# What food to buy from supermarket



## Bjcoopsx (Apr 29, 2020)

Hello, I was just wondering as it's hard to understand all the different bits of info online. Are there any foods that a horsefield juvenile would be able to eat and enjoy that's readily available from supermarkets? Thank you


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## MichaelL (Apr 29, 2020)

Endive, escarole, collard greens, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, so many.


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## Tom (Apr 29, 2020)

Bjcoopsx said:


> Hello, I was just wondering as it's hard to understand all the different bits of info online. Are there any foods that a horsefield juvenile would be able to eat and enjoy that's readily available from supermarkets? Thank you


Best to not buy grocery store foods and use broadleaf weeds, leaves and flowers for your horsfield tortoise. If you must use grocery store food, it will need to be amended so that it meets your tortoises nutritional needs. Read these paragraphs:

So much contradictory info on this subject. Its simple. What do they eat in the wild. Weeds, leaves, flowers, and succulents. Feed them a huge variety of these things, and you'll have a healthy tortoise. All of these species are very adaptable when it comes to diet and there is a very large margin of error, and many ways to do it right. What if you don't have this sort of "natural" tortoise food available for part of each year because you are in the snow? You will have no choice but to buy grocery store food. What's wrong with grocery store food? It tends to lack fiber, some items are low in calcium or have a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio, and some items have deleterious compounds in them. All of these short comings can be improved with some simple supplementation and amendments. A pinch of calcium two times per week will help fix that problem. You can also leave cuttle bone in the enclosure, so your tortoise can self-regulate its own calcium intake. What about fiber? Soaked horse hay pellets, soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets, Mazuri tortoise chow, "Salad style", "Herbal Hay" both from @TylerStewart and his lovely wife Sarah at Tortoisesupply.com, or many of the dried plants and leaves available from Will @Kapidolo Farms. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Add in arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find. If you mix in some of the aforementioned amendments, these grocery store foods will offer plants of variety and fiber and be able to meet your tortoises nutritional needs just fine. I find it preferable to grab a few grapevine or mulberry leaves, or a handful of mallow and clover, or some broadleaf plantain leaves and some grass, but with the right additions, grocery store stuff is fine too. Grow your own stuff, or find it around you when possible. Tyler and Sarah also sell a fantastic Testudo seed mix that is great for ALL tortoise species and also super easy to grow in pots, trays, raised garden beds, or in outdoor tortoise enclosures. When that isn't possible, add a wide variety of good stuff to your grocery store greens to make them better.

Supplements:
I recommend you keep cuttle bone available all the time. Some never use it and some munch on it regularly. Some of mine will go months without touching it, and then suddenly eat the whole thing in a day or two. Sulcatas and leopards grow a lot. This requires a tremendous amount of calcium assimilation over time. A great diet is paramount, but it is still a good idea to give them some extra calcium regularly. I use a tiny pinch of RepCal or ZooMed plain old calcium carbonate twice a week. Much discussion has been given to whether or not they need D3 in their calcium supplement. Personally, I don't think it matters. Every tortoise should be getting adequate UV exposure one way or another, so they should be able to make their own D3. I also like to use a mineral supplement. "MinerAll" is my current brand of choice. It seems to help those tortoises that like to swallow pebbles and rocks. It is speculated that some tortoise eat rocks or substrate due to a mineral deficiency or imbalance. Whatever the reason, "MinerAll" seems to stop it or prevent it. Finally, I like to use a reptile vitamin supplement once a week, to round out any hidden deficiencies that may be in my diet over the course of a year.


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## Yvonne G (Apr 29, 2020)

I know it's hard to find edible weeds and plants year round, especially in the UK. You have bagged rocket salad you can use, along with the produce Michael listed for you. Just bear in mind that the store bought produce doesn't have enough fiber and your tortoise will have loose stools. I use all of the produce Michael listed, but I also add mulberry and grape leaves, edible weeds, hollyhock leaves and whatever other edibles I can find outside.


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## LasTortugasNinja (Apr 29, 2020)

I only buy radicchio at the store. My tort REALLY loves it and it was one of the things they were feeding him at the petshop. He only gets a tiny bit compared to his weeds & tort grassland feed mix.

Other than that, it's all weeds, garden leaves (squash, grape, etc), and maybe a tiny bit of zucchini, cactus leaf, or other low/zero sugar "treat" to keep him on his toes and not get bored.


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## Bjcoopsx (Apr 29, 2020)

Thank you for your replies, yes I do have a FEW dandelion weeds growing but I dont have many in my garden so is it a suggestion for me to buy the seeds and grow them for a constant supply? I do have calcium powder so popping that on the spring greens etc should help? Thanks again!


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## LasTortugasNinja (Apr 29, 2020)

Bjcoopsx said:


> Thank you for your replies, yes I do have a FEW dandelion weeds growing but I dont have many in my garden so is it a suggestion for me to buy the seeds and grow them for a constant supply? I do have calcium powder so popping that on the spring greens etc should help? Thanks again!



Ask around to friends and family. My mother doesn't do ANY lawn maintenance, and she has an acre of dandelions, mallow, and other tortoise delights. I'm set for the season after a few hours of "helping weed the garden"... Yeah, she thought I was crazy for bagging it and dehydrating it, but my tort likes them fresh or reconstituted, so I'm good to go.


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## Kapidolo Farms (Apr 29, 2020)

I don't recall the names/brands in the UK, but you all have better packaged grasses and weeds than we do here in the US. I've tried to import some, but the sellers don't want the hassle of exporting.


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## LasTortugasNinja (Apr 29, 2020)

@Kapidolo Farms thank you for posting. I need to order some mix from you tomorrow (payday), and I completely forgot until I saw your name!


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## RosemaryDW (Apr 29, 2020)

Bjcoopsx said:


> Thank you for your replies, yes I do have a FEW dandelion weeds growing but I dont have many in my garden so is it a suggestion for me to buy the seeds and grow them for a constant supply? I do have calcium powder so popping that on the spring greens etc should help? Thanks again!


If you have space and sun to grow something , that’s great. You can order tortoise seed blends from Shelled Warriors in the UK. They also sell some dried flower and herb mixes that you can work in, although it might take some time for your tortoise to get used to them. They also sell some dry food supplements that are good! NutraZu and PreAlpin Testudo. There are different PreAlpin ones, I would ask for “regular.” It’s a small company so I would look online and then call in about my order.

Many grocery chains in your area sell a bagged salad variety called “Florette Crispy,” which is a good mix of greens that you can add fiber to. Seems like there are now two versions: “Classic” and “Sweet.” You want the classic.


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## Bjcoopsx (Apr 30, 2020)

RosemaryDW said:


> If you have space and sun to grow something , that’s great. You can order tortoise seed blends from Shelled Warriors in the UK. They also sell some dried flower and herb mixes that you can work in, although it might take some time for your tortoise to get used to them. They also sell some dry food supplements that are good! NutraZu and PreAlpin Testudo. There are different PreAlpin ones, I would ask for “regular.” It’s a small company so I would look online and then call in about my order.
> 
> Many grocery chains in your area sell a bagged salad variety called “Florette Crispy,” which is a good mix of greens that you can add fiber to. Seems like there are now two versions: “Classic” and “Sweet.” You want the classic.



That's great thank you, I've just ordered some from shelled warriors so I'll get planting, in the meantime I have a tint free dandelions and spring greens from the supermarket so if I dust calcium i hope that will be ok for now!

Thanks for everyones replies


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## Bjcoopsx (Apr 30, 2020)

*a tiny few


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## jsheffield (Apr 30, 2020)

My warm season is relatively short in New Hampshire, so I rely on a fair amount of store-bought food for my torts... I have a Redfoot, an MEP, a Homes Hingeback, and two Russians.

A staple of all of their diets is one of two mixed greens mixes that offer a nice variety of textures and colors; I shake a mix of flowers and herbs and weeds and seaweed over the mixed greens to increase the fiber and nutritional content (hibiscus, wakame, echinacea, nettle, rosebud, raspberry, calendula, and moringa).

I supplement with frozen, cubed, butternut squash that all of them love,

For the forest tortoises, I add some frozen fruit (papaya, blueberries, kiwi, banana, etc.) from mixes designed for smoothies;although I generally feed reptilinks, I used to feed them either chicken liver or salmon or egg once a week.

I give all of the torts mazuri and/or zoo-med 1-2 times a week to try and round out any missing nutrients, and because they love it.

Jamie


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## RosemaryDW (Apr 30, 2020)

Bjcoopsx said:


> That's great thank you, I've just ordered some from shelled warriors so I'll get planting, in the meantime I have a tint free dandelions and spring greens from the supermarket so if I dust calcium i hope that will be ok for now!
> 
> Thanks for everyones replies


Calcium is great but don’t overdo it. Lots of owners dump it on but your tortoise only needs the tiniest sprinkle, like fairy dust. Perhaps twice a week for a growing tortoise.


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