sharrakor
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- Oct 16, 2011
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Hi all,
Is it true that unless the Ca
ratio is not above 1:1, my newts won't get any calcium from their diet (possibly leading to metabolic bone disease)? I see on the list of foods for caudates, it says blackworms are an excellent food source, but they have a Ca ratio of just .13:1 (numbers pulled from here: http://www.nagonline.net/Technical Papers/NAGFS00397Insects-JONIFEB24,2002MODIFIED.pdf), so does that mean a Ca ratio of .13:1 is ok for a staple food?
I'm trying to switch my newts over from their SF bay brand spirulina brine shrimp staple (with a Ca ratio of around .13:1; they have been eating this for two years, and are wild caught) to nightcrawlers, but two of the three newts just won't eat the nightcrawlers, no matter how small I cut them up. I have eastern newts that are a little less than 4 inches long, by the way, which are fully aquatic.
I'm really worried about their health, so any advice on this is greatly appreciated. They LOVE spirulina brine shrimp, and also enjoy frozen bloodworms. Unfortunately, I do not have access to live bloodworms or live blackworms.
So basically, if in fact anything with a Ca ratio of less than 1:1 results in a calcium deficiency, then it would seem that I have no choice but to feed them nightcrawlers that they won't accept, right? So I'm kind of in trouble here?
Is it true that unless the Ca
ratio is not above 1:1, my newts won't get any calcium from their diet (possibly leading to metabolic bone disease)? I see on the list of foods for caudates, it says blackworms are an excellent food source, but they have a Ca ratio of just .13:1 (numbers pulled from here: http://www.nagonline.net/Technical Papers/NAGFS00397Insects-JONIFEB24,2002MODIFIED.pdf), so does that mean a Ca ratio of .13:1 is ok for a staple food?I'm trying to switch my newts over from their SF bay brand spirulina brine shrimp staple (with a Ca
ratio of around .13:1; they have been eating this for two years, and are wild caught) to nightcrawlers, but two of the three newts just won't eat the nightcrawlers, no matter how small I cut them up. I have eastern newts that are a little less than 4 inches long, by the way, which are fully aquatic.I'm really worried about their health, so any advice on this is greatly appreciated. They LOVE spirulina brine shrimp, and also enjoy frozen bloodworms. Unfortunately, I do not have access to live bloodworms or live blackworms.
So basically, if in fact anything with a Ca
ratio of less than 1:1 results in a calcium deficiency, then it would seem that I have no choice but to feed them nightcrawlers that they won't accept, right? So I'm kind of in trouble here?