All Turtles Message Board

Traci1972 · Level 1 Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 5

Can you give painted turtles cuttle bone you at buy at WalMart in the pet section? I know you can get special turtle cuttle bone.

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:48 pm Post subject:

Cuttlebone is Cuttlebone, the same one that they sell for birds, it is exactly the same that you use for turtles. Very Happy

_________________

Traci1972 · Level 1 Joined: 27 Oct 2007 Posts: 5

I figured so but did not want to buy something not made for them and hurt them.
I wll get the one for birds much cheaper.
how do you go about using it just drop it in there

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject:

They have a hard back that you have to chip off, sometimes you can get it to release big pieces, but most of the time you just get a small chip, a butter knife works very well, but even though it isn't very sharp, you should be careful, after that just break off small pieces and put them in the tank with the turtles. Very Happy

_________________

Bubonic · Level 2 Joined: 06 Mar 2008 Posts: 81

Can the turtles overeat cuttlebone? Or do they know enough to regulate their calcium consumption?

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject:

Well, if you are concerned with them eating too much, just snap it in half or thirds and just feed it to them until they finish it, and keep the other pieces until about a week later, but I don't really think they can overdose on it.
_________________

babylucifer · Level 2 Joined: 06 Sep 2008 Posts: 89

If you aren't too afraid of germs or you have a really clean seafood market, you can even get FRESH cuttlefish bone, taken right from the cuttlefish (they're a kind of squid). Your little ones will go CRAZY for that, mine give me impatient looks while I break it up with hammer and old knife.