# Is this spring mix good for a Russian tortoise?



## deathlyhallows (Dec 6, 2015)

My tortie is a picky guy, and winter in Pittsburgh means I don't have any access to foraging plants. The grocery stores have a slim selection. Is this any good? The only things I have regular access to are things like kale, beet greens, dandelion, Swiss chard. He won't eat anything if it's not leafy or fresh, so no freeze dried stuff. Also, how much should he be eating, he's about 4 inches. I feed him a large portion 2x a day and remove any left overs after about an hour if there is any, but he always seems hungry!


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## Yvonne G (Dec 6, 2015)

It's ok, however, it contains too much spinach to feed it every day (unless you want to pick out most of the spinach). Spinach binds calcium so that the calcium gets pooped out, so if you feed it every day, the tortoise might not be getting enough calcium. Ask your produce manager if he'll order some escarole and endive. You can also use radicchio. Most stores sell that in the produce department. The thing is, don't use the same thing all the time. Feed him some spring mix today and tomorrow, then some turnip greens and dandelion greens the next couple days. You can also rotate in any edible weeds from outside, including grape leaves and mulberry leaves. There's a couple of nice food lists in the pinned threads at the top of the food section and the Russian section.


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## deathlyhallows (Dec 6, 2015)

Thank you. I planned on this being a once and a while thing, I purchase this to eat myself and I always have it on hand so I wanted to see if I could get another use for it. I've read the foods list, but I get overwhelmed with all the knowledge sometimes and I worry that I'm not doing everything right.


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## Tom (Dec 6, 2015)

Grocery store greens are lacking in fiber and nutrition. You can make them better by adding some ZooMed Grassland tortoise chow, Mazuri, "herbal salad" or blended hay.

Tortoises are creatures of habit and don't usually take to new foods that they aren't used to eating. You must spend weeks or months slowly and gradually introducing new foods. Start with a tiny amount of the new food mixed in with a much larger amount of the old favorite food. For example: If starting with the ZooMed stuff, mix up half of one soaked pellet into the greens for the day. Keep doing this until the tortoise accepts it and begins to eat it all. If the tortoise shuns its food because of the new smell, keep offering that ratio until it begins to eat it all. Don't worry if the tortoises decides to go on a hunger strike for a few days. If you are doing this right, the tortoise can eat that big pile of food any time it wants. They won't starve. At my house a picky tortoise is a hungry tortoise.

You can feed twice a day if you like, but I just do one big pile a day. If they eat it all, I use a little more then next day. If there are leftovers, then I feed a little less the nest day. You'll find the balance in time. It frequently changes over the course of a year. More food in spring, less in fall, etc...


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## deathlyhallows (Dec 6, 2015)

I do have the zoo med stuff. I usually put on soaked on his food. He never touches it even if I try to hide it. I have a big bottle so I planned to use it til it's gone. It's not a new food to him. The previous owners also fed him that and said he never touched it.


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## Tom (Dec 6, 2015)

deathlyhallows said:


> I do have the zoo med stuff. I usually put on soaked on his food. He never touches it even if I try to hide it. I have a big bottle so I planned to use it til it's gone. It's not a new food to him. The previous owners also fed him that and said he never touched it.


 Right. Most tortoises won't eat it. You need a tiny amount soaked and thoroughly mixed in with the daily greens, so there is no way to skip it or eat around it. You need to be persistent with it. If they skip eating for a day, most people are worried so they cave in and give the tortoise what it wants the next day. Let your tortoise go as many days as needed and keep introducing tiny amounts of the new stuff every day until the tortoise decides to eat it.

This is like a kid that only wants to eat desert. We have to make them eat their dinner because we know its best for them. I've seen no tortoise take to the ZooMed food immediately. They all take some time to get introduced to it, but once you achieve success, you will have a convenient and easy way to improve your tortoises daily diet.

You can also use grass, blended grass hay (sometimes called "salad style"), or herbal hay like this one: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay

The main point here is that grocery store greens alone are not a great diet for any tortoise to be living on for several months of every year.


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## deathlyhallows (Dec 6, 2015)

I offer it to him every day. He will use his front feet to scrape it off the leaves then eat it. He's crazy. I'm looking into getting a coffee grinder and grinding it into a powder, and put it on the leaves that way so it's not so much a thick paste he can take off.


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## deathlyhallows (Dec 6, 2015)

Is there anything that could be easily grown inside that would offer good nutrition?


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## Tom (Dec 6, 2015)

deathlyhallows said:


> Is there anything that could be easily grown inside that would offer good nutrition?



@Odin's Gma and @Prairie Mom have both posted a lot about this recently. Hopefully when they see this, they will post a link for you.


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## Tom (Dec 6, 2015)

deathlyhallows said:


> I offer it to him every day. He will use his front feet to scrape it off the leaves then eat it. He's crazy. I'm looking into getting a coffee grinder and grinding it into a powder, and put it on the leaves that way so it's not so much a thick paste he can take off.



Sounds like you are trying to use too much too soon, and possibly not mixing it in thoroughly enough.


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## Odin's Gma (Dec 6, 2015)

deathlyhallows said:


> Is there anything that could be easily grown inside that would offer good nutrition?


SO much! And it's really very easy, at least for smaller torts. (Maybe for larger ones too, but I haven't gotten to that point yet)
The easiest and quickest food tray you can out together, at least in my experience so far, are grasses like wheat grass, cat grass and plain old "yard" grass mixes (fescues, bermuda etc.) clover with some radish, spinach and carrot seedlings for interest and variety. Squash and pumpkin seeds also sprout very quickly but none of mine have ever gotten big enough to be called plants. 
All of the leafy greens like kale, mustard, etc. also sprout and grow well.
The grasses and clover will keep producing after they are established and additional seeds of other things can be added as the seedlings get "mowed".

Opuntia cactus, hibiscus, spider plants, African violets and aloe (aloe vera or any of the other varieties) do wonderfully as edible houseplants that you can clip and feed.
Dandelion does well as a green, but it takes a bit longer and I have only gotten one to flower indoors, which for a sully is fine, as the flowers should be more of a treat than a staple. I haven't had much long term luck with other "weeds" yet, like plantain and crab grasses, but that may be because he eats them before I see them. 

The first thread was from last year when I started this adventure, it has a lot of resources for the seeds and plants I have grown, the second is this year, which has been a bit different since he now has an indoor greenhouse rather than the rotating planting trays that we did last year. It has been a constant learning experience and I imagine it always will be.
I wish you luck and I hope I have helped! If you have any questions we are here to help. 

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/gmas-indoor-winter-gardening-and-sulcata-brag-thread.112815/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...ndoor-winter-gardening-thread-sulcata.126673/


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## Prairie Mom (Dec 6, 2015)

I agree with everything at Odin's Gma said and would have recommended starting with many of same plants she said. Just wondering how comfortable you are growing things and starting from seeds?

If you need a help for a basic start, please get in touch. Happy to help!


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## Prairie Mom (Dec 6, 2015)

Also, many plants and weeds can freeze and thaw perfectly well. Next Spring, you should consider beginning to bag and freeze favorite leaves and plants for winter feeding. Many thaw as good or nearly as good as when they were fresh. Here is a thread I made experimenting with picking and freezing... http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/these-can-be-frozen-thawed-and-retain-good-texture.128563/


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## Yvonne G (Dec 6, 2015)

deathlyhallows said:


> I offer it to him every day. He will use his front feet to scrape it off the leaves then eat it. He's crazy. I'm looking into getting a coffee grinder and grinding it into a powder, and put it on the leaves that way so it's not so much a thick paste he can take off.



If you soak it in water then mash it with a fork, it breaks apart and then you can mix it into the greens thoroughly.


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