# Red footed toroise diet?



## Kennedy98 (Feb 26, 2011)

Hey gues I am new to this and I wanted to know what is good to feed a red footed tortoise? I keep hearing diffrent things to feed them but I don't know whats the best.


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## terryo (Feb 26, 2011)

http://www.redfoots.com/redfoot.htm

I've been following this care sheet for about 4 years now, and my Cherry Heads are doing great.


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## Kennedy98 (Feb 26, 2011)

Thank you so much!


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## terryo (Feb 26, 2011)

Here's another great site with more detailed information. http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/index.html


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## Kennedy98 (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks!


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## Madkins007 (Feb 26, 2011)

There are a few things that are great, lots of things that are good, a few things that are not so good, and a short list of things that are bad. Most fresh greens, veggies, and fruits are on the great-to-good list.

There are several good, workable diets on-line, such as the diet article at http://www.tortoisetrust.org or http://www.redfoottortoise.com, http://www.tortoiseyard.com, etc.

I have a diet plan and shopping list at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/diet.html you can try as well.


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## Kennedy98 (Feb 26, 2011)

I like the reftoottortoise.com webite! thanks!


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## Dudley (Feb 28, 2011)

Hi,..
Suggestions start at about a 70% greens to 30% fruit to some who do only fruit one day, only greens the next, then repeat, on the 7th day you have the protein day.

regards,..


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## Rosey (Mar 7, 2011)

Im pretty new to redfoot rearing as well but after INTENSIVE research and several posts on this forum I developed a diet that seems to be working WONDERFUL for my redfoot. Ill share it with you (if anyone has any advice or interjections please feel free, Im in NO way an expert)

This is what I feed Rosey:

Everyday she gets Spring mix with either kale, romaine or bok choy on top (just a little) Once in a while I will put spinich on top but only once or twice a month. 


Also on top of her salad I pick something daily so that she has as varied a diet as possible. Ill either put butternut squash(one of her faves), mushroom, bell pepper, zucchini, kiwi, tomato, cactus pear, sweet potato, radish, canned tortoise food (called mix ins with papaya and banana). 3 to 5 times a week ill add cactus pad to the top of her salad as well. I give her the salad in the morning and she grazes on it at will. Then at night Ill give her a treat. Her FAVORITE thing in the world is strawberries. So Ill give her one half of a large strawberry or a small strawberry or some other type of fruit.(banana, blackberry, blueberries ect. just not to much! I do this 3 or 4 nights a week so that I dont give her to much fruit. 

Then once a week she gets vitamins (reptolife) on top of her salad and then the following day calcium (reptocal) 

She also gets a minky mouse on top of her salad every other week. She loves them as well. 

From all my research I have identified food thats arent ok for her and they are these: 

Iceberg lettuce, spinich (except in small quantities once in a while), broccoli, brussel sprouts, corn, citrus fruits, pomegranate ( I fed her some and she liked it but it gave her diahrrea). Also pelleted diets are a no no.

I also give her an ambient temp of 80 in her enclosure and a basking spot of 90-95. I also discovered a humidity trick to help keep her humidity up but her soil dry enough that she wont get shell rot or anything. I use coconut fiber bedding (bed a beast, eco earth) and then on top of it put down fir or cypress wood chips. Then I mist her heavily 3 or 4 times a day, the bark will dry out making her top layer of substrate dry but the bed a beast stays nice and moist and in combo with an under tank heater we dont have to worry about humidity anymore. (we also have a humidifier in her room). Twice a day I let her out to roam around. Last night she took a nap curled up in a blanket on my lap. Shes so freaking cute!!!


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## Madkins007 (Mar 7, 2011)

Rosey said...
"From all my research I have identified food thats arent ok for her and they are these: 

Iceberg lettuce, spinich (except in small quantities once in a while), broccoli, brussel sprouts, corn, citrus fruits, pomegranate ( I fed her some and she liked it but it gave her diahrrea). Also pelleted diets are a no no."

I'd like to add the results of my research (remembering that it is focused on Red-foots)

Iceberg lettuce gets a bad rap. There is nothing really wrong with it, other than being a bit low in calcium. It is full of moisture, nitrogen, and so on. It is not 'nutritionally empty' as is often claimed, although it is certainly not a 'power food'. The main reason it gets a bad reputation is from the days when it was about the only thing people used and their tortoises got sick. Use as part of a balanced, varied diet with appropriate supplementation and there is nothing wrong with it. Heck, it also makes a great snack or filler after a healthier meal.

Spinach also gets a bad rap because of the oxalates in it. Oxalates are not good, but there is no real evidence they are a problem in a balanced, varied diet- especially if the tort is properly hydrated. Tortoises, including Red-foots, routinely eat foods in the wild that are considered toxic to humans because of the high oxalate levels. The oxalates ONLY affect the spinach, so add some high calcium foods or a pinch of supplement, and you are OK. Besides, too much high calcium food inhibits iron intake and tortoises need iron as well.

Broccoli is a brassica- along with cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, kale, turnip greens, etc. Brassicas got a bad reputation because they are often low in iodine and can cause goiters in some animals (including some species of tortoises) if there is not enough iodine in the diet- which there is if you use a balanced, varied diet with appropriate supplementation. Most of the problem here comes from older days when cabbage was often a major food item. Brussel sprouts are also brassica, but few tortoises seem to like them.

Corn is a grain. Not a lot of animals can eat grains unless they are properly processed. Even humans do not fully digest corn unless it is completely processed first. (Sweet corn is tasty, but look how much of it comes out the other end of the digestive process.) However, corn on the cob is a great rare treat for bigger torts that will enjoy eating the grains and gnawing on the cob.

Citrus fruits- naval oranges are a surprisingly good source of calcium, as well as vitamin C and more. They are fine as a small part of a balanced, varied diet but other citrus fruit is indeed best avoided.

Pomegranate is not really a big issue. It is a big, wet, sweet fruit so it should be limited- like all sweet fruits, otherwise it does cause loose bowels as noted. (Wild tortoises love sweet fruits, but most of the 'fruit' they get in the wild is not that sweet or wet.)

To say pelleted food is a no-no is to oversimplify a rather complex issue. Many keepers would agree with her, but many others vehemently disagree. I was a 'no no' person, now I think that a good quality pellet should be considered as a useful part of up to about 1/2 of the diet.

There are foods to avoid: potatoes, hot peppers, olives, nuts, most citrus, grains, dairy, spiced or overly processed meat, etc.- but not that many. Most veggies a human can eat can eat are OK for Red-foots as a part of a varied, balanced diet- especially when they are indoors in the winter when variety is more limited anyway.

Different sources of info give different stories, and it can be tough to find the reality amidst it all. I trust the sources I used, but each of us has to find what works for use where we are.


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## Rosey (Mar 7, 2011)

Well said Madkins, thats why youre the expert! Thanks!


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## Madkins007 (Mar 7, 2011)

Expert? Nope. Just a research geek, but thanks!


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