Calcium

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shaeway

shaeway

Scurries!!!
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
139
Location
San Antonio
Doing my teeth checks and I have one boy with white teeth. What do you guys use for calcium supplement? about once a month I throw in some cuttle bone for them to chew on. None of my other boys has an issue. I feed them Mazuri pellets, timothy hay and alfalfa cubes. They get about two shredded wheats a day.

Also he has not grown very much. Are there thyroid problems with chins that can effect their growth and energy levels? Perhaps the teeth issue is an off shoot of a larger problem...
 
You can give 1/2 of a Tums with calcium, or feed him some pellets of calf manna. How old is he? I don't know about thyroid problems, perhaps someone else can answer that.
 
A quarter tums, once a day for a week and see how it works. Don't feed calf manna. Calf manna is too high in protein and not recommended by most chin folk. If you already have it, you can given the cuddle bone more frequently for a little while, instead of the Tums.

It could just be an off time, or yes, it could be something larger. Try the calcium supplementation, see if it comes back around to normal. I've had a couple females who litter for the first time get white teeth, but after giving them Tums they are right back to normal and it doesn't happen again.
 
It's too high in protein. The "ideal" protein for a chin is 14% in their diet. Calf Manna is like 25? It's been a long time since I've even paid attention to it, so I can't give you the exact number. Also, I know of many people who experienced diarrhea in varying degrees in their chins with calf manna, myself included. When I tried using it I had very dark black stools (a sign of the protein in their diet being too high) and very loose stools. It's just not something I personally recommend.

Gary Neubauer of Bowen's Chinchilla's had a talk on CnQ at one point and said he does not recommend giving CM to chins, except possibly one or two pellets a day for a few days after delivery of kits. Even then, he said, it's not really necessary. There are other alternatives.

Again, I said "most." There are some people who are die hard calf manna supporters. I just don't happen to be one of them.
 
Where people get in trouble with the calf manna is overfeeding it. We feed it every day in varying amounts to our whole herd. We have never had a problem, but we are very careful how much they get. With that said, I believe you would be better off following Peggy's advice about the tums or cuddle bone. I guess we are some of those die hard calf manna people.:hmmm:
 
I leave my cuttle bone in my chin's pen full time. She chews on it occasionally, I'm assuming as she needs the calcium. Last I looked her teeth were nice and orange. Is there any issue with leaving the cuttle bone in full time?
 
The only problem I can think of with leaving the cuttlebone in all the time is that I have found my animals tend to pee on them, and then they are no good. So, as far as I know, it's not bad for them, but wasteful and costly for you. I give cuttlebone, but I break it into smaller pieces and dole them out over time.
 
What about those calcium chews that look like little ice cream cones? I give em to my chins and they LOVE em.. although when i give my mosaic a pink one she is pink after lol
 
Jenn and Taytana - Giving unlimited calcium to your chins could end up causing kidney stones. They don't NEED unlimited calcium, they should be getting what they need through their pellets. If they aren't, then give a boost, but don't overdose them on it.
 
tunes said:
Jenn and Taytana - Giving unlimited calcium to your chins could end up causing kidney stones. They don't NEED unlimited calcium, they should be getting what they need through their pellets. If they aren't, then give a boost, but don't overdose them on it.
Click to expand...

so do you only supply cuttlebone if their teeth are not orange, or do you give it to them occasionally, like once a month as someone else said?
 
I personally have no need of it on a regular basis. My chin's teeth seem to stay nice and orange. I don't know of anybody who gives it regularly as a preventative, but I'd guess there are people who do that, much like they do with vitamin C.
 
do those little rectangular mineral blocks have calcium as well? The ones that you can attach to the side of the cage and are kind of chalky. They usually make a huge mess.
 
What do you or can you use if your chins refuse either of those? I had a chin once who had whitish teeth and had tried both the tums and the cuttle bone and didn't like it. I even tried the c.m. And again they turned their nose up. Do they sell a powder or something else? Just wondering on that. I don't have any white teethers right now but it's good to know
 
This is a pretty old thread but relevant to a question I have. I have a breeding female who delivered her first litter 6 weeks ago. Her teeth stayed orange until recently they have been paler yellow. I have tried giving her Tums with calcium, cuttle bone, and calf manna. She refuses all three. Has anyone ever given liquid calcium? I found some in the vitamin store, but I wasn't sure if it would be safe. Also, they had calcium and coral calcium? What's the difference and which would I use? Does anyone know how much of this to give, if it's safe to do so?
 
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