Tortoises require calcium rich foods in order to maintain strong bones and shells, such as snails, dandelions and cuttlebone in the wild – all excellent sources of calcium.
Pet shops often sell blocks designed to be nibbled by dogs and cats, typically made up of Plaster of Paris (calcium sulfate hemihydrate) and calcium carbonate, but these do not provide as high levels of bioavailability compared to powdered supplements.
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Cuttlebone
Cuttlebones are an easy, cost-effective, and readily available way to supplement your tortoise’s diet with essential calcium. Available for sale online or at pet shops alike, cuttlebones offer captive tortoises a good source of calcium for captive breeding programs. There are various kinds of cuttlebones on the market such as the Zoo Med Turtle Bone or Penn Plax E2 model which are all-natural options that offer maximum benefit.
These bones contain high concentrations of calcium carbonate as well as minerals such as copper, zinc and iron – making them perfect for trimming finches beaks or tortoises alike.
Ground to a powder and lightly dusted onto their food, powder supplements are much simpler to administer than blocks, and should be given daily if your tortoise has an apparent deficiency. Egg shells should be avoided as dietary supplements as they contain hormones and antibiotics that could potentially harm their reptile.
Milk Thistle
Tortoises live in areas with abundant soil rich in calcium, so their food naturally contains high levels of this mineral in nature. Unfortunately, in captivity this may be more difficult; many pet owners supplement their pet’s diet with Rep-Cal, Zoo Med’s Tortoise Block or plain calcium carbonate powder on a regular basis to meet this goal.
Milk thistle is an herb with long been recognized for its powerful antioxidant effects that help slow down the aging process and its ability to stimulate protein synthesis, protect against liver conditions such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and prevent gallstones.
Ideally, it is best to let a tortoise find its own sources of calcium naturally instead of artificially forcing its intake. Too much calcium intake may actually lead to an uncomfortable condition known as stomatitis (mouth ulcers) requiring immediate medical care from a veterinarian.
Dandelion
Dandelion leaves are an excellent source of calcium for tortoises and should only be fed occasionally as part of their diet (it’s best to offer them in spring rather than winter).
If you want to supplement your tortoise’s diet with natural plants, try offering dried dandelion leaves instead of dried grasses; this can help lower oxalate content as well as keeping nutrients fresh without losing their quality. Alternatively, frozen dandelion leaves can be frozen to ensure freshness without losing nutrients.
Rep-Cal is another option that is widely available at pet stores and offers pure powdered calcium carbonate free from phosphorous that’s tailor-made for reptiles that thrive under UVB lighting conditions.
Snail Shells
Snails are a rich source of calcium, and tortoises have long been seen munching them up in the wild. Snails should make up an integral part of any captive tortoise diet.
Snail shells can be added as supplements by grinding and scattering them onto tortoise food, providing calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, calcium phosphate and magnesium salts with various microtrace elements that provide many health benefits for tortoises.
Tortoise blocks are also available, though most contain only trace amounts of usable calcium due to being made primarily of gypsum or plaster of Paris and not usable calcium. Furthermore, their other ingredients – such as extracts from plants like opuntia (prickly pear) – may not be ideal for tortoises.
Powdered calcium carbonate should be easily dissolved in water and lightly sprinkled over tortoise food to achieve maximum benefit for their diets and ward off mineral deficiencies. Instead of providing tortoises with blocks filled with heavy metals and phosphorous that may obstruct their diet and lead to mineral deficiency issues, instead use powdered forms of calcium carbonate that dissolve easily in water for easy dosing of their food and easily sprinkled on their surface.
