Food amount - newbie question

[MiloMike]

Hi all, we are looking after our daughters 3 year old horsefield. In terms of amount to feed, the photo shows one serving of greens and we feed her this twice a day. In between meals she loves Rose petals and twice a week she has mazuri pellets and the small komodo pellets (nutritional and balanced diet according to the label).
My question is please advise me, am I doing this right or what adjustments do I need to make.
Thank you.

 

[wellington]

If she eats it all at one time than it's not enough. They should be fed enough they can graze off and on throughout the day.
It's important that she has a big enough, 4x8 foot enclosure so she can exercise and not get fat and be able to keep things working properly.

 

[Tom]

Hi all, we are looking after our daughters 3 year old horsefield. In terms of amount to feed, the photo shows one serving of greens and we feed her this twice a day. In between meals she loves Rose petals and twice a week she has mazuri pellets and the small komodo pellets (nutritional and balanced diet according to the label).
My question is please advise me, am I doing this right or what adjustments do I need to make.
Thank you.
View attachment 367070

Hello and welcome!

There is a lot of old incorrect information. Restricting how much a tortoise eats is one of those things. Tortoises are grazers. They need to be able to graze at will all day. Forced starvation accomplishes nothing. Feed the tortoise as much of the right foods as it wants daily.

Here is an eye opener for you. There is a care sheet for temperate species near the bottom. The food thing is explained in both threads along with lots of other good info, and questions are welcome.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[MiloMike]

If she eats it all at one time than it's not enough. They should be fed enough they can graze off and on throughout the day.
It's important that she has a big enough, 4x8 foot enclosure so she can exercise and not get fat and be able to keep things working properly.

Thanks for the info re feeding which i requested. I will takecthis on board. The indoor enclosure is smaller than that but she has the run of 3 rooms when we are at home and the whole garden once our English summer arrives.

If she eats it all at one time than it's not enough. They should be fed enough they can graze off and on throughout the day.
It's important that she has a big enough, 4x8 foot enclosure so she can exercise and not get fat and be able to keep things working properly.

 

[MiloMike]

Hello and welcome!

There is a lot of old incorrect information. Restricting how much a tortoise eats is one of those things. Tortoises are grazers. They need to be able to graze at will all day. Forced starvation accomplishes nothing. Feed the tortoise as much of the right foods as it wants daily.

Here is an eye opener for you. There is a care sheet for temperate species near the bottom. The food thing is explained in both threads along with lots of other good info, and questions are welcome.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for the info. I will take a look

 

[SinLA]

Thanks for the info re feeding which i requested. I will takecthis on board. The indoor enclosure is smaller than that but she has the run of 3 rooms when we are at home and the whole garden once our English summer arrives.

Just a heads up that letting a tortoise free roam a house is incredibly dangerous. I know everything thinks their space is safe, but believe me this board gets posts all the time about the tragedy that comes from this (stepped on, eats a screw, shut in a door, etc). I would definitely not do this for her safety

 

[wellington]

Just a heads up that letting a tortoise free roam a house is incredibly dangerous. I know everything thinks their space is safe, but believe me this board gets posts all the time about the tragedy that comes from this (stepped on, eats a screw, shut in a door, etc). I would definitely not do this for her safety

Second this.

 

[MiloMike]

Just a heads up that letting a tortoise free roam a house is incredibly dangerous. I know everything thinks their space is safe, but believe me this board gets posts all the time about the tragedy that comes from this (stepped on, eats a screw, shut in a door, etc). I would definitely not do this for her safety

Thank you for your comments and good points, noted

 

[RosemaryDW]

Not wanting to jump on you since you were asking a food question but please don't let your tortoise roam in your home, it's not safe.

For your original question, you already have good feedback. Russians/horsefields are very active grazers, let her have as much as she wants and can walk off. I like to see a little leftover at the end of the day but sometimes my Russian out eats the household. Just like any growing teen.

 

[MiloMike]

Not wanting to jump on you since you were asking a food question but please don't let your tortoise roam in your home, it's not safe.

For your original question, you already have good feedback. Russians/horsefields are very active grazers, let her have as much as she wants and can walk off. I like to see a little leftover at the end of the day but sometimes my Russian out eats the household. Just like any growing teen.

Thank you for your comments.