Titan has been over sleeping lately and it has been suggested to me to swtich his diet
Danny mentioned during the winter season torts should eat more leafy greens and less dense greens like Kale.
Can someone suggest a good winter diet vs one for summer? I have a greek tortoise (not sure if that matters)
Thanks!
Kat
I would assume an Organic Spring mix would work well as part of a varied diet.
mine eat edible weeds and flowers in the summer, and mostly that in the winter too, in the winter i do bulk it out with romaine and bagged salad such as florette crispy not sure what the US equivilant is to that they also have squash in the winter too
Yup winter Squash works well too. Are you able to pick weeds where you live in the wintertime Titan?
I use an Organic Spring mix with some weeds and squash mixed in. I still have dandelions, wondering jew, geraniums, hibiscus leaves and ice plant to help supplement.
If I remember Titan you live in AZ.
Hopefully you can get some of these to help you supplement you can also get cactus in the store (here its Stater Brothers) or online,
http://www.carolinapetsupply.com or
http://www.Reptileeats.com
Thank you! Lets see.. catus (like pricly pear or aloe vera? do i need to take the spikes off the ends?), light leafy lettuce (romaine, dandelion), squash (does it matter what kind/color? do they eat the seeds?) and some organic spring mix (im guessing that is salad lol).
We have lots of organic grocery stores
Do you recomend washing the organic veggies before giving them as food or is is it okay to give it to them straight?
I really appreciate all the advice! Yes, I am located in Arizona
What kind of hay do you recomend? I have Timothy Hay but he seems to eat around it >_< my boyfriend says he will get use to it. Is this true?
blackTITAN Wrote:Thank you! Lets see.. catus (like pricly pear or aloe vera? do i need to take the spikes off the ends?), light leafy lettuce (romaine, dandelion), squash (does it matter what kind/color? do they eat the seeds?) and some organic spring mix (im guessing that is salad lol).
We have lots of organic grocery stores Do you recomend washing the organic veggies before giving them as food or is is it okay to give it to them straight?
I really appreciate all the advice! Yes, I am located in Arizona What kind of hay do you recomend? I have Timothy Hay but he seems to eat around it >_< my boyfriend says he will get use to it. Is this true?
Use the spineless Opuntia cactus/prickly pear, these can be found in some produce sections as well or I can give you a contact for a tort breeder in AZ that always has HUGE cactus pads. You can scrub off any large spines or burn them off with a torch. Aloe vera is good too, only in moderation as it will cause loose stools. Spring Mix is a salad mix of some baby greens. Wont hurt to give a quick rinse off the organic stuff too.
Timothy and Orchard grass hay are both good, just chop it up in tiny pieces and pix it in with the Spring Mix and leafy greens, spritz some water on them and give a good toss. This will have the hay sticking to the greens and your little one will have no choice but to eat the hay. You can gradually reduce greens and feed mostly hay since that really should be a staple in the diet.
You should be able to still find weeds outside right now as well, which would be much better than even the Spring Mix, depending on where in AZ you are. Dandelion weeds, etc etc just make sure no chemicals have been used on or around it.
Here is an online weed guide with photos of safe weeds for torts.
http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/Diet.htm#plantlist
what species are we talking here, i thought it was a greek that don't really do the whole hay thing lol
Great info Anja.
However I just had a discussion with Danny regarding hay for Greeks. I was chopping it up fine and sprinkling it on their food. He suggested fresh grass but no hay as it contains concentrated silica(?) when dry which the Greeks don’t digest well. I stopped using it on the Greeks and they have much better poops now.
Thank you so much! I will look out for that at the organic market
I would love the number JustAnja if you could pass it along to me. Its nice to have this forum and now maybe an individual I can go see.
Are you from AZ as well?
Stells, I do have a greek- black greek
He is very sweet. When he is less nervous of my hands going to and from his cage and I can hold him more often I will post pictures. So do you say that greeks tend to not eat their recommended hay?
Crazy1 Wrote:Great info Anja.
However I just had a discussion with Danny regarding hay for Greeks. I was chopping it up fine and sprinkling it on their food. He suggested fresh grass but no hay as it contains concentrated silica(?) when dry which the Greeks don’t digest well. I stopped using it on the Greeks and they have much better poops now.
what kind of organic grass do you recommed for greeks?
OOPS! Im so sorry, I got confused and thought we were talking about a Sulcata! SORRY! (Ive got a PM going with another member about a new Sulcata and diet for it so I got confuzzed!)
Go with whatever Danny says on Greeks, as I dont keep Greeks at the moment.
Here is a link to the ad for the cactus, his name is Jeff Gee. He is down in Portal.
http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=28&de=410489
Are cactus OK for Greeks???
yep the cactus are fine although some of mine don't think to much of them but always worth a go
blackTITAN Wrote:Thank you! Lets see.. catus (like pricly pear or aloe vera? do i need to take the spikes off the ends?), light leafy lettuce (romaine, dandelion), squash (does it matter what kind/color? do they eat the seeds?) and some organic spring mix (im guessing that is salad lol).
We have lots of organic grocery stores Do you recomend washing the organic veggies before giving them as food or is is it okay to give it to them straight?
I really appreciate all the advice! Yes, I am located in Arizona What kind of hay do you recomend? I have Timothy Hay but he seems to eat around it >_< my boyfriend says he will get use to it. Is this true?
If your a Costco member they sell 1 lb plastic tubs of Ready Pac organic spring mix for something like $3.50. The stuff keeps great and if your feeding a crowd will save you a few bucks. They also have huge bags of green leaf.
Wild Oats is the only store that I have found that sells fresh bunches of dandelion greens.
Turnip greens are very nutritious for your tort and have a lot of calcium in them.
The softest, greenest, sweetest smelling hay that I have used is Orchard grass hay. The kaytee brand timothy hay that most stores sell has always seemed very brown and sharp to me. Try
http://www.oxbowhay.com or
http://www.carolinapetsupply.com if you can't find it locally.
Misty
5 Sulcata's
3 Leopard's
3 Indian Star's