# Your Hermanns favourite foods ?



## Lynn1957 (Oct 17, 2017)

I was wondering what your torts favourite foods are? 
My little guy is open to trying most everything, but I think his favourite so far are the flowers ...hibiscus, rose and pansies.


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## JoesMum (Oct 17, 2017)

Your Hermann's is displaying typical tortoise behaviour of being attracted to brightly coloured foods. 

They have fantastic colour vision and love the taste of sweet foods and the colour is a good indicator of sweetness

Unfortunately, Hermann's, like all Testudo, cannot tolerate much sugar in their diet - it causes digestive and kidney problems. So sugary foods including fruit, bell pepper, tomato and carrot should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all. 

Take care with flowers. They're also sugary due to the nectar. Feed them occasionally and make sure the bulk of the diet is healthy weedy and leafy greens. 

Tortoises can be very stubborn and frequently end up behaving like a child that only wants to eat chips and chocolate; they'll refuse the greens and only want the sweet stuff. You are the one in charge of the food supply and have to be the strict parent that makes sure that diet it healthy.


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## no one (Oct 17, 2017)

Mine loves the plantains, lots of weeds. Like dandelion, clover. The prickly Cactus, viola leaves and flowers. And grapeleaves.
For a treat a slice of courgette. Or chicory.
He loves lots of things.


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## JoesMum (Oct 17, 2017)

Here's a list of suitable greens

Look them up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database if you're not sure what they look like. 
http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard


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## Lynn1957 (Oct 18, 2017)

JoesMum said:


> Here's a list of suitable greens
> 
> Look them up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database if you're not sure what they look like.
> http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/
> ...



Thanks so much! It's not that I feed a lot of flowers to him. I'm careful with that. I just meant that he really likes them.


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