# Boiled Eggs



## nicoleandrocky (Mar 4, 2012)

Hey everyone 
I was wondering if i could feed my Russian tortoise hard boiled eggs? We used to give them to our Sulcatas but i don't know about Russians. Can you help me out? thanks !


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## ada caro (Mar 4, 2012)

Russians feed on greens. I never give protein to mine.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Mar 4, 2012)

They'll eat it but its not good for them or your sulcatas. Like what was said, protein is not good for them.


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## nicoleandrocky (Mar 4, 2012)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> They'll eat it but its not good for them or your sulcatas. Like what was said, protein is not good for them.



Thanks for the info 
good 2 know!


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## DeanS (Mar 4, 2012)

Saying that protein is not good for sulcatas is not true! Saying that sulcatas shouldn't eat alfalfa because it's high in protein is not true. Saying that devouring carnivore feces is not good for them is not true (sometimes). Saying that Mazuri and Marion is not good for sulcatas is not true. Higher protein diets will make them grow even faster than they already do...and as long as they're hydrated, it's not a problem.

Proof? I work grave. By the time I get home, my wife has put everyone out! And Climber always follows the dog...hoping for...you know! And he does find it! Climber is 2 1/2 years old now...12 inches 11.5 pounds...no pyramiding...and powerful. There's a running joke around here that Climber will catch Aladar (10 this coming August) in a year or so! Stay tuned! 

BTW, Aladar is 22 inches and 55 pounds.


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## nicoleandrocky (Mar 4, 2012)

DeanS said:


> Saying that protein is not good for sulcatas is not true! Saying that sulcatas shouldn't eat alfalfa because it's high in protein is not true. Saying that devouring carnivore feces is not good for them is not true (sometimes). Saying that Mazuri and Marion is not good for sulcatas is not true. Higher protein diets will make them grow even faster than they already do...and as long as they're hydrated, it's not a problem.
> 
> Proof? I work grave. By the time I get home, my wife has put everyone out! And Climber always follows the dog...hoping for...you know! And he does find it! Climber is 2 1/2 years old now...12 inches 11.5 pounds...no pyramiding...and powerful. There's a running joke around here that Climber will catch Aladar (10 this coming August) in a year or so! Stay tuned!
> 
> BTW, Aladar is 22 inches and 55 pounds.



hahah xD
I didnt even know that torts eat dog poop... lol !
i'll only feed him egg once a month, i just wanted to know if it was bad for their system. thanks a lot for your answer!!!


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## Terry Allan Hall (Mar 4, 2012)

My daughter's Ornate Box Turtle love hard-boiled eggs, which is fine and we feed them these often, as OBTs are omnivores.

My Hermann's torts love them, too, but they only get hard-boiled eggs about once a month, as Hermann's torts are primarily vegetarians


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## Jacqui (Mar 5, 2012)

I like to think of it this way, a tortoise in the wild comes upon the nest of some ground laying bird. Inside the nest is an egg. Will this tortoise pass up the chance to try this new food, food which it may realize carries minerals and other things it may need or be lacking? No, it will eat the egg. Nature made these creatures to eat whatever they come upon in order to survive, which look how long they have been doing just that. Eggs have more then protein in them, heck the shell is a wonderful source of calcium. Variety works.


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## Sammy (Mar 5, 2012)

I feed my Red Foot egg white twice a month.


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## nicoleandrocky (Mar 5, 2012)

Jacqui said:


> I like to think of it this way, a tortoise in the wild comes upon the nest of some ground laying bird. Inside the nest is an egg. Will this tortoise pass up the chance to try this new food, food which it may realize carries minerals and other things it may need or be lacking? No, it will eat the egg. Nature made these creatures to eat whatever they come upon in order to survive, which look how long they have been doing just that. Eggs have more then protein in them, heck the shell is a wonderful source of calcium. Variety works.



I can even feed him the shell?


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## Madkins007 (Mar 5, 2012)

All animals need protein, but most of the time it can be either plant-based or animal based. Our typical grocery-store diets are a bit low in proteins, so an OCCASSIONAL boost with an egg, worms, bugs, etc. should not be an issue. 

Beyond that, it depends on the species (red-footeds, for example, generally eat more meat in the wild than most other grassland species) and the diet you are offering (prepared chows are usually OK in proteins, as are many kinds of hay and 'wild' plants.)


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## DeanS (Mar 5, 2012)

Well put Mark and Jacqui


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## dmmj (Mar 5, 2012)

Jacqui said:


> I like to think of it this way, a tortoise in the wild comes upon the nest of some ground laying bird. Inside the nest is an egg. Will this tortoise pass up the chance to try this new food, food which it may realize carries minerals and other things it may need or be lacking? No, it will eat the egg. Nature made these creatures to eat whatever they come upon in order to survive, which look how long they have been doing just that. Eggs have more then protein in them, heck the shell is a wonderful source of calcium. Variety works.


But would the egg in the wild be hard boiled?


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## nicoleandrocky (Mar 5, 2012)

dmmj said:


> Jacqui said:
> 
> 
> > I like to think of it this way, a tortoise in the wild comes upon the nest of some ground laying bird. Inside the nest is an egg. Will this tortoise pass up the chance to try this new food, food which it may realize carries minerals and other things it may need or be lacking? No, it will eat the egg. Nature made these creatures to eat whatever they come upon in order to survive, which look how long they have been doing just that. Eggs have more then protein in them, heck the shell is a wonderful source of calcium. Variety works.
> ...



of course!! lol.
here


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## Arizona Sulcata (Mar 6, 2012)

Ehhh sounds fishy to me... There are no ground laying birds that I am aware of in their natural environment however I could be wrong. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying some animal protein will kill them because it won't, I'm saying I prefer to do without it. My torts live on 2 acres where I have 40+ chickens laying eggs where the torts have access to them everyday. Not once has one of my torts eaten one of their eggs. But I could see how the shell would be benificial to their health, that's where all the good stuff is! For torts...


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## nicoleandrocky (Mar 6, 2012)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> Ehhh sounds fishy to me... There are no ground laying birds that I am aware of in their natural environment however I could be wrong. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying some animal protein will kill them because it won't, I'm saying I prefer to do without it. My torts live on 2 acres where I have 40+ chickens laying eggs where the torts have access to them everyday. Not once has one of my torts eaten one of their eggs. But I could see how the shell would be benificial to their health, that's where all the good stuff is! For torts...



Good to know 
Imagine eating egg shells though. gross..
but torts probably love it!


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## GBtortoises (Mar 6, 2012)

(Chicken) eggs are not really a good choice of foods for tortoises. While they do contain a notable amount of vitamin A and E they also contain a considerable amount of saturated fat and protein. The protein in eggs is animal protein, not preferred source of protein from plants. Eggs also have a terrible calcium to phosphorous ratio of around 1:3, Ca.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Mar 6, 2012)

GBtortoises said:


> (Chicken) eggs are not really a good choice of foods for tortoises. While they do contain a notable amount of vitamin A and E they also contain a considerable amount of saturated fat and protein. The protein in eggs is animal protein, not preferred source of protein from plants. Eggs also have a terrible calcium to phosphorous ratio of around 1:3, Ca.



Agreed! Just to be clear though I said mine don't eat the chicken eggs. Had to throw that out there. Haha


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## DanaLachney (Mar 6, 2012)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> Ehhh sounds fishy to me... There are no ground laying birds that I am aware of in their natural environment however I could be wrong. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying some animal protein will kill them because it won't, I'm saying I prefer to do without it. My torts live on 2 acres where I have 40+ chickens laying eggs where the torts have access to them everyday. Not once has one of my torts eaten one of their eggs. But I could see how the shell would be benificial to their health, that's where all the good stuff is! For torts...



Well what kinds of eggs can they have?


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## Arizona Sulcata (Mar 6, 2012)

DanaLachney said:


> Well what kinds of eggs can they have?



Personally I don't recommend them having ANY form of egg! They can lay tortoise eggs though!  Haha


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## bigred (Mar 6, 2012)

nicoleandrocky said:


> DeanS said:
> 
> 
> > Saying that protein is not good for sulcatas is not true! Saying that sulcatas shouldn't eat alfalfa because it's high in protein is not true. Saying that devouring carnivore feces is not good for them is not true (sometimes). Saying that Mazuri and Marion is not good for sulcatas is not true. Higher protein diets will make them grow even faster than they already do...and as long as they're hydrated, it's not a problem.
> ...



Torts seem to find any kind of poop, cat or dog. Mine find it all the time and Im sure in the wild they find it all the time. My moms sulcata use to eat dead lizards and tried to eat a dead rat but it was to big and he couldnt get it down


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## DanaLachney (Mar 6, 2012)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> Personally I don't recommend them having ANY form of egg! They can lay tortoise eggs though!  Haha



Ok yeah I'm still workin on the protein part of her diet


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## nicoleandrocky (Mar 7, 2012)

Im just going to leave eggs out of his diet


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## Terry Allan Hall (Mar 7, 2012)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> Ehhh sounds fishy to me... *There are no ground laying birds that I am aware of in their natural environment however I could be wrong*. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying some animal protein will kill them because it won't, I'm saying I prefer to do without it. My torts live on 2 acres where I have 40+ chickens laying eggs where the torts have access to them everyday. Not once has one of my torts eaten one of their eggs. But I could see how the shell would be benificial to their health, that's where all the good stuff is! For torts...



Bobwhite Quail, Plovers, Mourning Doves, Roadrunners, Domesticated Guinea hens...and that's just Texas.


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## Jacqui (Mar 7, 2012)

Arizona Sulcata said:


> Ehhh sounds fishy to me... There are no ground laying birds that I am aware of in their natural environment however I could be wrong. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying some animal protein will kill them because it won't, I'm saying I prefer to do without it. My torts live on 2 acres where I have 40+ chickens laying eggs where the torts have access to them everyday. Not once has one of my torts eaten one of their eggs. But I could see how the shell would be benificial to their health, that's where all the good stuff is! For torts...



Eating or not eating the eggs, is much like having that chunk of cuttlebone laying in their enclosure, just because they do not eat it today does not mean tomorrow they might not decide to gnaw on it or that some tortoises will never eat them. As to ground laying birds, we did mention box turtles above, I know for a fact they could find many such as quail, pheasants, and turkeys to just name a few. Then also have you never saw where a bird's egg has fallen out of a nest? Sometimes, even an entire nest will fall out during heavy winds. I see both single eggs and nests quite often on the ground. So eggs do get onto the ground where a tortoise could find them.





GBtortoises said:


> (Chicken) eggs are not really a good choice of foods for tortoises. While they do contain a notable amount of vitamin A and E they also contain a considerable amount of saturated fat and protein. The protein in eggs is animal protein, not preferred source of protein from plants. Eggs also have a terrible calcium to phosphorous ratio of around 1:3, Ca.



If we stopped feeding them everything that was not completely great for them, we would soon run out of things to feed in my opinion. It's the balance of not so good to good that counts in the end. Who knows what trace minerals may be found in eggs, that we are not aware of them needing or needing in a higher amount then we currently think. To me, it does come back to eggs are eaten by some in the wild.





Arizona Sulcata said:


> DanaLachney said:
> 
> 
> > Well what kinds of eggs can they have?
> ...



Some tortoises do enjoy eating tortoise eggs, too.


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## Arizona Sulcata (Mar 7, 2012)

Terry Allan Hall said:


> Bobwhite Quail, Plovers, Mourning Doves, Roadrunners, Domesticated Guinea hens...and that's just Texas.



But that's Texas... Not their natural environment.



Jacqui, like I said, they've had access to eggs for about ten years now and not thoughts twice about it once so I'm not planning on it happening anytime soon! If you're feeding them a good diet of things they are supposed to be eating they will have zero interest in the things they shouldn't be eating. In the wild they have to eat to survive so yes they'll eat whatever they can. In captivity however they don't need to do this and they won't so long as they are well fed. Again an egg won't kill a tortoise or even make them sick, its just not ideal therefore I refrain from doing it. I do see where you are coming from though I just disagree but that's what's great, we don't all have to raise tortoises the same to raise healthy tortoises! I'm sure yours are in the best of shape as well!


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