# What to feed my russian tortoise



## rocket.to.mars (Feb 1, 2009)

Hey people, I want to vary my horsfields diet so I was wondering what i can easily get a hold of thats safe for him to eat.

I'm currently growing seeds for him but they're growing pretty slow because it's freezing right now (i'm in England) so i was wondering what i cant give him in the mean time from a shop.

Thanks everyone,

Adam


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## Yvonne G (Feb 1, 2009)

Hi Adam:

I'm not familiar with the types of greens you can buy at your market, but here in the states, we have access to escarole, endive, turnip greens, raddiccio, red and green leaf lettuce, romaine, etc. Any of the dark, leafy greens that you can buy at the market will be ok. You should vary his diet and not feed one thing all the time. For instance, if you feed only cabbage, kale, collards, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc (brassica family) it will cause an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter). If you feed only spinach, beet greens, swiss chard, etc. these veggies contain oxalates that bind the calcium to it and it is then excreted in the waste. 

If your market sells the packaged baby greens mixtures, these would be a good substitute until your seeds are big enough to harvest, as a bag of greens would provide a nice variety and probably wouldn't rot before the bag is used up. While if you were to buy one head of the above mentioned good greens, before one little tortoise could eat it all, it would rot.

Do you just have the one Horsfield's tortoise? They are wonderful little animals and have such great personalities.

Yvonne


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## TKCARDANDCOIN (Feb 1, 2009)

Hello Adam, I feed mine mustard greens, dandelion, romaine, turnip greens, collard greens, kale etc....on occasion i feed them a couple of grapes(seedless) for a treat, they love them.The key is to mix it up.I also dust the greens with calcium 2 to 3 times a week and once a week i dust a multi vitamin like reptolife.thanks,tom.


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## rocket.to.mars (Feb 1, 2009)

Hi, thanks a lot for your post.

I can find most of what you suggested at the market so ill make sure he gets a good variety. 

Yeah, just the one Horsfield for now but i'm moving to a bigger house in september so who knows. He's amazing, he loves exploring and going to sleep under my leg.


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## Crazy1 (Feb 1, 2009)

Here is a list of things he can eat. Some you can get from a shop some you will have to grow come spring.
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-5823.html


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## egyptiandan (Feb 2, 2009)

Hi Adam,
You can try Florettes crispy bagged salad. Also Tesco has come out with a similar bagged salad.

Danny


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