Vitamin advice?

[Omega]

I've got one who will not eat fruit or veg if I give it to him as food on a plate. He won't even eat the yummy stuff if fruit or veg is present no matter how much it's mushed in. But I've discovered that if he's out wandering, either around the house or outside, and I chuck pieces down on the ground in his vicinity to 'find', then he'll eat it.

I bet he thinks he's being so smart not eating what I give him specifically and only 'finding' his own food. Teenagers

I only discovered this a few weeks ago when he happened on some bits of squash left on the ground outside that another one of mine had left behind. Since then I've been chucking down blueberries and mushroom pieces and zucchini when he's out and about and voila! He's no longer simply a junk food addict I am so smart, I am so smart, s m r t, I mean s m a r t

haha, thats hilarious, he must enjoy the easy hunt of fruit and veggies, lol.

[KyleWeiss]

Notice I didn't mention a brand-name of reptile supplement dust, because they all are TERRIBLE. You might want to find dust that is PURE calcium carbonate, nothing else, made from eggshells or oyster shells.

Edward always says, "Nature knows best," so I say, do the best you can in place of nature.

KW

i have one that is commercially available, it says its manufactured from oyster shell ground into fine powder with added vitamin D3.

active constituents: 350mg/g Calcium (as calcium carbonate), 70mg/g cholefalciferol (vitamin D3)


is this one crap or does it sound alright?

That's the problem, everything generally available has additives. There used to be a member making her own out of eggshells.

It's actually very possible to make your own out of eggshells.

Save your eggshells if you eat eggs, wash them out VERY well (but gently for obvious reasons) and by well, the inside of the shell should feel like the outside (get rid of that air sac). Let them dry. Put them in a plastic bag or a tupperware container with holes. (Note: If anyone has any better ways of cleaning out shells, please, let me know, my method is effective but time consuming...)

When you've collected a couple dozen shells or so, crush them. A coffee grinder works well, or a food processor, even a mortar and pestle to get a real fine powder. You may not get it as fine as flour, but as close as you can without breaking your arm or burning out the motor of whatever appliance you have.

There you have it, calcium-only, home-made supplement.

Again, only use this if you follow the food chart and cannot get foods that are balanced for phosphorus and calcium. Use sparingly.

As Lisa said, even too much calcium is bad!

That's why the food chart was created, because knowledge in diet prevents this game where this needs to be added to that, etc, etc...

Follow the chart, it is the best way.

KW

[Omega]

^^^^ There he is again, stealing my thunder, haha, jk. Hey kyle! I keep taking breaks from my existentialism paper and checking the forum for new posts on here, hehe.

[KyleWeiss]

I like existentialism... and you're up on reading MY stuff? Most days I'd take Nietzsche over the forum...

KW

[Omega]

double post, whoops.

[Omega]

I like existentialism... and you're up on reading MY stuff? Most days I'd take Nietzsche over the forum...

KW

Oh no... another kyle that does philosophy too? You're kidding me... lol. Tell me you at least don't have a degree in it, then at least by december i'll have something on you, haha.

P.S. My paper is about Kierkegaard, hooray for Teleological suspensions of the ethical! Lol... can't wait to have this done.

Haha, come to think of it, i almost made my username "Übermensch," but i didn't think anyone would get it, hehe.

[NomadOfTheHills]

I am so smart, I am so smart, s m r t, I mean s m a r t

I love The Simpsons.

[DeadEye]

Yere when you have a tribe of skinks and its feeding time i have found there is a pecking order.And they act like they dont want a bar of it .But Likes Lisa said when you walk away they growl out big time . Its really interesting to watch there behavior out side . I need to hire a good movie camera at feeding time ,the babie,s turn flat and go all shy .The boys roll onto there side,s 3 young male,s and look like there trying to catch more rays. And there is lots of really quiet clicking and popping sounds ..Id love to share it .Harley today had a whiste going off in one nostril.. Gee There,s so much cool stuff to learn ..Might have been doing the whiste sound ,at the new sexy colours of olive ..lol .. Ive gotta make a wav of these sub sonic sounds..brilliant .

I take the gang out and plop a kilo of tucker on a piece of carboard on the grass, then after breaky some pick up bits off the lawn tiny things like sand >??? and then all go off to do jobbie,s . . good sytem.. less mess table maners can get rough .Some one might be full and climb up over the stack and block the traffic

[Lisa]

The best source of calcium is to feed them snails with their shells on. (From your yard, if there are no baits or poisons used). Snails are their main source of food in the wild, along with other grubs and bugs and native vegetation

[Omega]

The best source of calcium is to feed them snails with their shells on. (From your yard, if there are no baits or poisons used). Snails are their main source of food in the wild, along with other grubs and bugs and native vegetation

I got the guy at petsmart to scoop me up 10 or 15 of the pond snails they don't want, so i'm letting them start a snail colony in a 10 gallon aquarium. Then i can toss one or 2 in with his food, but how often would it be ok to do that? Does the snail's body contain anything really good for them, or is it mainly for the calcium from the shell?

[Lisa]

Feed them the whole kit and kaboodle! The body is their meat source, the shell is their calcium source. Ask any long time keeper or researcher of BTS in Aus and ask them what to feed them and the first answer will always be snails.

I feed mine almost exclusively on snails and grubs, they get fruit or veg as a side dish. However there is a distinct lack of snails here at the moment and finding one is like finding a gold nugget! (too much competition in the backyard from all the other skinks and geckos )

[Omega]

Feed them the whole kit and kaboodle! The body is their meat source, the shell is their calcium source. Ask any long time keeper or researcher of BTS in Aus and ask them what to feed them and the first answer will always be snails.

I feed mine almost exclusively on snails and grubs, they get fruit or veg as a side dish. However there is a distinct lack of snails here at the moment and finding one is like finding a gold nugget! (too much competition in the backyard from all the other skinks and geckos )

so the snail bodies are a decent protein source? sounds awesome, once I have a good bit of them in the tank I could toss a couple in with his meals daily even I guess.

[Lisa]

Feed them the whole kit and kaboodle! The body is their meat source, the shell is their calcium source. Ask any long time keeper or researcher of BTS in Aus and ask them what to feed them and the first answer will always be snails.

I feed mine almost exclusively on snails and grubs, they get fruit or veg as a side dish. However there is a distinct lack of snails here at the moment and finding one is like finding a gold nugget! (too much competition in the backyard from all the other skinks and geckos )

so the snail bodies are a decent protein source? sounds awesome, once I have a good bit of them in the tank I could toss a couple in with his meals daily even I guess.

I prefer to feed them by hand or outside because they're slimey and gooey! Although I don't think one would be able to get far and leave its slime trail all over the tank when there's a bluey around to eat it. It's a good jaw workout for them too. Snails are excellent, I'm thinking of contacting the snail farms that breed them for escargot here because they aren't sold in shops here except the ones in tins and they're yeuch

[Omega]

Feed them the whole kit and kaboodle! The body is their meat source, the shell is their calcium source. Ask any long time keeper or researcher of BTS in Aus and ask them what to feed them and the first answer will always be snails.

I feed mine almost exclusively on snails and grubs, they get fruit or veg as a side dish. However there is a distinct lack of snails here at the moment and finding one is like finding a gold nugget! (too much competition in the backyard from all the other skinks and geckos )

so the snail bodies are a decent protein source? sounds awesome, once I have a good bit of them in the tank I could toss a couple in with his meals daily even I guess.

I prefer to feed them by hand or outside because they're slimey and gooey! Although I don't think one would be able to get far and leave its slime trail all over the tank when there's a bluey around to eat it. It's a good jaw workout for them too. Snails are excellent, I'm thinking of contacting the snail farms that breed them for escargot here because they aren't sold in shops here except the ones in tins and they're yeuch

Haha, thats too bad. I appreciate all the info, hopefully my snail farm will be up and running soon!

[KyleWeiss]

I like existentialism... and you're up on reading MY stuff? Most days I'd take Nietzsche over the forum...

KW

Oh no... another kyle that does philosophy too? You're kidding me... lol. Tell me you at least don't have a degree in it, then at least by december i'll have something on you, haha.

P.S. My paper is about Kierkegaard, hooray for Teleological suspensions of the ethical! Lol... can't wait to have this done.

Haha, come to think of it, i almost made my username "Übermensch," but i didn't think anyone would get it, hehe.

Heh, "Ubermensch" would have been amusing. Hell, I name all my computers after philosophers or their wives... "Xanthippe," "Zarathustra," (thus spoke, of course...) Gosh, the nerdiness.

Eech, ethics and Kierkegaard? Man if that guy was anywhere but Denmark he would have been rubbed out by Christianity REAL early in his writings... I don't know a heck of a lot about him but he has a good foundation of what a lot of existentialists started going after when the whole "agnostism" thing happened in, geez, the early 20th century or thereabouts? I haven't delved that deep into it.

Don't worry, you can be the degree-holding Kyle that makes it in this world, I'll most likely stand as the loser that dropped out and did nothing with his life, what a waste, blah-blah-blah... I wish I had the tenacity to get through school. I commend you.

KW

[KyleWeiss]

I'm going to double-post for a good reason: On topicness! *gasp*

Snails are an excellent foodstuff for blueys, provided they're from a clean, non-chemically affected source.

KW

[Omega]

I'm going to double-post for a good reason: On topicness! *gasp*

Snails are an excellent foodstuff for blueys, provided they're from a clean, non-chemically affected source.

KW

I assume there is nothing in a standard home aquarium that would be toxic to a skink. Just water, some fish food/algae for em to eat, and dechlorinating stuff.

Haha, don't commend me yet. Plus, what am i going to do with a bachelors in philosophy? My choices are: grad school, or continue waiting tables, haha. I'll be in grad school eventually, but i won't be looking forward to it.

[KyleWeiss]

It's the stupid antibiotics and medicines they treat tanks with I worry about, but that all depends. If all the fish look healthy, it's certainly not a guarantee, but it might indicate they aren't treating that tank. Also, for mass-filtration systems in some stores, they will dump certain products in daily regardless if they're sick or not...

...don't knock that degree. The stick-to-it attitude that got you the degree will benefit you when you get a job. Trust me. If I had a dime for every time I was told, "Gee, Kyle, you're the brightest applicant we've had, it's too bad you didn't go to college. We would have accepted a history degree!"

Don't be a loser like Kyle Weiss, kids, stay in school.


KW

[Omega]

It's the stupid antibiotics and medicines they treat tanks with I worry about, but that all depends. If all the fish look healthy, it's certainly not a guarantee, but it might indicate they aren't treating that tank. Also, for mass-filtration systems in some stores, they will dump certain products in daily regardless if they're sick or not...

...don't knock that degree. The stick-to-it attitude that got you the degree will benefit you when you get a job. Trust me. If I had a dime for every time I was told, "Gee, Kyle, you're the brightest applicant we've had, it's too bad you didn't go to college. We would have accepted a history degree!"

Don't be a loser like Kyle Weiss, kids, stay in school.


KW

It's never too late to go! I don't have much of a stick to it attitude really, i just show up to class most of the time and rarely read anything i'm not writing papers on, and that gets my by pretty well usually. It's all about efficiency!

[KyleWeiss]

I agree, I'm just not... let's say for argument's sake... "the school type." I tend to make things worse in a classroom rather than better. I'm fidgety. I'm impatient. I'm a talker. I'm a debater. I'd rather read what I want to read, think about what I want to think about... all that jazz. I kind of hate the fact I'm so terrible at school and yet could handle many jobs that require it. So punk rock life it is.

KW