calcium deficient chins

[mbaker1238]

Just wondering, for a chinchilla who is not getting enough calcium, is it better to give tums or cuttlebone? any other options and if so, how much? both my chins are very healthy and dont have a problem. i'm also curious if tums can be used as a preventative to teeth problems. I supplement vitamin c on a daily basis also.

[dianah]

i give a quarter of tums every so often. i have never tried cuttlebone (i know people do but i think that this is something they would not naturally find so i'm not too keen.. not that they'd find tums but they are herbivores) i would not use calcium as a preventative measure - too much calcium can cause seizures. if the teeth are nicely coloured (yellow/orange) and the chin is not maloccluted or pregnant or pregnant and nursing or there's another reason why he/she needs calcium, i would not supplement.