# Pumpkin seeds



## sammi (Oct 11, 2010)

How do YOU chop them up? Simply with a knife like dicing veggies? Or in a blender? Ernie isn't a baby or hatchling..is it even necessary that I chop them for him?


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## chadk (Oct 11, 2010)

Vitamix!


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## sammi (Oct 11, 2010)

Well, I'm asking this because I want to feed Ernie some pumpkin, and read on another thread that I should chop the seeds...it wouldn't be a permanent addition to his diet.


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## chadk (Oct 11, 2010)

Vitamix is brand of blender. You want to chop up the seeds to get the possible benefits of fighting parasite loads.


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## chadk (Oct 11, 2010)

Vitamix is brand of blender. You want to chop up the seeds to get the possible benefits of fighting parasite loads.


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## sammi (Oct 13, 2010)

chadk said:


> Vitamix is brand of blender. You want to chop up the seeds to get the possible benefits of fighting parasite loads.



Haha oh  I thought it was some sort of power, like TNT to add to his food. I'll look it up 

Update: Okay, so I looked them up, and they're a bit expensive for me to afford right now..Can I use just my regular old blender?


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## Mao Senpai (Oct 14, 2010)

I just cut the ends off and cut teh pumpkin into manageable pieces and threw it into a blender with 4 or 5 pieces at a time. I did add water to help it blend though... since not sure if it was my pumpkin or not but it was hard and dry ish not as juicy as I would have liked... either way my tortoises loved it and went in face first as soon as they saw it


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## Nay (Oct 14, 2010)

Is there a problem feeding whole squash or pumkin seeds? I have done it and they eat them and the quishey stuff along along with the pumkin it self...


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## goReptiles (Oct 14, 2010)

I did like Mao, added some seeds, stringy stuff, and a few chunks of pumpkin at a time with some water, and blended it up. I'm glad I bought a small pumpkin or I would have been there all day.

Mao, I think pumpkins are just dry.


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## Mao Senpai (Oct 14, 2010)

I kinda wished I bought a smaller one.... I had like a medium sized one I think... like 3lbs maybe and when I blended it all up I had like two quarts of stuff and had no idea what to do with it  I think I may put it in a tuppeware and freeze them for the next time I decide to feed them. I really didn't think about feeding it more than this one time for a while hehe.


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## goReptiles (Oct 14, 2010)

I had a TON extra with a small pumpkin. It weighed a few pounds. I put some in small bags in the freezer. That way I can thaw out one bag at a time for use. I left one bag in the fridge for this week.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 14, 2010)

If you want to feed your left over pumpkin to your tortoise, that's perfectly fine. Its a good food source for them. If you have a smaller tortoise, you might have to nuke it a bit in the micro-wave to soften it so he can bite it, but if its a larger tortoise, they are able to bite the pumpkin as is. 

Far as the seeds go, if your tortoise's throat is bigger than the pumpkin seeds, he can swallow them whole, however, if you want to reap the benefits of the seeds as a de-wormer, then you'll have to grind them up. Otherwise they just pass right on through.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Oct 15, 2010)

emysemys said:


> If you want to feed your left over pumpkin to your tortoise, that's perfectly fine. Its a good food source for them. If you have a smaller tortoise, you might have to nuke it a bit in the micro-wave to soften it so he can bite it, but if its a larger tortoise, they are able to bite the pumpkin as is.
> 
> Far as the seeds go, if your tortoise's throat is bigger than the pumpkin seeds, he can swallow them whole, however, if you want to reap the benefits of the seeds as a de-wormer, then you'll have to grind them up. Otherwise they just pass right on through.



Chopping the seeds into several pieces won't work?


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## Mao Senpai (Oct 15, 2010)

If you have a bigger tortoise I guess chopping it will be fine as long as there aren't sharp pieces... I would get worried if it would get stuck or cut something on the way in and out.

Mine are still little babies so that's why I blended it, but if yours are huge then let them eat it whole or chop it up finely whichever works.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Oct 15, 2010)

Mao Senpai said:


> If you have a bigger tortoise I guess chopping it will be fine as long as there aren't sharp pieces... I would get worried if it would get stuck or cut something on the way in and out.
> 
> Mine are still little babies so that's why I blended it, but if yours are huge then let them eat it whole or chop it up finely whichever works.



Mine smallish-adults (teenagers? ), a E. Harmann's about 4-1/2" and an Iberian of a bit less than 6", thus my curiosity of whether I needed to pulverize the pumpkin seeds or if chopping them into about 8 pcs. per would be sufficient.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 15, 2010)

No, if you want to use the seeds as a de-wormer, you have to grind them up. The chopped seeds still just pass right through in the chopped up state.

If you're just worried about the tortoise choking on the seeds, don't include the seeds. Its easy enough to scrape them out and toss them. Its an awful lot of work to chop them up just to have the tortoise get no benefit from eating them.


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## tortoisenerd (Oct 15, 2010)

Canned pumpkin (not pie filling; Whole Foods has a great organic brand) is an easy way to feed pumpkin. I freeze it. Ice cube trays are a great way to go for freezing pureed foods. I'd love to see some data on the ground up pumpkin seeds as a dewormer because I've only heard secondhand info on it...and as far as I know, its only potentially worm treatment, not parasite treatment. I think fecal testing for parasites is still very important no matter what you feed. The canned pumpkin and squash and other pureed type foods are great as a small part of the diet for treats, and also are high water content for hydration. I actually put pureed type stuff in a baby food jar lid so it doesn't make a huge mess. My tort learned how to eat from the lid without spilling or biting it. That also shows how little of foods like that I'd feed for my tort (4 inches).


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## Terry Allan Hall (Oct 16, 2010)

emysemys said:


> No, if you want to use the seeds as a de-wormer, you have to grind them up. The chopped seeds still just pass right through in the chopped up state.
> 
> If you're just worried about the tortoise choking on the seeds, don't include the seeds. Its easy enough to scrape them out and toss them. Its an awful lot of work to chop them up just to have the tortoise get no benefit from eating them.



OK, blended 'em up into a gooey mess (and my wife has designated the old blender as "Terry's" and the new one as "Georgia's" )...about how often should I feed my torts this stuff...all I've been able to Google up is info on using it for cleaning out dogs, cats and birds...


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## Yvonne G (Oct 16, 2010)

I'm still not sure if you're wanting to de-worm your tortoises or just give them a pumpkin treat...so...

I only feed pumpkin in the fall when they're plentiful. Its just like anything else, a nice varied diet is good for them. So a little pumpkin occasionally isn't going to harm anything. 

I would only use the seeds as a de-wormer (and we're using the word "worm" here instead of parasite, both meaning the same thing) twice a year. If you want to feed the seeds in the fall, then I would buy some Panacur and de-worm the tortoises with that in the Spring.

(and a quick note for next time: if you clean off the seeds and put them on a cookie sheet in the oven on a very low heat, it will dry them out and they grind up much easier in the blender...not gooey at all)


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## Terry Allan Hall (Oct 16, 2010)

emysemys said:


> I'm still not sure if you're wanting to de-worm your tortoises or just give them a pumpkin treat...so...
> 
> *Both, really*
> 
> ...



*OTOH, both of my torts found this gooey mess VERY appealing! 
I've seen no evidence of worms in either (or in my daughter's box turtles), so it's likely only a propylactic thing, but they all four loved it! *


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## tortoisenerd (Oct 16, 2010)

A little on parasites, a favorite topic of mine:

Your tort can have a moderate case of worms without any symptoms or visible worms in the poop. Best to have a fecal sample checked at a vet's (or learn to do it yourself with a book and a microscope) every 6-12 months (or immediately after you get a tort, then 1-2 months later, then every 6-12 months), and treat based on the parasite type if any are found (different parasites need different meds, and there are parasites besides worms, such as coccidia or protozoa. A tortoise can be clean one test and loaded 6 months down the road because parasites will lie dormant and have different life cycles, etc.

If you have a small number of tortoises, I think it really is best to bite the bullet and get the $10-20 test done because using worming meds on a regular basis is tough on the torts tummy, they can build immunity to them, and why treat something that might not be there? For those that have a dozen plus tortoises, yes I can see why its much more cost effective to regularly use dewormer and take the tort to the vet if you see symptoms.

My tort has had pinworms twice and coccidia once, no symptoms for any of them, and I was told they were moderate cases, just in the less than two years I've had him. So glad we have a knowledgeable vet. Having untreated high parasite loads (low loads are normal and good) can cause major problems if the tort has an infection or something as the combo of the two is really bad (decreased immune response, etc).

So, find a knowledgeable tort vet, make an appointment, and bring in your tort's fresh fecal sample (a few days leading up to the appointment, start collecting poop in plastic baggies and put it in the fridge, keeping the freshest sample to ensure you have one to bring in, although many torts are glad to provide a fresh one for the vet!). Some parasites will die and not be able to be seen on the test if the poop is kept warm, so that is why I say put it in the fridge as well as have a fresh sample. I think its also important to have your vet's guidance on dosing for meds such as Panacur because sometimes the info you find online isn't quite reliable, and you have to ensure its for the same strength of med. Here's a couple articles: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/parasites.html (general parasites) http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Medical_misinformation.htm (info about how torts can build resistance to dewormers and why a vet may need to adjust dosage based on the tort)


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