# can a tortoise overeat?



## steam roller (Dec 2, 2014)

Is that true "they will stuff themselves till they burst"? How will I know if I'm overfeeding???


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## johnsonnboswell (Dec 2, 2014)

Joyce Rau said:


> Is that true "they will stuff themselves till they burst"? How will I know if I'm overfeeding???


No, it's not true that they will stuff themselves until they burst. Also pyramiding is related to the conditions in which they're kept, and diet is at best a small part of that.


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## puffy137 (Dec 4, 2014)

Hate to disagree with such an illustrious nic as Johnsonboswell , Dr Johnson being one of my heroes.
JOHNSON;Well, we had a good talk. 
BOSWELL; Yes sir, you tossed & gored several persons.


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## puffy137 (Dec 4, 2014)

Joyce Rau said:


> Is that true "they will stuff themselves till they burst"? How will I know if I'm overfeeding???


I only feed mine once a day in the morning, There are 25 all told. So about half a romaine lettuce & some stalks of coriander or cucumber peelings etc etc . Even if I put out 3 times as much it would still disappear. So I will not kill them with kindness, which is a bad fault. BUT the only exception is to make sure that the babies have a good feed. at least 2 hours of chomping away, free from the older ones , who would scoff the lot before the babies could eat their fill.


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## Tom (Dec 4, 2014)

Joyce Rau said:


> Is that true "they will stuff themselves till they burst"? How will I know if I'm overfeeding???



No. That is not true. But they can put away a lot of food. If you are feeding the right foods and housing them correctly, there is no "overfeeding". You've got a sulcata, right?

Feed him as much grass, grass hay, mulberry, hibiscus or grape leaves, spineless opuntia cactus pads, and the right weeds as his little heart desires. If you are feeding a lot of grocery store stuff, then you'll need to amend it with finely chopped rehydrated grass hay, or fresh grass, if your climate allows.

Here are some sulcata feeding suggestions:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/


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## Yvonne G (Dec 4, 2014)

The thing is, you have to look at the big picture. Will they burst if they over eat? No, however, without enough exercise a tortoise will get pretty fat if he overeats. Especially Russian tortoises. You probably don't have to worry about overfeeding your sulcata, because you know he's big so you provide him a large area. But people keeping Russians think because they're small they don't require much room. And overfeeding a Russian tortoise that can't get a lot of walking around time ends up with an obese Russian tortoise. (But not a burst one)


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## Iochroma (Dec 5, 2014)

Why does this discussion make me recall a scene from a Monty Python movie? Does a tortoise know the meaning of life?


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## Amanda81 (Dec 11, 2014)

Exactly how do you tell if your tortoise is over weight?


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## ascott (Dec 13, 2014)

Amanda81 said:


> Exactly how do you tell if your tortoise is over weight?



If he suddenly only wears baggy clothes....


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## ascott (Dec 13, 2014)

Also, if the torts diet is mainly based on free grazing...then nope, they won't over eat...if they are strictly a market diet, then yes, they can---over feeding market greens and low level of activity can add some pounds...but if that is good or bad would entirely depend on the species of tort we are discussing...if you are dealing with a species that will brumate, then letting the tort eat its fill is fine...if a non brumating species, then a bit more regulation of diet quantity would be beneficial...


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## Amanda81 (Dec 13, 2014)

I ask cause I have a sulcata hatchling that seems to be fatter then the others. When he pulls into his shell I notice his skin puffs out a lot.


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## Yellow Turtle01 (Dec 13, 2014)

Amanda81 said:


> I ask cause I have a sulcata hatchling that seems to be fatter then the others. When he pulls into his shell I notice his skin puffs out a lot.


Possibly if they can't pull their head in at all? That would raise few flags!


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## dmmj (Dec 13, 2014)

(POP) damn there goes another one.

A tortoise that is over weight, can't pull itself into it's shell.

(POP), there goes another one.


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## zenoandthetortoise (Dec 13, 2014)

Iochroma said:


> Why does this discussion make me recall a scene from a Monty Python movie? Does a tortoise know the meaning of life?



If they don't, no one does


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