# green leaf lettuce and other lettuce



## geekinpink (Aug 12, 2010)

I know iceberg lettuce is not good...but are green leaf lettuce ok? and romaine? Romaine is a little bit harder to come by here and expensive, but green leaf are common enough.. My star tort loves it and i'm wondering if it's ok to give it to her as part of her staple food?

here's a pic
http://www.gothamstudio.com/images/Vegetables/Misc._Vegetables/Green_Leaf_Lettuce_560.JPG

Also, i don't have a garden/lawn but i do have potted plants...sometimes there's weeds growing on them, can torts eat those or they are toxic?

Staple food i give:
collard green
parsley
grass (if available, i have to go to a neighbor to pick them lol! )
wheat grass 
hibiscus
opuntia

treats:
carrots

she takes bites out of the staple foods i give her but today i tried to give her green leaf lettuce, she ate the whole thing...that's why i'm wondering if i could constantly give it to her.


suggestions and comments welcome


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## ekm5015 (Aug 12, 2010)

Yes I would say that is ok to feed. I would try to make your list a little longer though. Aim for 10-15 different greens . I go to the grocery store and my back yard once a week to get the ingredients. Here is a list of what I feed my sully.

*Collected from the yard.

CHICORY
COLLARDS
*DANDELION
ENDIVE
KALE
*PRICKLYPEAR-PADS
TURNIP GREENS
WATERCRESS
MUSTARD-GREENS
*PLAINTAIN
*WHITE CLOVER
BROCCOLI RABE
*ROSE OF SHARON
ROMAINE LETTUCE
*HOSTA
*RASPBERRY LEAVES

I collect all of these once a week, make a salad, and feed a portion each day. About 75% of this list is easily found at my local grocery store with the rest coming from my back yard. Hope this helps.


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## spikethebest (Aug 12, 2010)

variety is the key. so far your doing great. i'd try some Mazuri as well!


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## geekinpink (Aug 12, 2010)

my list was actually longer but she's a very finicky eater! i had to take some out of the list...but i've only tried those easily available here, i would be looking for more greens to add to my list, lets just hope she likes them  

i've actually ordered some mazuri...spike, do you ship to the philippines?


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## Madkins007 (Aug 13, 2010)

geekinpink said:


> I know iceberg lettuce is not good...but are green leaf lettuce ok? and romaine? Romaine is a little bit harder to come by here and expensive, but green leaf are common enough.. My star tort loves it and i'm wondering if it's ok to give it to her as part of her staple food?
> 
> here's a pic
> http://www.gothamstudio.com/images/Vegetables/Misc._Vegetables/Green_Leaf_Lettuce_560.JPG
> ...



I'm not up on star care or diet, but greenleaf and redleaf lettuce has good nutritional values and a Ca: P of about 1.24:1.

There really is not a lot of 'bad' about Iceberg when used as a part of a rotation- it is low in calcium (Ca: P of 0.95:1) but has many other micro-nutrients, bulk, and moisture. Romaine is not really a lot better than Iceberg nutritionally but has a much better reputation.

You might also swap yellow-orange squash for the carrot- similar nutrients, softer (especially if lightly cooked), and more like foods they would find in the wild.

I am also a fan of variety and options. You can also try turnip greens, dandelion, Endive lettuce, arugula or rocket lettuce, etc.


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## tortoisenerd (Aug 13, 2010)

I also agree swap out the carrots (the parsley also isn't a good one). Try to double the variety for a start. Dark lettuces are fine, but greens and weeds are ideal. Your tort can eat weeds that you identify as non-toxic and are chemical free (no pesticides or fertilizers, which eliminates 99% of public areas and probably 80% of people's yards from my guess). Do you have lettuce mixes where you live? In the U.S. there are bagged lettuce mixes than will have 3-10 lettuces in each, so you get a lot of variety for the money (plus here its easy to find organic and pre-washed and they are baby leaves, so very very easy to feed). In addition to what was mentioned, also try to find frisee, mustard greens, radish greens, any tops of veggies except tomato, leaves such as mulberry or grape. You don't want to get stuck on one food or even five foods because torts can get addicted to one. But yes, the green leaf and romaine are ok. Make sure you give a pure calcium supplement over the food, daily for hatchlings, every other day for juvenilles, and every few days for adults. You can grow all sorts of tort food in pots or trays. Look online for seed mixes, or buy seeds for safe foods and use organic soil. Focus on those you can't buy in the store. Good luck!


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## geekinpink (Aug 15, 2010)

Yes there are bags of mixed lettuce here but it cost too much even we humans tend to stay away from LOL...i guess because it's not grown here but imported.

How can i identify if the weed or grass in non- toxic?

I also propagated cactus pads, and hibiscus... i wish i could find some dandelions somewhere around here but nobody seems to have some...even those people that sells plants  

She's still finicky though...this morning i chopped up a variety of greens including grass and of course her green leaf lettuce...well she went to her food dish, dug around and aimed for the green leaf lettuce leaving the other greens behind LOL 

i'm running out of greens available here that she'd like...i must compliment her though bec if i try to give her a new veg or food, she would bite some before deciding she does not like it...

probably my best bet is to grow some myself...i just have to figure out what plants can grow in tropical weather.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Aug 15, 2010)

geekinpink said:


> Yes there are bags of mixed lettuce here but it cost too much even we humans tend to stay away from LOL...i guess because it's not grown here but imported.
> 
> How can i identify if the weed or grass in non- toxic?
> 
> ...



Your tort won't starve herself...just keep giving her quality food mixes and she WILL eat when she's decided that you're not going to give her her favorites.

"Tough Love".


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## geekinpink (Aug 15, 2010)

hehe, it is fun to see her eat though! lol

tonight i didn't put any lettuce actually, she dug through the pile, didn't see anything she like and went to sleep...

posted a pic of her digging her way finding the green leaf lettuce hee


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## Terry Allan Hall (Aug 15, 2010)

geekinpink said:


> hehe, it is fun to see her eat though! lol
> 
> tonight i didn't put any lettuce actually, she dug through the pile, didn't see anything she like and went to sleep...
> 
> posted a pic of her digging her way finding the green leaf lettuce hee



You're right...it IS fun to watch 'em eat! 

Save today's dinner in a zip-lock and offer it to her again tomorrow...quite likely she'll be less picky by then...longest I ever had to wait (for a spoiled tort to eat healthier stuff) was 3 days, and by then he had QUITE an appetite! 

Torts are pretty "practical" like that.


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## tortoisenerd (Aug 15, 2010)

If you have a source for chemical-free weeds (public parks are very likely not chemical free), you can find photo guides online to help you identify what is safe and what isn't. Yes, you either will need to grow some food yourself or resolve yourself to spend whatever you need so you can feed your tort the best you can get in the stores (I spend well over $20 a month just on my tort's greens unfortunately as I don't have a yard and failed twice at growing stuff in trays). I buy the most expensive types of greens they have and get organic, so its ridiculous, but only the best for our shell baby.


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## geekinpink (Aug 15, 2010)

Is it advisable to introduce new food to her one at a time or mix and then see what she eats? i tried some suggestions today and gave her pumpkin(calabaza) leaves with stalk, and flower, some grass, then some mustard and a hibiscus flower...she looked at everything and decided to munch on the pumpkin leaves and stalks... the previous owner said she never tried hibiscus before(they never offered her) how can i make her like it? just leave the flower without other stuff around? I heard everywhere it's their fave and she ignored it LOL (she did eat some a few days ago,but just a tiny bite) i was hoping to make this her staple because it could easily be grown with our weather.

There are no grass seeds anywhere here only wheat grass which is expensive but i manage to get a few seeds free, i've been researching about their food (i'm just very ignorant when it comes to plants) and i never see wheat grass listed, i was just wondering why..or maybe bec it's expensive? hehe


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## dmmj (Aug 15, 2010)

I would say variety also, if she/he does not like one paticular type of leavce try another. I feed mine a variety and some they like and some they don't like. As for her picking thru the food, try wetting the food so the good food sticks to the bad food, that way she has no choice but to eat it.


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## geekinpink (Aug 18, 2010)

hi, i tried wetting them, i fed her some hibiscus flowers, and leaves with some greens, since the flower stuck to the greens when she bit on it the flower follows, she was able to eat them but it's very funny because she used her "hands" and tried to remove the flower from her mouth lol... is it very weird she does not like hibiscus? I think she's not attracted to any food that is not green, bec. i removed all the greens earlier, and gave her only the hibiscus flower, she went for the stalk! :/ 

i forgot if i ever ask if aloe vera is ok for them to eat?

Are bougainvillea plants poisonous to tortoise? it grows very well here and i was wondering if it's ok to feed it


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## tortoisenerd (Aug 19, 2010)

Wheatgrass is good as part of a varied diet if the tort likes it. Try different colors of hibiscus if you have access to them and they are chemical free (most flowers are full of pesticides so be very careful you know exactly what has been done with these flowers). Yes, you can try just feeding the hibiscus for a couple days in a row. I usually introduce new foods however I bought them--weather its all new stuff that week or just one new item. The leaves and stems and such of the hibiscus are good too. With torts though, there is no such thing as a staple food. I'd aim for no more than 5-10% of the diet from each food. For example, I buy spring mix all the time which has 5-10 greens in it, and buy 1-2 other greens (rotating through a list) each week to add to it, plus a rotation of treat foods like pumpkin, squash, cactus, and Mazuri or Grassland for a small part of the diet like 5%. Most torts will have a few foods that have been offered they just won't eat. You just keep trying different stuff. Be creative with finding food--see what you can grow, what friends and neighbors may grow that is chemical free, visit different grocery store chains in different areas, look online to see what you can order, etc. Good luck!


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## Madkins007 (Aug 19, 2010)

I will admit, though, that I have a few jars of the 'long shelf life' versions and some other 'not so great foods' in my emergency kit in case we loose power, run short on cash, etc., especially in the winter.


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## fel1958 (Aug 21, 2010)

A VARIETY OF GREENS IS GOOD.ALLSO TRY ZOO MED GRASSLAND FOOD.MAZURI IS OK BUT ONLY A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK.GRASSLAND IS ALL NATURAL AND HAS THE MOISTURE CONTENT YOU NEED.CHECK IT OUT.WE SELL ON EBAY WITH OVER 300 POSITIVE FEEDBACKS. [email protected]


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## tortoisenerd (Aug 21, 2010)

Fyi-writing in all caps is considered yelling on the internet, and tough for many of us to read. Thanks!


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## Yvonne G (Aug 21, 2010)

Hi Fel1968:

I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here and assuming that you didn't know: It is perfectly fine for you to advertise what you sell if you place your post in the "for sale" section, but when you post it here in a normal thread, it looks suspiciously like spam. We don't allow spam. 

If this happens again, you will be banned as a spammer.


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## geekinpink (Aug 21, 2010)

i know about grasslands...the guy selling them to me kept telling me it's not for star tort, bec star torts are forest tort, he kept giving me the zoomed forest.. which one should it really be?


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