Can people send me some images of different plants etc they feed their hermann? i have not really got the facility to grow my own, so wanted to know what variation people feed so i can mix up his diet more,
Diet Choices
- Thread starter mase01
- Start date
the UK
That’s a start.
Are you in a rural area with limited grocery store options but maybe some open land near you or a garden of your own?
Are you in a city that has a good sized grocery store and possibly some ethnic grocery stores. If so, what kinds?
Are you in a rural area with limited grocery store options but maybe some open land near you or a garden of your own?
Are you in a city that has a good sized grocery store and possibly some ethnic grocery stores. If so, what kinds?
i have a fair few options for grocery stores such as Tesco, Morrisons and garden centers, i dont have a garden of any sort though, i was hoping there was maybe plants that i could buy that were already grown?
There is a bag of salad called “crispy,” the company is Florettes I’m not sure if they sell that brand at Tesco but I’d start there. It’s the chicories we like to feed plus lamb’s lettuce which is a “pretty good” to feed. Morrison’s sell chicories, they’re clearly labeled. They also (maybe) sell some living greens in a plastic box: salad cress. It contains some foods that are good on a regular basis but you could do just as well or better if you can find entire heads of kale, collards, mustard and rotate those in. If you can get turnip greens or the greens of a regular bunch of radishes those are good as well. If you can find a bag of all lamb’s lettuce that’s okay to rotate in.
What you’ll be missing in a diet like this is fiber so you’ll need some food or supplements to round things out.
Many use a food supplement that includes fiber and quite a few other things tortoises need. Others add dried weeds and flowers. Or both! You can buy all of these things at the online Shelled Warriors shop in the UK. The food supplement they sell is the Pre-Alpin brand. There are other brands you can buy online or at a reptile shop. @JoesMum has a list of them; she may drop in her to share them as I’m not familar. They sell plenty of dried plants and flowers; I’d start with the mixed herbs, it’s all good stuff. If you wanted to add a flower or two, that’s fine.
Hermann’s don’t really eat grass but if they sell little pots of wheat grass over there you can chop up some tiny pieces and add those to his other foods to add fiber.
The only plants you can buy at a nursery are the type for human consumption; basically vegetables. Plants for “just” looking at have pesticides. A marrow or other squash/melon/cucumber is probably your best bet; tortoises can eat the leaves, stems and flowers and they are full of fiber. Even if you only have an awful place for them they are cheap and you can get another one for as long as they’ll grow in your climate. You can also grow turnip greens and radish greens very easily. They will both grow in cooler conditions and you don’t need a huge pot. I can’t really think of anything else you’d grow in limited space.
Cactus is great for tortoises (fiber, calcium) and you might be able to keep that as a house plant if you can get it sun or a warm window half the year. You can buy a spineless opuntia pad from Amazon or elsewhere UK but it will take some time to grow enough to feed your tortoise. Other cactuses with small fuzzy or prickly spots are also fine; your tortoise’s jaw can handle these no problem if it’s not a baby.
I would look at the Tortoise Table, which is a food database for the UK. If you look at the front page it has some common garden or wildish plants that are safe if you can get them without pesticides. You never know what a neighbor might be growing to share!
What you’ll be missing in a diet like this is fiber so you’ll need some food or supplements to round things out.
Many use a food supplement that includes fiber and quite a few other things tortoises need. Others add dried weeds and flowers. Or both! You can buy all of these things at the online Shelled Warriors shop in the UK. The food supplement they sell is the Pre-Alpin brand. There are other brands you can buy online or at a reptile shop. @JoesMum has a list of them; she may drop in her to share them as I’m not familar. They sell plenty of dried plants and flowers; I’d start with the mixed herbs, it’s all good stuff. If you wanted to add a flower or two, that’s fine.
Hermann’s don’t really eat grass but if they sell little pots of wheat grass over there you can chop up some tiny pieces and add those to his other foods to add fiber.
The only plants you can buy at a nursery are the type for human consumption; basically vegetables. Plants for “just” looking at have pesticides. A marrow or other squash/melon/cucumber is probably your best bet; tortoises can eat the leaves, stems and flowers and they are full of fiber. Even if you only have an awful place for them they are cheap and you can get another one for as long as they’ll grow in your climate. You can also grow turnip greens and radish greens very easily. They will both grow in cooler conditions and you don’t need a huge pot. I can’t really think of anything else you’d grow in limited space.
Cactus is great for tortoises (fiber, calcium) and you might be able to keep that as a house plant if you can get it sun or a warm window half the year. You can buy a spineless opuntia pad from Amazon or elsewhere UK but it will take some time to grow enough to feed your tortoise. Other cactuses with small fuzzy or prickly spots are also fine; your tortoise’s jaw can handle these no problem if it’s not a baby.
I would look at the Tortoise Table, which is a food database for the UK. If you look at the front page it has some common garden or wildish plants that are safe if you can get them without pesticides. You never know what a neighbor might be growing to share!
