Celeriac?

[Denisthetortoise16]

Is celeriac ok for my tort to eat? Any other good food suggestions?

 

[KarenSoCal]

It has a very bad CA/Phos ratio, and a fair amount of protein. It is not toxic, but with so many other good foods, why feed this? @Kapidolo Farms do you agree?

Here's an extensive list of foods to choose from, compiled by one of our members:

You may need to rely on grocery store foods for now. Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium.

You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.

Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions.

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:

There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:

"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html

Homegrown alfalfa

Mazuri Tortoise Chow

ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

Ones that you can buy in every store:
Arugula
Lambs lettuce
Chicory
Kale
Mustard greens
Organic kohlrabi leafs
Organic carrot leafs
Organic radish leafs
Dandelions
Radiccio

 

[Denisthetortoise16]

It has a very bad CA/Phos ratio, and a fair amount of protein. It is not toxic, but with so many other good foods, why feed this? @KapidoloFarms do you agree?

Here's an extensive list of foods to choose from, compiled by one of our members:

Thank you

 

[KarenSoCal]

The list of foods wasn't there...I have added it.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome!

Not horrible but not worth the potential trouble. Plus it completely smells like celery (since that’s what it is); I’d be surprised if a tortoise would eat it.

Since you’re in the U.K. a good reference for you might be The Tortoise Table, which is U.K. based. It’s normally used as a database; you can look individual plants up in it.

But if you look on their main page, they’ve got a reasonably good amount of foods that might be growing around you in gardens and such. Plus a diet section. They have a forum as well, although not as busy as this one; if you have a plant not on their list they’ll research it for you if they can.

They are quite conservative in assessing plants, so not for everyone, but definitely useful for a new owner.

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

 

[Denisthetortoise16]

Welcome!

Not horrible but not worth the potential trouble. Plus it completely smells like celery (since that’s what it is); I’d be surprised if a tortoise would eat it.

Since you’re in the U.K. a good reference for you might be The Tortoise Table, which is U.K. based. It’s normally used as a database; you can look individual plants up in it.

But if you look on their main page, they’ve got a reasonably good amount of foods that might be growing around you in gardens and such. Plus a diet section. They have a forum as well, although not as busy as this one; if you have a plant not on their list they’ll research it for you if they can.

They are quite conservative in assessing plants, so not for everyone, but definitely useful for a new owner.

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Thanks! That’s really belpful