# What are your diet staples?



## JaySparks (Jun 8, 2017)

I've been growing plants for my tortoise to eat and I've had him for about 3 weeks now and his diet is not the best I've been feeding lamb lettuce, romaine, kale, cucumber and rape seed cress. I was wondering what do you feed your tortoise as a main or staple ingredient. By the way I also have this but my tortoise will not eat it https://www.amazon.co.uk/WhitePytho...43&sr=8-1&keywords=tortoise+food+white+python. 

I'm currently growing 
daisy
coneflower
cat grass
timothy hay
plantain
lamb lettuce (he is not a fan)

I live in the uk are there any vegetable that can be feed on a regular basis. I'm only planning on feeding till my plants grow. I use the tortoise table for help and I'm now thinking of feeding artichoke.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 8, 2017)

My staples are turnip greens, romaine, endive and escarole. To that I add whatever I can find that is growing outside - weeds and plants.


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## Careym13 (Jun 8, 2017)

Yvonne G said:


> My staples are turnip greens, romaine, endive and escarole. To that I add whatever I can find that is growing outside - weeds and plants.


Ever used Belgian Endive? My Leopards go nuts over it.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 8, 2017)

Occasionally.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 9, 2017)

My #1 staples are Mazuri tortoise chow and good old Hibiscus leaves and flowers.
I feed these with other items every day and alone when I'm particularly busy or just lazy.


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## Tom (Jun 9, 2017)

This varies seasonally for me. I also have grass eating species, where you do not.

From about March through September my main staples are grape leaves, mulberry leaves, broadleaf plantain leaves, spineless opuntia pads, Tyler's Testudo seed mix, and grass. Lots of grass. There are loads of other weeds and things throw in on a regular basis, but these are the mainstays. In November and December they see more Mazuri, grass hay and an occasional pumpkin. Usually by January the weeds and grasses are up and running from the rains, and that lasts until springtime when all that other stuff that I previously mentioned comes back. My main weeds in winter are lots of mallow, wild mustard, sow thistle, hawks bit, filaree and a few others I can never remember the names of. We also have several species of "wild" grass that pop up every winter in the rains. These all turn to foxtails in spring when things dry out again. There are at least a half dozen different grass species.

They all have grass hay and water tubs all year long and they frequently use them both.


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## JaySparks (Jun 9, 2017)

how do you guys deal with a tortoise that won't eat certain foods. My tortoise doesn't like lamb lettuce or cats grass.


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## Tom (Jun 9, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> how do you guys deal with a tortoise that won't eat certain foods. My tortoise doesn't like lamb lettuce or cats grass.


Introduce it gradually. Finely chop up the some of the tortoises favorite greens, then wet the pile with a water sprayer. Then finely chop up a tiny little amount of the new stuff. Use such a small amount that it is noticeable. Mix in the new stuff with the favorite old stuff. The amount of new stuff should just be a tiny fleck here and there. Most people use too much to start with. Gradually, over time, up the amount of the new stuff vs. old. It takes weeks or months, but the end result is worth it.


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## hettisurmail (Jun 9, 2017)

Tom said:


> This varies seasonally for me. I also have grass eating species, where you do not.
> 
> From about March through September my main staples are grape leaves, mulberry leaves, broadleaf plantain leaves, spineless opuntia pads, Tyler's Testudo seed mix, and grass. Lots of grass. There are loads of other weeds and things throw in on a regular basis, but these are the mainstays. In November and December they see more Mazuri, grass hay and an occasional pumpkin. Usually by January the weeds and grasses are up and running from the rains, and that lasts until springtime when all that other stuff that I previously mentioned comes back. My main weeds in winter are lots of mallow, wild mustard, sow thistle, hawks bit, filaree and a few others I can never remember the names of. We also have several species of "wild" grass that pop up every winter in the rains. These all turn to foxtails in spring when things dry out again. There are at least a half dozen different grass species.
> 
> They all have grass hay and water tubs all year long and they frequently use them both.


What species are grass eating?


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## Tom (Jun 9, 2017)

hettisurmail said:


> What species are grass eating?


Sulcatas, some leopards, stars, desert tortoises... None of the Testudo.


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## RosemaryDW (Jun 10, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> how do you guys deal with a tortoise that won't eat certain foods. My tortoise doesn't like lamb lettuce or cats grass.



If you've only had it three weeks, I'd give it a little more time before I worried too much.  You can introduce other foods over time, as mentioned above.

Your beautiful little tortoise is surely some kind of testudo? They don't eat grass, just plants with actual leaves.


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## JaySparks (Jun 10, 2017)

RosemaryDW said:


> If you've only had it three weeks, I'd give it a little more time before I worried too much.  You can introduce other foods over time, as mentioned above.
> 
> Your beautiful little tortoise is surely some kind of testudo? They don't eat grass, just plants with actual leaves.


its a hermans is it okay for them to have timothy hay? I gave him some cats gras He was not fond of it. I used the tortoise table and it was under the safe to feed list so i thought why not


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## Tom (Jun 10, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> its a hermans is it okay for them to have timothy hay? I gave him some cats gras He was not fond of it. I used the tortoise table and it was under the safe to feed list so i thought why not



It isn't harmful unless he chokes on it. They are not a grass eating species, so the likelihood of them eating dry grass hay is slim.

Also, if you want to try some grass hay, I would use bermuda hay or orchard grass hay. Timothy is pretty rough and stemmy.


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## JaySparks (Jun 10, 2017)

Tom said:


> It isn't harmful unless he chokes on it. They are not a grass eating species, so the likelihood of them eating dry grass hay is slim.
> 
> Also, if you want to try some grass hay, I would use bermuda hay or orchard grass hay. Timothy is pretty rough and stemmy.


i'm not planning on feeding them the dry version. i bought some dry meadow and its like straw So i decided to just use the fresh stuff.


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## Big Charlie (Jun 10, 2017)

My staples are grass, weeds, sow thistle, hibiscus and roses.


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## JaySparks (Jun 10, 2017)

Big Charlie said:


> My staples are grass, weeds, sow thistle, hibiscus and roses.


do you grow them yourself or do you pick them up?


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## TairaBacca (Jun 11, 2017)

My staple is a salad I prepare. 30% romain lettuce, 50% collard greens, and 20% kale. Every week I add repCal supplement to one meal. This is for my russian. Hopes it helps


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## Tom (Jun 11, 2017)

TairaBacca said:


> My staple is a salad I prepare. 30% romain lettuce, 50% collard greens, and 20% kale. Every week I add repCal supplement to one meal. This is for my russian. Hopes it helps



This not a good diet for your tortoise. I hope you will let us help you and recommend some better things to feed.


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## RosemaryDW (Jun 11, 2017)

I live in a beautiful climate and don't have any staples except in the summer, when the weeds stop growing. At that time, I use a lot of grape leaves and squash leaves, along with some things I buy from an Asian open market. (If you have any kind of ethnic markets near you, you can probably find some interesting foods to add in.)

Does your tortoise have any time outside? My outside Russian has really been loving our yarrow lately. It has enough "spring" that it can take some walking and grazing from a small tortoise. It's a pretty tough ground cover and so easy to grow. I did a little reading and it sounds like a common plant over there.


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## Pearly (Jun 11, 2017)

Careym13 said:


> Ever used Belgian Endive? My Leopards go nuts over it.


As occasional treat. My RFs love it too


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## Pearly (Jun 11, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> how do you guys deal with a tortoise that won't eat certain foods. My tortoise doesn't like lamb lettuce or cats grass.


There are PLENTY of alternatives out there


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## Pearly (Jun 11, 2017)

Pearly said:


> There are PLENTY of alternatives out there


Also, good old chopping/mixing favorites with the less-favorites in slowly increasing proportions and persistence


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## Careym13 (Jun 11, 2017)

Pearly said:


> As occasional treat. My RFs love it too


Yes! Mine would live on it if I let them. Its their weekend treat when I can find it.


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## Careym13 (Jun 11, 2017)

So I realized I half-way hijacked this thread rather than answered the original post so here goes: My staples are Endive, Escarole, Frisee and other store bought greens whenever weeds are scarce, which is mostly just in winter. The rest of the year my guys mostly get whatever I find in the yard like plantain, different grasses, dandelions, hibiscus, grape leaves and wild chicory leaves and flowers. I supplement with Mazuri and grassland tortoise food once a week or so as well as herbal tortoise hay.


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## Pearly (Jun 11, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> I've been growing plants for my tortoise to eat and I've had him for about 3 weeks now and his diet is not the best I've been feeding lamb lettuce, romaine, kale, cucumber and rape seed cress. I was wondering what do you feed your tortoise as a main or staple ingredient. By the way I also have this but my tortoise will not eat it https://www.amazon.co.uk/WhitePytho...43&sr=8-1&keywords=tortoise+food+white+python.
> 
> I'm currently growing
> daisy
> ...


. Disclaimer: MINE ARE OMNIVOROUS species so what is good staple food for me may be excellent addition to staple diet of grasses and weeds in herbivorous torts. 
My dailys are: Opuntia (cactus) pads, dandelion, collard, mustard, turnip greens, escarole and endive letuces, raddicchio, occasional kale, parsley whatever green fresh herbs I have on hand I let them sniff/decide if they want to try it, edible flowers, wild forest mushrooms like chanterelles, oysters, chicks of the forest, morrells (all that I get in organic section of my farmers market). To that I add some soaked Mazuri which I rotate with other dry tort food brands while they last. This just about concludes my list of "staples". With the Mazuri Since I had to buy like 30 lbs of Mazuri once all the other brands go, I'll just stick with Mazuri along all the fresh food. Oh and probably those tiny colorful "chips" that they absolutely love. I sprinkle them on top of their food when they are not as eager to eat and that usually gets their attention. This year I also started harvesting my plantings from last year: grape leaves, chicory, hibiscus, lambs quarters, ice plant, mallow and bunch of others that I planted when my babies were tiny and I was working on enclosing their tortoise garden. Within any given week I make effort to serve as many of these as possible for the variety. Of course in RF case, we have more things to add to diversify their diet: fruits, veggies, animal protein. If my torts were the herbivorous species, I'd probably be getting those tortoise mix seeds from tortoise supply and plant that in my tortoise garden rotating the grazing sites. The point of this whole post is VARIETY is a key in good nutrition. Of course I can give some romaine now and then or little cucumber (that has very little nutritional value) when confident my pets get all of the foods listed above on regular bases. STAPLE to me = recurring diet item used daily or almost daily in small amounts along with other foods.


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## JaySparks (Jun 11, 2017)

RosemaryDW said:


> I live in a beautiful climate and don't have any staples except in the summer, when the weeds stop growing. At that time, I use a lot of grape leaves and squash leaves, along with some things I buy from an Asian open market. (If you have any kind of ethnic markets near you, you can probably find some interesting foods to add in.)
> 
> Does your tortoise have any time outside? My outside Russian has really been loving our yarrow lately. It has enough "spring" that it can take some walking and grazing from a small tortoise. It's a pretty tough ground cover and so easy to grow. I did a little reading and it sounds like a common plant over there.


its been sunny in london recently we do not have a garden but we have a fairly large balcony where the sun hits hard and i use one of those wooden enclosure you buy with a tortoise for my little guy to be out and enjoy the sun too.


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## JoesMum (Jun 11, 2017)

As you're in the UK I'll suggest the Shelled Warriors shop as a good source of tortoise friendly seeds. They also sell "plug plants" (plants that you grow on) from time to time
http://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/

There's plenty of food to pick now. Dandelion, sow thistle, plantain (not the banana type thing) and clover are all growing well. 

Rather than recommend foods, I recommend that you make a list of the plants that grow around you and those that you can buy and look them up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database for suitability to feed 
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

There's also an electronic plant ID booklet on that website to help you identify the common weeds.


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## Big Charlie (Jun 12, 2017)

JaySparks said:


> do you grow them yourself or do you pick them up?


Sorry for the delayed response. I thought I had posted this yesterday! I grow them myself. The grass, weeds and sow thistle grow naturally in my yard. I've always had roses. However, gophers just killed my hibiscus. I'll have to plant another. The first one I never planted; it just started growing. Birds must have dropped the seeds in my yard.
Charlie has a large area to graze in, enough that he doesn't eat it down to the ground.


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