank, not just give them a few times a week. If your turtle realizes they're edible, your turtle will have them there to eat when your turtle wants to.
If it were me, I'd also supplement with a non-phosphorus powdered calcium supplement (RepCal is one good one)---you can coat the pellets with it to increase their calcium content by moistening the pellets, putting them in a plastic bag with some of the powder and shaking it, letting them dry and then giving them to your turtle.
Good luck. Let us know how your turtle does.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
