General Care Discussion :: Cuttlebone...how much...how often?

[WyredHardware]

Well the subject is the question. I have a little turtle and I finally found non flavored cuttlebone... what can I say it is Japan.. apparently the market for apple and banana flavored cuttlebone is big. So the question remains. How much and how often? So far I feed the little one a cube half the size of her head every 2-3days. What about the rest of you?

[steve]

I use a few small bite size pieces once a week. They get calcium in other foods, but its good for variety.

[marisa]

I keep two or three pieces (head-sized, cut thinnish) floating in the tank at all times and replace as they are eaten.

You live in Japan? Do you have a Tokyu Hands anywhere near you? If so, have you tried there for cuttlebone? I've also gotten plain cuttlebone in Don Quixote (that chain store) in their very small pet section.

[urbancleopatra]

I switch off feeding pellets and veggies every other day so I throw in the cuttlebone on the veggie days. I normally drop in two bite size pieces for the kids.

[SpotsMama]

I leave a pretty big chunk clipped to the side of the tank in a veggie clip for my turtle to nibble on whenever the mood stricks. About twice a week I change it out (there's usually some left) because he won't eat a piece of waterlogged cuttlebone.

[WyredHardware]

marisa,

Hey ya I am in Japan. I know the places you speak of. I found a pet shop that carries it finally in the next town over from me. Cheap too about 120yen for 2 pieces about 22cm long 10cm wide.
I have a new problem though.. i got to get my tank temperature down. It is the start of summer here in Japan and the water temp is climbing... Right now I am freezing some 1L bottles of water to drop into the tank. 1 for when I am at work and when i get home on goes the AC and drop another in to get the temp down. I have a fan on the tank as well but it is not helping. So far the bottle trick is working.

[Starchick]

I use the zoomed turtle bones, and they tend to sink after a day or two, so it seemed like a waste. Now I peel off the backing, put it in a plastic bag and crush it up, then every couple days before I feed lettuce I put it in the bag and shake it around to coat it. I'm sure he's eating more of it this way than he ever was before.

[marisa]

The heat was a big problem for me in Tokyo as well (and as I write, it's also becoming a problem where I am now). I used the smaller frozen plastic water bottles (OK for a while in a smaller tank) and even ice cubes. Partial water changes did the most good, but even they had to be done fairly frequently because the water temp would rise quickly in the heat.

A fan with the breeze going over the water doesn't help at all?

[WyredHardware]

Ya I am now doing the ice cubes and frozen bottle trick. My water pipes are on the outside of the building so changes have no effect. The fan helps but not that much. I am crossing my fingers on no respiratory infections or shell problems with the bouncing temperatures.

[alexis_906]

Geee, how hot does it get there?

[marisa]

I remember it getting VERY hot and humid some summers. Not quite as bad as Singapore, though, which is nearer to to equator.

[WyredHardware]

Well its 8am and plus 30c. Summer is still officially 1 month off. The humidity is .... 60% almost every day.... weee summer

[Tenodera]

Is it unhealthy to give turtle submerged cuttlebone? Serra nibbles it only when its sunk to the bottom of the tank...

[WyredHardware]

Should be fine. Cuttlebone is just compressed calcium. Weather it is waterlogged or not it should not change the chemical make up of calcium.

[Tenodera]

Isn't cuttlebone the head bone of cuttlefish?