feeding
- Thread starter james1990
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This is a subject that is always in dispute. Some people feed them once daily. Others feed them every other day. How much to feed and how often should depend very much on how active your tortoise is. This will often be influenced by how warm it's being kept, light duration and how much space it has to be active in.
A very basic rule of thumb that many people go by is the amount of food that the tortoise can consume in 20-30 minutes.
It is very difficult to overfeed a tortoise that has a normal or high activity level. The diet of a tortoise that is not active bears constant monitoring. Most "normal" healthy tortoises fit into the first description.
I feed all of my tortoises, young and old alike every other day while they're indoors for a few reasons. First, because of the design of their digestive system and the way it works. Without going into great detail, a Russian tortoise's and other Testudo species digestive system is developed to make the best of low nutritional quality, high fiber foods. They're systems digest and absorb nutrients from food very slowly. I believe that by constantly pumping them full of highly nutrition foods on a daily basis is taxing on their system and not allowing it to properly function. Their digestive system is constantly working overtime in an attempt to continue to extract nutrition from new foods being consumed. I believe that is the root of several health issues in captivity. Much of the process of people constantly running to the vet to control internal parasites could be avoided in part with a better diet schedule.
Second, pure volume. Testudo species have a natural survival instinct to eat food whenever it is available. Their diet is based very much on seasonal availability of food in the wild. They fill up when it's there to get them through the times when it's scarce. Russian tortoises are a textbook example of this. Many will gorge themselves everytime food is put in front of them. If they are allowed to continue to do this on a daily basis with the lack of environmental hardships that they would normally have to encounter in the wild or they simply do not have the opportunity to be active enough it will affect them. Young ones will almost always begin to show signs of accelerated growth development. Older, already developed tortoises will become obese which can lead to other more serious health problems.
A very basic rule of thumb that many people go by is the amount of food that the tortoise can consume in 20-30 minutes.
It is very difficult to overfeed a tortoise that has a normal or high activity level. The diet of a tortoise that is not active bears constant monitoring. Most "normal" healthy tortoises fit into the first description.
I feed all of my tortoises, young and old alike every other day while they're indoors for a few reasons. First, because of the design of their digestive system and the way it works. Without going into great detail, a Russian tortoise's and other Testudo species digestive system is developed to make the best of low nutritional quality, high fiber foods. They're systems digest and absorb nutrients from food very slowly. I believe that by constantly pumping them full of highly nutrition foods on a daily basis is taxing on their system and not allowing it to properly function. Their digestive system is constantly working overtime in an attempt to continue to extract nutrition from new foods being consumed. I believe that is the root of several health issues in captivity. Much of the process of people constantly running to the vet to control internal parasites could be avoided in part with a better diet schedule.
Second, pure volume. Testudo species have a natural survival instinct to eat food whenever it is available. Their diet is based very much on seasonal availability of food in the wild. They fill up when it's there to get them through the times when it's scarce. Russian tortoises are a textbook example of this. Many will gorge themselves everytime food is put in front of them. If they are allowed to continue to do this on a daily basis with the lack of environmental hardships that they would normally have to encounter in the wild or they simply do not have the opportunity to be active enough it will affect them. Young ones will almost always begin to show signs of accelerated growth development. Older, already developed tortoises will become obese which can lead to other more serious health problems.
I agree with GB that overfeeding can be a very bad thing. I have also thought for years that people over "vitamin" their tortoises. Calcium is important, but I feel it is better offered as a free choice supplement in the form of cuttlebone than sprinkled daily over their food. My torts will ignore cuttlebone for weeks or months, and then suddenly chow it all. It is instinct telling their bodies that they need it, just like how in the wild they occasionally eat the bones of small animals or even tiny pebbles for the calcium content.
I feed small amounts once daily, in the morning. Occasionally we have "rainy days" where I do not turn the lights on or feed, keeping temps a bit cooler. This simulates overcast days in the wild, and gives them a chance to clear their digestive tracts. Of course when they are outside during the summer, rainy days occur naturally.
Kristina
I feed small amounts once daily, in the morning. Occasionally we have "rainy days" where I do not turn the lights on or feed, keeping temps a bit cooler. This simulates overcast days in the wild, and gives them a chance to clear their digestive tracts. Of course when they are outside during the summer, rainy days occur naturally.
Kristina
Thanks kristina and GB,
This is what we needed and I had looked for. We notice that our RT will eat anytime you offer and she is looking a little pudgy in the bum. She also had some rapid strange growth on her shell from previous malnourishment and then over calcium correction. We are going to go to every other day while inside and add a cuttlebone. She is very active but needs the weather to warm up to really be working it all off. Our vet all ready asked us not to add calcium to her food as long as well balanced diet. You all are so helpful. We appreciate it.
Nancy
This is what we needed and I had looked for. We notice that our RT will eat anytime you offer and she is looking a little pudgy in the bum. She also had some rapid strange growth on her shell from previous malnourishment and then over calcium correction. We are going to go to every other day while inside and add a cuttlebone. She is very active but needs the weather to warm up to really be working it all off. Our vet all ready asked us not to add calcium to her food as long as well balanced diet. You all are so helpful. We appreciate it.
Nancy
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