Hi Tracy if you are still following your thread!

I don't see any problem on the shell of your tortoise who looks good to me.

I don't have experience of the special foods that have been discussed here. I keep Hermanns and I favour a plant diet. I enjoy growing various plants. Terry listed some 'weeds' that grow easily in the UK and if you have a space I'd urge you to try some. There are few gardens in the UK that don't have some dandellions, plantains and sow thistles growing in them already.

Apart from the 'weeds' there are lots of garden plants that your tortoise can eat including Ajuga Reptans (Bugle), Petunias, Forget-me -nots, the Welsh or Cambrian yellow poppy, many kinds of seedums, campanulas, hibiscus, all mallows and pansies as well as violets, saxifrages and phlox, hostas.

In the summer I find it very easy to feed my tortoises on a very varied diet of growing plants. At the start and end of the year its harder and I'm more likely to feed some shop bought stuff such as watercress, rocket, endive.

Hi, im still here, as a newbie, its quite difficult as you find so many conflicting ideas which in their own right may work.
But by the time I eventually find out what my little man is allowed and not allowed he could be starving. Dandelions are a dead cert.The main problem im finding is (with no disrespect) awkward as a few of our members are in the hot climates where alot of plantation grows, unfortunatly its not like this in cement city london.
Ive never heard of a few of these plants.
Never mind i'll get there.
Thanks for all of your help guys and dolls.

What a beautiful tortoise what specices is he?

When plantain is refered to we are actually talking of Plantago sp. a common weed and excellant food source. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago

Hi, I think so but I am biased, he is a hermanns.

I'll start searching, thanks ever so much

This is exactly the point when I stress manufactured diets.

Ed

Hi Tracy !

I'm in the UK too (Scotland).

The plants I listed before were mainly garden plants that people who are keen on gardening in the UK will know about. If you don't have a garden I bet you know people who do and they will have some of those plants.

A few easy to identify weeds that are common in the UK and are suitable for Hermanns

Plantains ( weed and not the tropical fruit with same name)
Sow Thistle
Clover
Hawkweed
Mallows
Vetches
Bindweed

Weeds growing right next to roads can be affected by traffic pollution and should not be fed.


If you decide to use a manufactured food I would like to suggest you do that part of time only. When you can find suitable weeds feed those instead. And sometimes buy fresh stuff including ; salad rocket, raddicio, frisee, lambs lettuce, watercress. You can buy a bag of these leaves in most food shops. Avoid iceberg lettuce as its just water.

Your tort looks good and super cute

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1 Sulcata (Bowser)

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