Feeding and Nutrition :: Can you sprinkle ground cuttle bone on pellets?

[ESG4Life]

My turtle doesn't seem to show interest in cuttle bone chunks, and his scutes are starting to retain. W0uld it be possible to grind up the cuttle bone and sprinkle it on his pellets? Or is there any supplement I can give him?

[BullDog]

You can, but as soon as you put those pellets in the water, the cuttlebone powder will wash right off.
Have you tried soaking the cuttlebone in tuna water?
How old is your turtle? If he's still young, he may not be interested in cuttlebone until he's older. Just keep offering it, and when he feels the need for it, he'll go for it.

[ESG4Life]

My RES is about 5" so I'm guessing about 3 years old. Actually, I hadn't thought of that.
REALLY off topic but have apple snails been a problem to you?

[BullDog]

When I bought some aquatic plants a few years ago, I kept them in a separate 2 gallon tank. After a few weeks, that little tank was overrun with little snails (not sure if they were apple snails). When I fed the plants to Ralph, I tried to rinse them best I could, but next time I cleaned the filter I found about 4 little snails in there. I took them out, scrubbed the inside of the canister to get rid of any eggs, and didn't see any snails in the tank after that.

So to make a short story long, no, I've never had a problem with snails

[ESG4Life]

Oh well, here in Hawai'i we have Apple Snails they get as big as an apple (hence the name) they lay clusters of pinkish red eggs on trees surrounding water. They are an invasive species here and cause problems to the taro farmers because they eat the leaves.
Anyways I got a big infestation and had to call the D.O.A (Department of Agriculture) to get them exterminated.

[BullDog]

Ah. I thought you meant in the tank
We've just got little bitty freshwater snails here. Never heard about having problems with them.

On a somewhat related note, if your turt will eat (smaller) snails, he'll get calcium from the shells. But if they get into the filter, they're really hard to get rid of!

[ESG4Life]

Really? I didn't know that. I have a bucket full of little snails but they have a sharp point at the top (They are small though.) The toads are laying eggs and having tadpoles too. Are these okay to give as a treat on occasion?

P.S. I have had trouble with snails in my fish aquarium all, I had to do was get a couple clown loaches and *BAM!!* No more snails. (Except for a few small ones.)

[steve]

Instead of using cuttlebone to dust pellets, I'd use something like Rep-Cal Calcium (phosphorus-free).

[ESG4Life]

yeah i heard that works good, ill try it thanks

[untsmurf]

How can you keep the dust on the pellet after it's been put in the water? It's my understanding that the dust will wash off and end up as a residue on your tank.

[ESG4Life]

haha i thought of that too

[laurapa]

I keep asking this and have trouble getting a straight reply (although there is a good chance that I missed it).

In terms of dusting the pellets with calcium, is it possible to OVERfeed calcium? I know that it's bad for people to eat too much calcium, but what about turtles?

I'd like to start dusting Oliver's pellets with calcium since he remains entirely uninterested in his cuttlebone, but I don't want to overdo it. Any advice on the proper frequency or amount of calcium offered?

[BullDog]

Laurapa - I don't think there's such a thing as too much calcium. Any excess calcium will just turn into waste. Apparently, if your RES is getting too much calcium, his poop will be chalky. But I don't think just dusting the pellets will result in too much calcium.

[ESG4Life]

does the dust have like something i it that keeps it from getting washed off?

[octpusgirl8]

No, it'll come right off in the water. If you're going to try this, you would need to moisten the pellet to make it stick, then hand feed it without putting it in the water so that the turtle will get some of the calcium.