# Can Desert Tortoises eat dried Pond Algae?



## JohnnyB65 (Apr 26, 2015)

I cleaned out my fish pond last week and pulled out a lot of algae. I tossed it into flower pot just to get it out of the way and forgot about it until now. It’s still green, but thoroughly dried.

Anyway its no big deal, I was tossing it out and I wondered if the fish can eat it, could it be eaten by the tortoise.


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## ascott (Apr 26, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> I cleaned out my fish pond last week and pulled out a lot of algae. I tossed it into flower pot just to get it out of the way and forgot about it until now. It’s still green, but thoroughly dried.
> 
> Anyway its no big deal, I was tossing it out and I wondered if the fish can eat it, could it be eaten by the tortoise.




I do not know....but my gut says I would not feed it to him.....just my take though....like I said I do not know for certain.....


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 26, 2015)

Thanks, like I mentioned earlier, it not a big deal. I'm just always looking for ways to utilize stuff.


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## ascott (Apr 26, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> Thanks, like I mentioned earlier, it not a big deal. I'm just always looking for ways to utilize stuff.




Perhaps someone will chime in that knows for certain...interesting....I would wonder if it would even be yummy or gross to the taste????


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 26, 2015)

ascott said:


> Perhaps someone will chime in that knows for certain...interesting....I would wonder if it would even be yummy or gross to the taste????


I don't know but the dogs like it.  Right after I took a photo of it the dogs nabbed it and have it all over the patio now.


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## Ariza (Apr 26, 2015)

Well, the southwest was a sea at one time, and our torts were contemporaries of dinosaurs and they probably were aquatic animals. But that was millions of years ago and they have evolved to be dry land animals. Would love to know the answer to your question. Perhaps you can ask an expert and let us know? I don't have algae, I'm just curious.


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## Arnold_rules (Apr 30, 2015)

I would say it wouldn't hurt, but not sure it would be the best food for a land based tortoise. Without knowing the type of algae, I probably would not feed it to a tortoise. I know some pre-packaged tortoise foods will include algae, but again, not a common food for them. Now turtles, I would say you would be fine feeding it to them, as long as it has not decayed.


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## ckirk (Apr 30, 2015)

I'm new to the forum, been reading threads, getting info on tortoises, I have 3 red foots for about a 2 months now. I have used algae or as I call pond scum for compost in potted plants, makes a great organic fertilizer.


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## JohnnyB65 (Apr 30, 2015)

ckirk said:


> I'm new to the forum, been reading threads, getting info on tortoises, I have 3 red foots for about a 2 months now. I have used algae or as I call pond scum for compost in potted plants, makes a great organic fertilizer.


Thanks and welcome to the site, I was thinking about that as well.

As far as gardening I knew that it is rich in nitrogen which breaks down quickly in the compost pile and it also has potassium and phosphorus. I have used it in my garden, but I can’t say that I have witnessed anything different when using it.

Last year something changed in my soil composition because I couldn’t get anything to grow so this year I decided to grow everything in pots with store bought soil and things are looking great. I did plant an eggplant in the old soil just to check it out and it is not doing very well at all and the only think I can think of was that I used my pond water for watering my garden to conserve water and I may have screwed up the chemical compensation.

Anyway I know that algae in pond water is better for fish then some of the products sold for them as food as well as providing oxygen for the fish. It also promotes good bacteria to break down ammonia and nitrites all of which doesn't seem to good for the tortoise.. So I’m giving up on the idea of feeding it to the tortoise.


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## puffy137 (Apr 30, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> I cleaned out my fish pond last week and pulled out a lot of algae. I tossed it into flower pot just to get it out of the way and forgot about it until now. It’s still green, but thoroughly dried.
> 
> Anyway its no big deal, I was tossing it out and I wondered if the fish can eat it, could it be eaten by the tortoise.


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## puffy137 (Apr 30, 2015)

During the Cultural Revolution in China , algae was grown on urine to provide humans with protein . So unless your algae is too full of protein for the powers that be here , I should think it was quite alright.


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Apr 30, 2015)

JohnnyB65 said:


> Thanks, like I mentioned earlier, it not a big deal. I'm just always looking for ways to utilize stuff.


 I use all my pond waists in my compost pile . I run 5 com posters in my back yard , and I use the pond water to water all of my out door trees and plants . And my gut feelings is I would not feed it to my torts . Exsample acid rain ...


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## puffy137 (Apr 30, 2015)

puffy137 said:


> During the Cultural Revolution in China , algae was grown on urine to provide humans with protein . So unless your algae is too full of protein for the powers that be here , I should think it was quite alright.


Having said that , it looks pretty stringy , it might be hard for them to digest & one more thing , after reading about the necessity of having water in reach for my greeks I introduced a shallow terracotta bowl filled with stones so that they wouldn't drown . Within 2 months 2 of my babies have died . They never touched the water , but its my hunch that they might have picked up some pathogen from the water which is something they were unused to in their environment , so no more water bowls for us . That algae might be full of nasty bacteria that we are unaware of , maybe its best to be cautious .


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (May 1, 2015)

puffy137 said:


> Having said that , it looks pretty stringy , it might be hard for them to digest & one more thing , after reading about the necessity of having water in reach for my greeks I introduced a shallow terracotta bowl filled with stones so that they wouldn't drown . Within 2 months 2 of my babies have died . They never touched the water , but its my hunch that they might have picked up some pathogen from the water which is something they were unused to in their environment , so no more water bowls for us . That algae might be full of nasty bacteria that we are unaware of , maybe its best to be cautious .



I think with babies you have to tough love those soaks. Kinda like, don't argue with me mister, you need your soak. And high walled bowl where they cannot easily hop out, warm 84-86 degree water .... and ah, spa. I know nature knows but I just think that you need to intervene to give them a boost. So if they were not drinking and you were keeping them warm, they may have dried up inside and once that happens, failure to thrive.

And yes, it could have also been a bacteria and if babies did not have enough good bacteria/flora in their systems to start with, the bad bacteria will opportunistically take over. In the wild, my understanding is that they look for other tortoises' poop and snack on it and that introduces the flora they need. I often wonder what happens when they hatch in incubators and keepers do not have little sheets (sic) laying around to get bacteria from. So where? Where does that good bacteria they need come from? I am fascinated in probiotics for that reason. I give my care probiotics once a week, on their Sunday treat.


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## puffy137 (May 1, 2015)

In answer to your second paragraph , my babies that have lived, have all been hatched in the ground & also reared there with the adults . A few years ago I lost 5 that were incubated. In 2013 a friend looked after all my torts, while we were renovating our house, they produced 6 babies & the maid who cared for them separated the babies when they hatched because she was afraid that the older ones would step on them . eventually all 6 died , so from now on mine will be hatched in the ground & only separated at feeding time to see that the babies get enough to eat. If the ambient temperature is high enough hatching will be successful. At present I have clutches from 3 females , each female laid her eggs twice , with an interval of about 2 weeks . Each clutch contains roughly 5-6 eggs. So I'm looking forward to having my hands full of babies starting from middle of June. My *GREEK* herd are all related to each other , so no fighting or aggression . I've been asked what I'm going to do with them all , & now I know that 2 of my closest friends want some , the smallest babies will stay with me . I think the worst thing one can do for a tortoise is to over feed it , to me thats cruel . Yes they will eat everything you put in front of them , but thats unhealthy . I feed mine only once a day .Seems to be good for them


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