I've had a redfoot for a year, and just recently invited a Russian into my home... I feed them both fresh ingredients as a large portion of their diets but supplement both with a mix of couple of different commercial tortoise food 1-2 times each week.
I'm wondering if there are any scientific studies about the long-term effects and outcomes of different commercial tortoise foods... curious about different foods, as different proportions of the total diet, and for different types of tortoises.
I googled without success but have my suspicions:
1) making commercial feed 10-20 percent of your tort's diet may help to cover any shortcomings in the fresh foods you provide, in terms of vitamins and minerals.
2) making commercial feed 80-100 percent of your tort's diet may lead to too-fast growth and long-term issues similar to what people who eat lots of processed foods over fresh foods.
Failing links to scientific studies, I'd love to hear people's thoughts about, and experiences with, feeding their torts commercial foods.
Jamie
I'm wondering if there are any scientific studies about the long-term effects and outcomes of different commercial tortoise foods... curious about different foods, as different proportions of the total diet, and for different types of tortoises.
I googled without success but have my suspicions:
1) making commercial feed 10-20 percent of your tort's diet may help to cover any shortcomings in the fresh foods you provide, in terms of vitamins and minerals.
2) making commercial feed 80-100 percent of your tort's diet may lead to too-fast growth and long-term issues similar to what people who eat lots of processed foods over fresh foods.
Failing links to scientific studies, I'd love to hear people's thoughts about, and experiences with, feeding their torts commercial foods.
Jamie