Burmese star tortoise chasing earthworm

Status
Not open for further replies.

paludarium

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
57
Location (City and/or State)
Taiwan
Hi all,

I happened to see my Burmese star tortoise eating earthworms, the photo showed that it was chasing after the 3rd one. Did anyone ever have the same experience?

Regards,
Erich

b4042068.jpg
 

onarock

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
1,190
Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Yup, all mine love earthworms and they also eat these 3"X1/2" large yellow slugs we have here. I dont offer them, they catch them.
 

Jacqui

Wanna be raiser of Lemon Drop tortoises
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Messages
39,941
Location (City and/or State)
A Land Far Away...
Alright! You got a picture to prove it. :D I think a lot of folks would be surprised at what all these very opportunistic tortoises will and do eat naturally. To the tortoise, it is all about survival any way it can.
 

SILVERSTAR

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
451
Location (City and/or State)
sacramento california
I saw mine chase a bug once and shortly after that i offered a mealworm that i had for my toads and my baby star tortoise gobbled it up but i never offered it again,i only did it the first time outta curiousity to see if he was actually craving protein,havent tried since.
 

HLogic

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
1,034
Location (City and/or State)
Florida, USA
I see a tort getting a drink completely ignoring the earthworm only millimeters away... :p
 

River14

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
217
HLogic said:
I see a tort getting a drink completely ignoring the earthworm only millimeters away... :p

Me too:rolleyes: Befuddlement?

Mine avoid all creepy things.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,698
Location (City and/or State)
CA
River14 said:
HLogic said:
I see a tort getting a drink completely ignoring the earthworm only millimeters away... :p

Me too:rolleyes: Befuddlement?

Mine avoid all creepy things.
I have to agree, did you catch a pic of it eating it, or just looking at it. Though to be honest my sully eats those rolly polly bugs whenever I move bricks around in his enclosure. I always try to grab them and give them to my RF or boxes, but he is quick sometimes.
 

paludarium

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
57
Location (City and/or State)
Taiwan
SILVERSTAR said:
I saw mine chase a bug once and shortly after that i offered a mealworm that i had for my toads and my baby star tortoise gobbled it up but i never offered it again,i only did it the first time outta curiousity to see if he was actually craving protein,havent tried since.
Very interesting finding. My Burmese star tortoise ignored mealworms completely, but it got excited when seeing earthworms.

Erich.
 

onarock

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
1,190
Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Jacqui said:
Alright! You got a picture to prove it. :D I think a lot of folks would be surprised at what all these very opportunistic tortoises will and do eat naturally. To the tortoise, it is all about survival any way it can.

Dont know who this was aimed at but here ya go. Here are a couple pics of one of my platynota eating one of those large slugs.
Picture107.jpg

Picture108.jpg
 

Kristina

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
5,383
Location (City and/or State)
Cadillac, Michigan
I caught one of my Russians eating a worm the other day. I picked her up and it was hanging from her mouth. I am pretty sure I saw slug leftovers on another's face too once.

Just a word of caution for those new to tortoise keeping - while allowing your tortoise to catch bugs on their own is fine, and something they would do in nature, I strongly advise against forcefully trying to add meat to your tortoise's diet, unless it is a Redfoot, Hingeback, or other species that have been proven to be able to handle more animal protein.
 

EricIvins

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,183
Kristina said:
I caught one of my Russians eating a worm the other day. I picked her up and it was hanging from her mouth. I am pretty sure I saw slug leftovers on another's face too once.

Just a word of caution for those new to tortoise keeping - while allowing your tortoise to catch bugs on their own is fine, and something they would do in nature, I strongly advise against forcefully trying to add meat to your tortoise's diet, unless it is a Redfoot, Hingeback, or other species that have been proven to be able to handle more animal protein.

How would you "forcefully" add protein to a Tortoises diet, unless you were physically shoving it down it's throat?

I guess living in the enchanted land Floriduh is, I see more hunting than anything.......Yes, Sulcatas, Leopards, even Testudo love the various Anoles and critters that float around here..........Before I started collecting Tortoises I used to have alot of Black Racers and Garter Snakes.......Every now and then I may see one, but they don't last if they go into the Sulcata pen.......I'll take a picture next time I see it happen......
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,698
Location (City and/or State)
CA
I would love to see a sulcata eat a snake, video would be even better :)
Reminds me of the person who said their sulcata used to eat gophers.
 

Kristina

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
5,383
Location (City and/or State)
Cadillac, Michigan
EricIvins said:
Kristina said:
I caught one of my Russians eating a worm the other day. I picked her up and it was hanging from her mouth. I am pretty sure I saw slug leftovers on another's face too once.

Just a word of caution for those new to tortoise keeping - while allowing your tortoise to catch bugs on their own is fine, and something they would do in nature, I strongly advise against forcefully trying to add meat to your tortoise's diet, unless it is a Redfoot, Hingeback, or other species that have been proven to be able to handle more animal protein.

How would you "forcefully" add protein to a Tortoises diet, unless you were physically shoving it down it's throat?

I guess living in the enchanted land Floriduh is, I see more hunting than anything.......Yes, Sulcatas, Leopards, even Testudo love the various Anoles and critters that float around here..........Before I started collecting Tortoises I used to have alot of Black Racers and Garter Snakes.......Every now and then I may see one, but they don't last if they go into the Sulcata pen.......I'll take a picture next time I see it happen......

Well I guess if you offered a tortoise canned cat food, and nothing but canned cat food, it would probably eat the cat food rather than starve. Sounds pretty forceful to me.

Many tortoises live indoors year round and only have access to what their owners give them. I have seen many tortoises raised on dog food and monkey chow with horrible deformities. This whole thread is concerning tortoises being opportunistic feeders. Seems pretty common sense to me that they will eat the only thing available.

I'm sorry you were unable to understand my meaning.
 

paludarium

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
57
Location (City and/or State)
Taiwan
Well, if we offer the tortoises 2 different foods, e.g. dog food and grasses, and we see the tortoises eat both foods randomly, then I would say that tortoises are opportunistic feeders. On the contrary, it would be the flavor or the odor that allures the tortoises.

Erich
 

paludarium

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
57
Location (City and/or State)
Taiwan
Here are a couple pics of my platynota eating earthworms 2 weeks ago. Actually I offered the vegetables but not the earthworms, however, my Burmese ignored the greens!

857338288.jpg


817610227.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top