Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I keep two Russians in an outside pen full time with adequate sunlight. I just got the Russian Tortoise book by E.J. Pirog.

In it, the author states at least three time that calcium is important whether you keep them indoors or out. However, when keeping them outside with adequate sunlight, adding vitamin D to their diet can cause serious issues.

The author then states that when keeping Russians outdoors, the brand name calcium supplement Centrum is their favorite to use. However after doing some research, I discovered that ALL Centrum calcium supplements contain vitamin D. To that, they all also contain many other ingredients, rather than just calcium carbonate.

Is this safe?

Should I be doing this?

The author went into great detail three times detailing the chemical and biological processes of calcium absorbtion, and yet contradicted themselves when it came down to the most imortant fact:

What calcium supplement is safe to use when housing outdoors in adequate sunlight?

I am aware that there are several "reptile specific" concoctions available on the market, but those are nothing but overpriced, well marketed version of over the counter human supplements.

Until I get some other opinions from this site, I will continue scraping cuttlebone over their food.

I've been keeping and breeding Testudo species for over 20 years, including Russians. I live in the Northeastern U.S. and keep mine outdoors year round. The only supplement that I have ever given them is calcium carbonate in the form of cuttlebone. Most of my Russians have been here for at least 16 years. They eat the cuttlebone as they desire and I have never had any issues with soft shells or other problems associated with vitamin D or lack of it. Some people love to complicate keeping tortoises. Keep it simple and you'll be much more successful at it.