Diet question

[Ketta]

I have learned so many things i didn't knew in such a short time! So when i was little (i was 8 years old, now i'm 35 years old) i had 9 tortoises but their poop had no white they were outside all the time we fed them fruits, some tomatoes, lettuce, carrots. I did saw them eating dog poop once! Even tho we tried hard to stop them from doing that it didn't always worked. So for my new tortoise i want to make sure that s/he have the right diet. We have no dogs or cats now.
Also what does a 'normal' tortoise poop looks like? Cause from what i'm reading the ones i had didn't had normal poop. Theirs was dark brown almost black no white at all and quite dry they also stole the dry dog's food. Maybe that's why it was brown... all 9 fought to eat dog food even when they had healthy veggies/fruits next to it, i have always wondered if that was unhealthy for them? Even tho the dog food was not for them, the dogs were terrified of the tortoises every time the dogs went to eat and the tortoises were there, the dogs just went away .
I read in a book that they can drink milk and cheese? and cooked egg yolk as part of a healthy diet? also wheat germ?

 

[Bee62]

I have learned so many things i didn't knew in such a short time! So when i was little (i was 8 years old, now i'm 35 years old) i had 9 tortoises but their poop had no white they were outside all the time we fed them fruits, some tomatoes, lettuce, carrots. I did saw them eating dog poop once! Even tho we tried hard to stop them from doing that it didn't always worked. So for my new tortoise i want to make sure that s/he have the right diet. We have no dogs or cats now.
Also what does a 'normal' tortoise poop looks like? Cause from what i'm reading the ones i had didn't had normal poop. Theirs was dark brown almost black no white at all and quite dry they also stole the dry dog's food. Maybe that's why it was brown... all 9 fought to eat dog food even when they had healthy veggies/fruits next to it, i have always wondered if that was unhealthy for them? Even tho the dog food was not for them, the dogs were terrified of the tortoises every time the dogs went to eat and the tortoises were there, the dogs just went away .
I read in a book that they can drink milk and cheese? and cooked egg yolk as part of a healthy diet? also wheat germ?

Hello and welcome.
What specie of tortoises do you keep ? The diet of a tortoise depends on its specie. I think you have Redfoot tortoises ?

 

[dmmj]

No tortoise should ever drink milk or cheese. No matter how much they beg for milk and cookies at night time. Egg yolk and eggs themselves are acceptable for certain species including but not limited to Red foot (is the plural feet???) box turtles.

 

[Ketta]

Hello and welcome.
What specie of tortoises do you keep ? The diet of a tortoise depends on its specie. I think you have Redfoot tortoises ?

Ok I have been 27 years without having tortoises! When i was little i had 4 red footed tortoises and 5 yellow footed tortoises! The new one i think its a yellow footed tortoise but also could be a russian tortoise, I don't have it yet with me, s/he is with my neighbor, his sister was the tortoise owner. She left the tortoise with him because she is leaving the country, but he have dogs so he decided to ask my mom if we wanted it and she said yes. So right now we are waiting until my neighbor says we can take it home with us.

S/he is pale in colour! and not similar to the ones i had when i was little.

 

[Bee62]

Ok I have been 27 years without having tortoises! When i was little i had 4 red footed tortoises and 5 yellow footed tortoises! The new one i think its a yellow footed tortoise but also could be a russian tortoise, I don't have it yet with me, s/he is with my neighbor, his sister was the tortoise owner. She left the tortoise with him because she is leaving the country, but he have dogs so he decided to ask my mom if we wanted it and she said yes. So right now we are waiting until my neighbor says we can take it home with us.

Can you upload some pics of the tortoises ? The diet of a redfoot tortoise or a russian tortoise is different, but you should never feed milk and cheese like @dmmj said.
Russian tortoises eat weeds and herbs but they should never eat fruits, dog food or cooked eggs. Redfoot or Yellowfoot tortoises are allowed to eat fruits, dog food and cooked eggs as a part of a wider diet.
The color of the poop depends on what a tort is eating.

 

[Ketta]

Can you upload some pics of the tortoises ? The diet of a redfoot tortoise or a russian tortoise is different, but you should never feed milk and cheese like @dmmj said.
Russian tortoises eat weeds and herbs but they should never eat fruits, dog food or cooked eggs. Redfoot or Yellowfoot tortoises are allowed to eat fruits, dog food and cooked eggs as a part of a wider diet.
The color of the poop depends on what a tort is eating.

ok i will go later today to my neighbor's house and take some pictures of my new tortoise! Interesting so some species can eat dog food! I thought it wasn't good for them.

 

[Bee62]

ok i will go later today to my neighbor's house and take some pictures of my new tortoise! Interesting so some species can eat dog food! I thought it wasn't good for them.

Looking forward to your pictures. When it is not too much and every day, dog food can be feed to some tortoises.

 

[Ketta]

Looking forward to your pictures. When it is not too much and every day, dog food can be feed to some tortoises.

good to know!

 

[Ketta]

So he is a red foot tortoise! So what diet should I give him? Can I feed him dry dog food...how often and how much!

 

[Maro2Bear]

So he is a red foot tortoise! So what diet should I give him? Can I feed him dry dog food...how often and how much!

Take a read here. Probably lots of good info for you in addition to diet info -

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/redfoot-tortoise-caresheet.172531/

 

[jsheffield]

This graphic is also useful...



and this snippet is from a caresheet I give people who help me with my redfoot.

There's a lot of information out there and tortoise care, some great, some less so... the key is weeding out the crap and then averaging the good stuff into a usable format for you and your tortoise.

Jamie

 

[Ketta]

Wow so according to that they can eat cat food but not dog food? So tortoises can get fat ? wow

 

[Ketta]

View attachment 271794

This graphic is also useful...

View attachment 271795

and this snippet is from a caresheet I give people who help me with my redfoot.

There's a lot of information out there and tortoise care, some great, some less so... the key is weeding out the crap and then averaging the good stuff into a usable format for you and your tortoise.

Jamie

That one is a bit confusing on top of the image it says no cabbage then below says cabbage is allowed?

 

[Ketta]

When I was little I had 4 red foot tortoises we fed them papaya, romaine lettuce, banana, tomatoes, cantaloupe, carrots, mango... And some dog food. Oh also once I saw 1 of my red foot hunting and eating a mealworm in the back yard.
They also ate some grass they were outside. At night they all 9 the 4 red foot and the 5 yellow foot would come to either the kitchen or the porch. To spend the night.
So can I feed my new boy the same and adding some protein?

 

[jsheffield]

That one is a bit confusing on top of the image it says no cabbage then below says cabbage is allowed?

Sorry, the one below is bok choy, Chinese cabbage, which some sources are ok with in small amounts... same with kale.

Jamie

 

[Ketta]

Here in my country we do not have Berries and many of the things listed there... which is weird cause they are from here so maybe the ones born in captivity in USA had adapted to eat more things...
I'll tell you what we can get here:
Cabbage, Chinese cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, parsley, celery, papaya, cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, pineapple, orange, banana, yam, potatoes, French onion, leek, bell pepper, sweet pepper, hot pepper...
We are a tropical country temp is always stable around 78-80 Fahrenheit some times it raises to 82 F this around where I lives. At night it drops to 68 F.

 

[jsheffield]

Here in my country we do not have Berries and many of the things listed there... which is weird cause they are from here so maybe the ones born in captivity in USA had adapted to eat more things...
I'll tell you what we can get here:
Cabbage, Chinese cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, parsley, celery, papaya, cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, pineapple, orange, banana, yam, potatoes, French onion, leek, bell pepper, sweet pepper, hot pepper...

I bet you can find edible weeds and greens (dandelions, turnip greens, collard greens, various broadleaf weeds).

From that list, I'd focus on feeding your tortoise, in descending order of prevalence: papaya, mango, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, yam, Chinese cabbage, and carrot and carrot greens... and try to find some squash.

I think if you feed for variety and a focus on more greens than fruit/veggies, more fruit/veggies than protein, and you'll be able to provide your tortoise with a good diet.

Jamie

 

[Ketta]

I bet you can find edible weeds and greens (dandelions, turnip greens, collard greens, various broadleaf weeds).

From that list, I'd focus on feeding your tortoise, in descending order of prevalence: papaya, mango, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, yam, Chinese cabbage, and carrot and carrot greens... and try to find some squash.

I think if you feed for variety and a focus on more greens than fruit/veggies, more fruit/veggies than protein, and you'll be able to provide your tortoise with a good diet.

Jamie

Is zucchini ok? We can get that here too also eggplant.

 

[Ketta]

I bet you can find edible weeds and greens (dandelions, turnip greens, collard greens, various broadleaf weeds).

From that list, I'd focus on feeding your tortoise, in descending order of prevalence: papaya, mango, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, yam, Chinese cabbage, and carrot and carrot greens... and try to find some squash.

I think if you feed for variety and a focus on more greens than fruit/veggies, more fruit/veggies than protein, and you'll be able to provide your tortoise with a good diet.

Jamie

So is celery ok? As a green?

 

[Ketta]

@Tom @Redfoot NERD