Proper Calcium


Anyone who owns a box turtle, tortoise, or herbivorous lizard should be concerned about providing a diet high in calcium. Although supplementing your animal's food with a calcium supplement is generally a good idea, starting out with a diet naturally high in calcium makes even more sense. In addition, many turtle and iguana owners do not realize that a high ratio of phosphorous to calcium in their animal's food will inhibit the animal's ability to use calcium. The tables below should allow owners to select high calcium, low phosphorous foods. The "Meats Calcium" section is provided for omnivorous and insectivorous herps. Although there is a lot of controversy surrounding how much meat protein to feed to green iguanas, it is generally agreed that meat should, at most, compromise a tiny percentage of their diet.

Calcium & Phosphorous Content

Good Calcium Sources

Fair Calcium Sources - use for variety

Poor Calcium Sources - use for other vitamins

Calcium from Meat

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