General Care Discussion :: Turtle conditioner ( pic inside)

[Drunken]

Anyone ever heard of theese or used them ?
Picked one up at the local pet store, on the back it says "Helps to keep the water from going acidic, while the calcium that is released as the block dissolves aids in preventing softening of the turtle`s shell."

Its in the water now anyways

[marisa]

They're not worth the money you spend on them. If you keep the water quality up with cleanings and changes, you don't need them. For added calcium, give your turtle some cuttlebone (the stuff for birds).

[jenaero]

Those are useless. You're better off just using cuttlebone.

[Drunken]

got cuttle bone in the tank... actually bought 2 kg of it today
will stay away from theese things in the future tho
thanks for the heads up

[marisa]

That sounds like A LOT of cuttlebone...

[Drunken]

i could buy the "blisterpacks" with 2 cuttlebones in it, or i could buy 2 kg`s in wholesale (is that the right word ? ) for the price of 3 blisterpacks.

with turtles getting 30-50 years old, i think they can chew thru that in their lifetime

[marisa]

Wow---a big price difference between the blister packs (retail) and getting it wholesale (in bulk).

[kikicool]

Wow, Drunken, where did you get the wholesale cuttlebone? I'd love to buy some.

[Jessy Loves Torti!]

you know how to work the cuttle bone right? by cutting off the hard, shiney backing??

those turtle "sulfa blocks" are essentially just plaster of paris... which you can use in your tank too

[Jayqualin]

I used that product before and its such a rip off. The powder from the block can get into your turtles eyes when they come to investigate it. My RES kept on rubbing his eyes because of the powdery stuff form the block. It doesnt change the water quality much either. Use cuttlebone

[kmichael55]

Jessy Loves Torti--- What did you mean by you can use plaster of paris in your tank? I'm curious as to what the purpose would be...seems harmful

[DavidY]

Isn't that just baking soda? The only thing to watch out for is that you don't want to raise the alkalinity in the tank water too high. A pH anywhere between 6 and 8 is safe for a RES. I think the turtle blocks may also add some buffering capability to the water as well. Buffering helps to maintain the pH at a more stable level (less fluctuation) which can be a desirable thing. I dont know much about those blocks though so I'm just guessing here.