eggshells?

[laughing dog]

i use powdered eggshells for calcium, and have seen good results, and was wondering if it was good in the long term enough, as i heard they need something more for grit to digest, more than just for the calium, where one big breeder site says theyve been useing playsand, crushed eggshells, and calcium dust/powder. they say it works better than dusting when you properly gut load with chick feed, dog food, and or hog feed. they claim to have been constantly breeding the same females with excellent results for 20-24years with no drop in health and production, but also attribute it to giveing them more space to stay healthy(where most breeders say to keep them in an empty shoe, or sweater box, there whole lives, alone or in groups). ??? need varied long term breeder input(at least ten to twenty years), as i want the long term health of my geckos.

 

[breanna-banana13]

geckos dont need grit to digest. birds need grit because they eat hard seeds and have a "crop" where their digestion takes place. honestly though, you can find calcium powder pretty cheap, IMO why risk it.

 

[Condaman74]

geckos dont need grit to digest. birds need grit because they eat hard seeds and have a "crop" where their digestion takes place. honestly though, you can find calcium powder pretty cheap, IMO why risk it.

Actually birds don't need grit. That's and outdated belief that pet stores love to further. But as far as geckos needing grit, I have never heard of that. I'd be afraid of impaction.

 

[MoonLiteForest]

Actually eggshells work wonderfully as calcium, and are cheep if you already eat eggs Just have to make sure you bake them for 1o min at about 320 degrees, to be safe against salmonella.

But you have to make sure its ground down really really well, this means mortar and pastel until its basically dust. Which makes it no longer a risk.

 

[M&I Gecko]

Don't egg shells have phosphorus?

 

[MoonLiteForest]

http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/blog/articles/how-to-make-calcium-using-egg-shells

Now this is an article for human consumption, but this has been used in animals as well. Give me a bit to do a little digging and I'll see if I can find an article in relevance to amounts in herps.

 

[MoonLiteForest]

The cell of a chicken egg is made up of about 94 percent calcium carbonate
(Ca(CO3)2), 1 percent magnesium carbonate, 1 percent calcium phosphate, and
about 4 percent organic matter, mainly protein. The egg shell has pores
through which air, moisture, and even bacteria can pass. The shell
represents about 11 percent of the weight of an egg. The shell is made up
of three parts -- the mammillary or inner layer is adjacent to the shell
membranes and has a "knob" like appearance. The middle layer, the bulk of
the shell is made up of small calcite crystals, mostly randomly arranged
with the pores running through it. The cuticle or top layer is a thin film
of protein that covers the egg when it is layed, but which drys up and
flakes off over time. The organization of the shell (i.e., the crystals of
calcite) provides a rigid structure that protects against breakage in
certain directions. On the other hand a small tap in some directions will
crack the shell.

The information about the shell was taken from the USDA's Egg Grading
Manual.