Treat-cake, bread, sausage??

willee638

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Hi, I had my red foot tortoise for almost 7 months now & she has eaten most of the regularly feeds of vegetables, fruits, plants & meats. So once in a while I would give her a morsel of cake, bread, sausage, rice or digestive biscuit, because she has grown tired of the same even after a few days later. I heard people have given their torts boiled eggs, chicken & sea foods which I have also tried but I guess every tortoise has different taste, if a tort doesn't get any digestive issues it wouldn't harm them?
 

ZEROPILOT

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I don't think she has "grown tired" of eating her regular food.
You can feed your Redfoot hundreds of natural foods. The list is almost endless.
I personally would not feed mine anything on that list.
 

crimson_lotus

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I think a big issue with pet ownership is that some people treat their animals like another human (having a "friend" for their tortoise, for example), whereas they actually have drastically different anatomy and behaviors. Tortoises, for example, like to eat their own poop so I don't think they care much for taste like us humans do.

Unsuitable diets can lead to shell/body deformation. Granted we don't know what cake will do to a tortoise, I assume it would also affect the organs negatively.
 
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Mrs.Jennifer

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I can totally understand the desire to "treat" the animal companions we love. But regardless what our heart and affection tendencies are, we must be good parents. My in-laws, whom I love DEARLY, shortened the life of their dog by feeding it too much table food because "he won't eat otherwise," thus leading to him being morbidly obese. What they couldn't see was that they created a dog who held out for table scraps because it worked. I, too, have to keep reminding myself that just because my Russian tortoise loves watermelon, does not mean he gets it other than a CSA grown watermelon once a year. Please stick to foods that are healthy for your tortoise so the two of you can be together for a very long time.
 

jsheffield

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You can give your tortoises treats that are still good for them, or at least not bad for them.

They don't need, or benefit from, cake, bread, sausage, rice or digestive biscuit... give them egg or salmon or shrimp or chicken liver.
 

newCH

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One of the main reasons that I chose getting a cherryhead redfoot was because of their ability to eat fruit and veggies.
I was actually considering that it would be a good influence on my own eating habits !
Sheldon always eats Organic Girl Baby spring mix as a base. Then I top it with what fruits/veggies we have handy.
Blueberries, strawberries, banana, grated carrots or maybe soaked Mazuri.
Shrimp, albacore tuna chunks & salmon are part of his varied diet also.
Possibly you should up your portions of healthy items.

If a tort gets overweight they can't retract into their shell properly.
Please try to replace any unhealthy snacks with a blueberry, etc.
Also a cuttlebone will give him a snack and an activity too.
 

AgataP

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Also you can probably feed it for the first and the last time.

You could make a flowers and grass “cake”.
 

wellington

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Simple answer is straight out no!
Stick to what they are auppose to eat. Tou want to give him a treat make sure he has the proper sized enclosure both inside if you house inside and outside as every tortoise should either live outside or get outside during the warm months.
 

willee638

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Thank you, all the above are very good advice. Yes I agree bad human diet habits can cause animals health issues as well, I almost eat no processed foods myself but other members of the house whole leave them around. I agree one of the reasons I choose my red foot tortoise is they are able to tolerate many varieties of fruits, vegetables & meats, Out of 10 different types of fruits my tortoise has shown interest in about half & some she tried once & others she never even bother to taste them, eggs is one food my tort didn't even try but most sea foods she took a liking to immediately.
 

Blackdog1714

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Thank you, all the above are very good advice. Yes I agree bad human diet habits can cause animals health issues as well, I almost eat no processed foods myself but other members of the house whole leave them around. I agree one of the reasons I choose my red foot tortoise is they are able to tolerate many varieties of fruits, vegetables & meats, Out of 10 different types of fruits my tortoise has shown interest in about half & some she tried once & others she never even bother to taste them, eggs is one food my tort didn't even try but most sea foods she took a liking to immediately.
Have you tried chopping all the food up into smallers bits and tossing it like a salad. It takes the yummie parts and spreads into onto the not so yummie parts and makes it into one big yummie salad
 

Kapidolo Farms

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When we walk, we 'massage' our torso and help with digestion, throw in a little running, deep knee bends, or even yoga, and our digestive track and pooping apparatus work better yet.

Tortoises don't get that same value out of walking, they rely on their gut micro flora and fiber. These things make their digestive track work well. Fiber diversity, types and particle size keep that gut flora working at its optimal.

Treats mess that up. Now you know. Don't project onto the tortoise your own emotional need for fulfillment through poor diet choices.
 
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