Chayote for Sulcata

[longevity]

Today my Sulcata accidentally ate several bites Chayote (the fruit) with its skin!! — and it seems he really liked it! He usually only eats the leaves, not the fruit.

I checked thetortoisetable.org.uk, and it says to feed sparingly (with a red sign ). I always thought all types of squash were safe for tortoises...

Has anyone here given Chayote as part of their tortoise’s diet? If so, do you remove the skin and seed first, or just offer the whole thing?

I’ve attached a photo of the Chayote — just to make sure we’re talking about the same thing.

 

[wellington]

You call it a fruit and then a squash. Fruit is not good for most tortoises and sulcata is one of them. Also many fruit seeds are poisonous to animals so I wouldn't feed it with seeds for that reason. So if it's a fruit don't feed and if it's a squash it should be okay to feed sparingly

 

[Fluffy]

Squash is a fruit. This is definitely squash and safe to feed, like everything, in moderation.

 

[Ink]

I feed that to my leopard tortoise about once a month. I have been doing that for several years. He is 19 years old and great.

 

[longevity]

You call it a fruit and then a squash. Fruit is not good for most tortoises and sulcata is one of them. Also many fruit seeds are poisonous to animals so I wouldn't feed it with seeds for that reason. So if it's a fruit don't feed and if it's a squash it should be okay to feed sparingly

Sorry for the confusing wording! I meant the fruit from the squash family, not the sweet kind of fruit.

 

[longevity]

I feed that to my leopard tortoise about once a month. I have been doing that for several years. He is 19 years old and great.

I’ll take out the seed. How about the skin? Do you usually peel the chayote or just give it as is? I’d like to skip the extra work if possible.

 

[wellington]

Squash is a fruit. This is definitely squash and safe to feed, like everything, in moderation.

That may be. However, in any restaurant, grocery store and coming from most humans, a fruit is what we know as sweet and juicy and a squash totally opposite. When it comes to tortoises, a fruit is not good to feed and most squash are okay.

 

[Ink]

I scrap the skin off with a knife, cut into 4 chunks and I do remove the seed. I DO NOT cut into small pieces because my tortoise might choke on it (he eats it really fast).

 

[longevity]

I scrap the skin off with a knife, cut into 4 chunks and I do remove the seed. I DO NOT cut into small pieces because my tortoise might choke on it (he eats it really fast).

Thank you for the tip! I’ll try doing it the same way. I didn’t think about the choking risk before, so I really appreciate you mentioning that!