Anyone have success with dried leaves and flowers as part of their diet

[AcidElvis]

I'm always looking to expand my tortoises diet and give him a variety of food. I recently came across this on eBay. Wonder if anyone has ever had an experience with it or something similar to it. Thanks in advance for your opinions and advice
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172257085645

 

[saginawhxc]

It is kind of the same concept as the herbal tortoise hay available at tortoisesupply.com and I can't recommend that stuff enough. It is excellent. This stuff I don't know, and they don't exactly list their ingredients. Well, neither does tortoise supply, but at least theirs is well trusted and respected within the community.

 

[wellington]

I haven't used the stuff you listed, but have used the herbal tortoise hay. I wasn't impressed as Saginawwhxc is, none of my tortoises would touch it. If they would have eaten it, I would have a better opinion on it.
You could try it and see if they like it. As part of a varied diet it wouldn't hurt

 

[JoesMum]

I tried Joe on dried weeds like dandelion but he wouldn't touch them dry or soaked.

 

[Lyn W]

I would want to check the ingredients first, if they aren't on the pack try emailing the company.
Unfortunately my tort won't touch anything dried, even if I try rehydrating it by soaking, he's very picky!!

 

[saginawhxc]

I don't give it to my bigger sulcatas, but my little sulcata (8 months) and the russian get some daily. Everyday I drop a healthy pinch into a bowl with a little bit of Mazuri and a little bit of zoo med pellets. I then let it soak for at least ten minutes, drain, and put on as a topping whatever I'm serving that day.

I don't give it to the big guys because the stuff is too expensive, and i would have to drop too much on to have any real nutritional benefit. I have sprinkled pinches on.

 

[wellington]

I don't give it to my bigger sulcatas, but my little sulcata (8 months) and the russian get some daily. Everyday I drop a healthy pinch into a bowl with a little bit of Mazuri and a little bit of zoo med pellets. I then let it soak for at least ten minutes, drain, and put on as a topping whatever I'm serving that day.

I don't give it to the big guys because the stuff is too expensive, and i would have to drop too much on to have any real nutritional benefit. I have sprinkled pinches on.

When soaking your pellets, try using just enough water to be completely soaked up or just add the food with the water. The water you are draining will have some of the good stuff in it that seeped out of the food. Might as well not throw any of that away either. Just a tip.

 

[Prairie Mom]

I dry tons of my own leaves, weeds, flowers, etc. Dried and frozen leaves are a HUGE part of my sulcata's winter diet.

Recently, I posted photos of me making a meal for my tortoise using completely preserved foods and explained how I preserved the healthy natural tortoise foods: Recipe and food (tort version)

If you want other Do it yourself info...
These plants freeze and thaw great!
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/these-can-be-frozen-thawed-and-retain-good-texture.128563/

I learned how to dry grass clippings from this forum member and it is discussed in this thread
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-young-sulcatas-winter-diet-worked.115259/

 

[Doreen S.]

I'm always looking to expand my tortoises diet and give him a variety of food. I recently came across this on eBay. Wonder if anyone has ever had an experience with it or something similar to it. Thanks in advance for your opinions and advice
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172257085645

Carolina Pet Supply fabulous for everything tortoise

 

[surfergirl]

my sully likes dried oak leaves? when they fall in his pen he eats them. anyone else have a sully that eats oak leaves.

 

[JoesMum]

my sully likes dried oak leaves? when they fall in his pen he eats them. anyone else have a sully that eats oak leaves.

Have you read The Tortoise Table's opinion on oak?

See here
http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp?st=true&mode=main&catID=261

 

[surfergirl]

exactly what I was concerned about. he does not eat them green only dead leaves? I have been trying to keep him from eating them for yrs but I still see the rare trace in his dung occasionally. he usually avoids bad foods so this in concerning. he is doing very well but I ill step up the leaf cleaning. thinking of a net now to keep the out... thanks for the link!

 

[JoesMum]

The bottom line: If you look at what TTT says about buttercups then you'd use everything short of agent orange to rid your garden of them. It's why I didn't throw my hands up in horror at dead oak leaves.

I cannot get rid of creeping buttercups from my lawn no matter how hard I try. Joe eats them as part of his varied lawn diet. In fact he enjoys them and deliberately eats just the flowers sometimes and at others grazes patches of the plant and ignores the flowers.

Other days he completely ignores buttercups and the clover is all he wants to eat - though maybe just the flowers ... or just the plant.

We've had him 46 years. We have a cherry tree and a Bramley (cooking) apple tree. He'll eats both fruits given the chance even though the apples are sour and the cherries have stones which I find in his poop.

I do my best to keep Joe on the straight and narrow. Windfall fruit is removed as quickly as possible, though I cannot possibly get all of it before Joe does. Buttercup control is attempted because I'd prefer the grass won.

With regard to the oak leaves. Clear them regularly. Take comfort from the fact that the poisons are highest in the new young leaves to protect them from pests. By the time the autumn leaves fall they have no need of pesticide - indeed bugs help with rotting them into fertiliser - so the toxin levels will be less.

If you cannot prevent them falling in the enclosure then that's all you can do.

 

[RobertFlak]

I'm always looking to expand my tortoises diet and give him a variety of food. I recently came across this on eBay. Wonder if anyone has ever had an experience with it or something similar to it. Thanks in advance for your opinions and advice
http://www.ebay.com/itm/172257085645

full pound of dried herbs. Getting my package this week.

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay