Diet question

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
I live in Venezuela which is a tropical country! But I live in an apartment, I let him roam free with supervision in a 10 meters x 6 mts area... inside of my apartment plus outside we got hawks and predatory birds! So I would never let him outside. But I open the window every morning and put his enclosure directly where the sun gets to him.. and when he gets tired of getting sunlight he goes to the shade. When I see the sun changes I close the window.... But it stays open for 3 hours from 7 am to 10 am.
Venezuela? Heard about all the craziness in your country right now. How you doing?
 

Ketta

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
224
Location (City and/or State)
Venezuela
Venezuela? Heard about all the craziness in your country right now. How you doing?
Im ok within all the crazyness! My bird and my tort are doing good despite the situation. I provide what I can but I get worry when I can't find several things... thank godness I have arugula,sweet peppers and basil in my home.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,939
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Clover is edible.
But my Redfoot don't eat it.
Don't get discouraged. I'm sure you'll end up with a dozen or more good, easily obtainable choices.
Is there any dandelion growing there?
How about Purslane?
That's another good now and then food.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
Clover is edible.
But my Redfoot don't eat it.
Don't get discouraged. I'm sure you'll end up with a dozen or more good, easily obtainable choices.
Is there any dandelion growing there?
How about Purslane?
That's another good now and then food.
Dandelion flowers good choice not tortoise crack like hibiscus but still eaten very enthusiastically
 

Ketta

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
224
Location (City and/or State)
Venezuela
I can't imagine no hibiscus in venezuela.
Or Plantain or thistle, etc
Problem is, even if it's there. It6going to be called something else.
Never seen that hibiscus flower here.. thistle I have seen but they aren't common, plantain weed nope...
 

Toddrickfl1

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 7, 2018
Messages
7,103
Location (City and/or State)
Ga
Here are some of the things I feed my Redfoots: Romaine, turnip and mustard greens, dandelion flowers and greens, hibiscus flowers and leaves, kale, bok choy, escarole, clover, plantain weed, mulberry leaf, carrots, cucumber, squash, melon, green and red pepper, zucchini, strawberry, mango, blueberry, cantaloupe, Papaya, pineapple, banana, cactus, Mazuri and for protein once a week I usually do scrambled or hard boiled eggs, Earthworms, wet dog food, or cooked chicken, and once every few weeks add crushed egg shells to their food for a little extra calcium. Hope this helps.
 

Ketta

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
224
Location (City and/or State)
Venezuela
Many plant's are toxic to certain animal's & human's but safe for others. Hibiscus are safe for tortoises & turtle's but very toxic to horse's, llamas & lots of other animal's too. Same with fig leaves. You can look up which plant's are safe for each species. Most veterinary teaching college's post up to date information on toxic & safe plant's. Another example is the Easter Lily is TOXIC & DEADLY to cat's! Just the pollen touching a cat's whiskers will swiftly sicken & kill cat's. Vet's dread Easter because people will bring Easter Lily's into their home or yard & many cat's die
So I can give him fig leaves? Too?
 

Ketta

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
224
Location (City and/or State)
Venezuela
Well I got plenty of clover in my balcony...he liked the clovers yay!
 

Madkins007

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
5,393
Location (City and/or State)
Nebraska
First, let's note a few basics.

1. Wild and captive diets are very, very different from each other. A wild redfoot will range more than a football field to find food every day, and needs more calories than one in someone's backyard does. Their wild foods are generally lower in calcium and protein than what we can get in the store so they need to eat protein in the wild- mostly in the form of termites and butterflies, with a small amount of carrion and poop. Their wild diets are pretty well documented.

2. Lots of lists are just plain wrong. They have good intentions, but use old or flawed data. For example, spinach, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, and such is perfectly fine in moderation. Small amounts of canned or kibble pet foot are not a big deal (but not really the best options), and lots of things that are listed as toxic are things they routinely eat in the wild.

3. Tortoises NEED certain nutrients in the right proportions, but they DO NOT NEED a lot of food. Overfeeding of tortoises is one of the biggest health challenges most tortoises face. Depending on what they are eating, they grow too quickly to be sustained and/or they add a lot of fatty tissue around their organs.

MY PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION for a healthy, balanced INDOOR diet is:
a. Make a good, varied, and colorful salad with a nice mix of greens, veggies, and fruit that is not very sweet (IMPORTANT NOTE: 'Fruit' to a nutritionist or scientist is different than 'fruit' to a grocery store. If it has seeds, it is basically a fruit. This includes squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, peppers, corn, and so on. Good tortoise fruits are not very sugary and offer fiber and calcium. Papaya and cactus fruits are great.)

b. Offer about 1/2 of the diet as a good quality chow.

c. The serving size should never be bigger than the shell and in fact closer to the size of the head. Feed babies daily and older torts a couple times a week.

d. Offer something completely different for a snack, enrichment, and variety about once a week or month. This could be a boiled egg in the shell, edible flowers, some sardines packed in oil or water, Superworms or plain worms, a half a melon or corn on the cob, etc.

e. Make sure they have readily available water.

f. If your diet is varied and has a good chow, you should not need to worry about additional supplements.

g. A good OUTDOOR diet starts with this, but offers the tortoise things to graze on, from dandelions to mulberry leaves.
 

Ketta

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
224
Location (City and/or State)
Venezuela
First, let's note a few basics.

1. Wild and captive diets are very, very different from each other. A wild redfoot will range more than a football field to find food every day, and needs more calories than one in someone's backyard does. Their wild foods are generally lower in calcium and protein than what we can get in the store so they need to eat protein in the wild- mostly in the form of termites and butterflies, with a small amount of carrion and poop. Their wild diets are pretty well documented.

2. Lots of lists are just plain wrong. They have good intentions, but use old or flawed data. For example, spinach, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, and such is perfectly fine in moderation. Small amounts of canned or kibble pet foot are not a big deal (but not really the best options), and lots of things that are listed as toxic are things they routinely eat in the wild.

3. Tortoises NEED certain nutrients in the right proportions, but they DO NOT NEED a lot of food. Overfeeding of tortoises is one of the biggest health challenges most tortoises face. Depending on what they are eating, they grow too quickly to be sustained and/or they add a lot of fatty tissue around their organs.

MY PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION for a healthy, balanced INDOOR diet is:
a. Make a good, varied, and colorful salad with a nice mix of greens, veggies, and fruit that is not very sweet (IMPORTANT NOTE: 'Fruit' to a nutritionist or scientist is different than 'fruit' to a grocery store. If it has seeds, it is basically a fruit. This includes squash, pumpkin, cucumbers, peppers, corn, and so on. Good tortoise fruits are not very sugary and offer fiber and calcium. Papaya and cactus fruits are great.)

b. Offer about 1/2 of the diet as a good quality chow.

c. The serving size should never be bigger than the shell and in fact closer to the size of the head. Feed babies daily and older torts a couple times a week.

d. Offer something completely different for a snack, enrichment, and variety about once a week or month. This could be a boiled egg in the shell, edible flowers, some sardines packed in oil or water, Superworms or plain worms, a half a melon or corn on the cob, etc.

e. Make sure they have readily available water.

f. If your diet is varied and has a good chow, you should not need to worry about additional supplements.

g. A good OUTDOOR diet starts with this, but offers the tortoise things to graze on, from dandelions to mulberry leaves.
Ok so how much would you offer to a 5.2 oz...? Mine certainly doesn't eat all that I offer him lol he ignores peppers, cantaloupe and carrots. I have to trick him by showing him an arugula leave wrapping it around what he doesn't like and many times he pulls the arugula and pushes what he doesn't like with his foot. LOL who ever said they are dumb never had one...
 

New Posts

Top