cuttlebone

[tananda]

OK so I use cuttlebone for some of my other pets after removing the hard shell on it & I was wondering since I can't find calcium without D3 in my area (gotta wait for the herp expo & cuttlebone is really cheap at the local feed supply store) if I put it in my mortar & pestle & made it into a powder can I use it to dust my crickets? The nutritional is here - http://carolinapetsupply.com/cuttlebone.pdf
If anyone who can interpret this to tell me if it would work I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[SpinyFranky]

OK so I use cuttlebone for some of my other pets after removing the hard shell on it & I was wondering since I can't find calcium without D3 in my area (gotta wait for the herp expo & cuttlebone is really cheap at the local feed supply store) if I put it in my mortar & pestle & made it into a powder can I use it to dust my crickets? The nutritional is here - http://carolinapetsupply.com/cuttlebone.pdf
If anyone who can interpret this to tell me if it would work I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

The link did not give a phosphorous (sp) ratio, and thats kind of what you want to be weary of, not to much phosphorous (sp) in the diet compared to calcium.

Calcium wise its pretty solid.... but considering this would be an alternative to pure calcium... im not so sure. Im also not so sure of the "heavy metal content" but im not a scienctist so im not sure if thats something to consider or if its negligible

Why not just buy the supplemental powders online? LLLreptile sells them in small quantities for a great price, or you could even purchase a tub of the stuff.

S.F

 

[sandrachameleon]

OK so I use cuttlebone for some of my other pets after removing the hard shell on it & I was wondering since I can't find calcium without D3 in my area (gotta wait for the herp expo & cuttlebone is really cheap at the local feed supply store) if I put it in my mortar & pestle & made it into a powder can I use it to dust my crickets? The nutritional is here - http://carolinapetsupply.com/cuttlebone.pdf
If anyone who can interpret this to tell me if it would work I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

way too much effort, if you ask me, to make it anything fine enough
unless you have a lot of time on your hands, just buy a supplement powder

 

[laurie]

OK so I use cuttlebone for some of my other pets after removing the hard shell on it & I was wondering since I can't find calcium without D3 in my area (gotta wait for the herp expo & cuttlebone is really cheap at the local feed supply store) if I put it in my mortar & pestle & made it into a powder can I use it to dust my crickets? The nutritional is here - http://carolinapetsupply.com/cuttlebone.pdf
If anyone who can interpret this to tell me if it would work I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Just order a couple jars of calcium from LLL reptile, one of our sponsors with great prices.

 

[tananda]

Yeah yeah I can order the supplement on-line & pay ridiculous shipping, but that wasn't my question. Can this be used? Honestly once I'm preparing it for my sulcata, it takes less then 5 minutes to make it into a powder to dust with & I make it into a powder for my turtles, geckos & frogs already. I just need to know if it is safe for my chams as well.

 

[SpinyFranky]

Yeah yeah I can order the supplement on-line & pay ridiculous shipping, but that wasn't my question. Can this be used? Honestly once I'm preparing it for my sulcata, it takes less then 5 minutes to make it into a powder to dust with & I make it into a powder for my turtles, geckos & frogs already. I just need to know if it is safe for my chams as well.

on most products LLLreptile offers free shipping... not sure how that applies to the supplementation powders though.

Honestly I say plump down the cash and get the TUB of powder, sure one time large cost... but it beats grinding cuttle bone constantly, and Im one to bet that the pure calcium will be better in the long run.

 

[tananda]

tub would do no good, they expire too quickly.

 

[Elizadolots]

Okay..this is a bird link, but birds and reptiles aren't really that far off on the evolutionary scale...http://www.cockatiels.org/ownersandenthusiasts/calcium-phosphorus, vitamin-D3.htm

The link specifically says

A ratio of 2:1 calcium to available phosphorus in the diet plus adequate Vitamin D3 is recommended.

That sort of seems to jive with what I've seen recommended for chameleons.

That site lists cuttlebone as being a good source of calcium, a poor source of phosphorus.

 

[tananda]

exactly why I started using it. The love birds & budgies.

 

[Elizadolots]

So, maybe you know what you do for birds to get adequate phosphorus and can add that to the protocol.

I'm not at all an expert, but if it were me, I'd view the cuttlebone as a good source of calcium that lacks D-3. In the end, we're all free to make our own choices.

Birds and reptiles are far more similar than say Mammals and reptiles, so it's much more likely that they would have similar dietary requirements.

 

[sandrachameleon]

The bugs will provide adequate phosphorous
You can use cuttlebone if you want to.

 

[tananda]

Thanks for the help.

 

[serenitystarlite]

Yeah yeah I can order the supplement on-line & pay ridiculous shipping

I hate paying shipping too. If you do decide to order anything from the internet, just wait until you need a bunch of stuff and order it at once. That's what I do when I buy stuff from LLLreptile, Amazon.com, Ebay, etc. Another way to avoid shipping is to look on Amazon.com or Ebay for stuff that has no shipping charge, sometimes you get really lucky

 

[rcmike]

I'm just curious. How would calcium expire? What would happen to it?