Feeding and Nutrition :: Cuddlebone, is it just me or is it realy messy?

[Huitzlopocti]

as posted above,

i just bought my 2RES some cuddlebone for the frist time (thanks to this site ) & i was just wondering
is it ment to be that messy?
could i have picked up the wrong kind? (got it in bird section)
& how can u take off the hard part easily?

i had to put little pieces in at a time because, i had a hard time takeing off the hard part.

thanks

[sonyj]

The only thing I found messy was removing the hard backing (I used a butter knife to scrape it). After that just break a few pieces to put in and the rest I keep in a Ziploc until needed. It's never messy when I put it in the tank. By messy, what do you mean exactly? I've never had a mess with it in the tank.

[cam722]

I've noticed little pieces laying on the bottom when cleaning, but that's no messier to me than some of the other things they eat. I break my cuttlebone into smaller pieces and remove the backing that way. I've found that when I do it when it's whole it is harder and takes longer. I use a sharp knife to remove mine though.. Just have to be VERY careful

[Huitzlopocti]

like cam722 said, little pieces laying on the bottom.
how much do u put in at a time? i just put two pieces about the size of Hungrys head. (little biger than ur tumb) is that to much?

[cam722]

I don't think you can put too much cuttlebone in.. either they'll eat it or they won't. What they don't eat one day they will the next. I just put in chunks.. sometimes bigger than others, they just nibble on it.

[marisa]

My turts are more apt to eat it if it is in smaller pieces. By messy do you mean the "dust" that's created when you break it up? I usually break it up into quarters and use a paring knife to pry off the backing on each piece. Then I cut the quarters up into head-size pieces. You could try soaking it in water for a bit and see if that doesn't help get the backing pried off more easily (and you won't have the dust). On the other hand, if there's a lot of dust left, you could moisten the pellets and coat them with it, let them dry and feed them to you turts (they'd get a bit of extra calcium that way).