Hatchling diet

[cupcake1674]

My question is a simple one I hope. How long do I feed just greens to our babies? One is going on 2 weeks old and one is going on 3 weeks old. For now I've only fed greens and regular soaks 2x every day. I'd like to mix up their diet with fruit and protein I just am afraid of doing it too early. We have another that's over a year and thriving and one in the yard that's 7 inches. The babies are eating greens like lawnmowers, they took right to it.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Let 'em eat.
It's been said that up to 70% of what a Redfoot eats is forest floor fruit and carrion.
I've always given my babies the same diet as my adults.
The only difference might be that I always use a large saucer as a pool and mine always "self soaked".
I like your substrate by the way.

 

[MysticCaribou]

He's adorable. I feed my hatchling greens, mushrooms, fruit (usually papaya) - the same as I would feed an adult. Hatchlings are so fragile that I believe let them eat - and keep eating. Here's a photo of my hatchling with her daily buffet. She loves her shrooms. Sorry for the huge size photo, I didn't realize it was quite that large.

 

[Pearly]

My question is a simple one I hope. How long do I feed just greens to our babies? One is going on 2 weeks old and one is going on 3 weeks old. For now I've only fed greens and regular soaks 2x every day. I'd like to mix up their diet with fruit and protein I just am afraid of doing it too early. We have another that's over a year and thriving and one in the yard that's 7 inches. The babies are eating greens like lawnmowers, they took right to it. View attachment 187063

I have spent quite a bit of time making a thread with lots of pictures on feeding baby RFs. Try to find it through SEARCH feature, just type in : "Pearly's tips on feeding picky eater" or something. Great rf food list in Tortoise Library and great tips in Turtletary (just google search those). Some day i'll figure out how to link different yhings in here, but not just yet technology takes me little time to catch up on

 

[Anyfoot]

Its

My question is a simple one I hope. How long do I feed just greens to our babies? One is going on 2 weeks old and one is going on 3 weeks old. For now I've only fed greens and regular soaks 2x every day. I'd like to mix up their diet with fruit and protein I just am afraid of doing it too early. We have another that's over a year and thriving and one in the yard that's 7 inches. The babies are eating greens like lawnmowers, they took right to it. View attachment 187063

Its a mine field, everyone does it different. Some dont feed protein until 6 months old, some only feed greens for 1st few months. Some feed pellet foods, some insist on only natural growing foods, some give vitamins, some don't, some say 20% fruit dome say 70% fruit.
The fact that there are that many different opinions that work tells me this, as long as they get a varied mixed diet they will be healthy.
Getting the green/weed, fruit/veg and protein ratios right is mind boggling. I took on board everybody's methods and techniques and this is what I do every week with my hatchlings.

Pieces of fruit and mushroom are size of head.

Day 1. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of mushroom.
Day 2. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of fruit.
Day 3. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of mushroom.
Day 4. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of fruit.
Day 5. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of mushroom.
Day 6. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of fruit.
Day 7. Weeds. 1 to 2 pieces of low fat cat food OR a worm.

Cuttlebone access 24/7. I use no supplements at all, and I've decided to ditch the catfood and use worms only.
Weeds also include flowers.
I found this a simple way to get the ratios correct.
I only started to feed protein at 12wks old.

My adults are a different story, they eat whatever there is available.

 

[cupcake1674]

Awesome. Thanks for the answers. What kind of mushrooms are they allowed to eat?

 

[Anyfoot]

Awesome. Thanks for the answers. What kind of mushrooms are they allowed to eat?

Any from the supermarket, I usually just buy what ever is on offer.

 

[dmmj]

mine loves the button mushroom not the Portobello for some reason

 

[MysticCaribou]

mine loves the button mushroom not the Portobello for some reason

I usually just get the Button mushrooms too. They are inexpensive and my Tort loves them. Her favorite foods are turnip greens. strawberries, mushrooms, papaya and apple. She's finicky, won't eat flowers. I've tried so many types.

 

[a5fung]

I just fed mine mushroom for the first time and he loves it, but he seems to eat everything in his path. I had a piece of paper tower near him and he was about to take a bite before i pulled it away haha.

 

[MysticCaribou]

I just fed mine mushroom for the first time and he loves it, but he seems to eat everything in his path. I had a piece of paper tower near him and he was about to take a bite before i pulled it away haha.

Isn't that cute how they go after everything. Mine seems to go towards the TV remote buttons when nearby. She'll bite everything. I've only seen her spit out one food, and that was mustard greens. I don't blame her.

 

[dmmj]

before anyone asks I do not spoil my tortoises with portobello mushroom it was on clearance at the grocery store about to go bad super cheap so I bought it and tried it, no one seemed to like it. now if you excuse me I got to go soak my tortoises in Evian water. cheerio

 

[MysticCaribou]

before anyone asks I do not spoil my tortoises with portobello mushroom it was on clearance at the grocery store about to go bad super cheap so I bought it and tried it, no one seemed to like it. now if you excuse me I got to go soak my tortoises in Evian water. cheerio

I just love you. You made me smile! Since we are confessing our obsessive caregiving - I hand feed my little girl sometimes twice a day with fresh papaya or mango, and if she doesn't like that at the time, she gets a piece of an apple which is her favorite. And I buy the fruit only for her.

 

[TerrapinStation]

before anyone asks I do not spoil my tortoises with portobello mushroom it was on clearance at the grocery store about to go bad super cheap so I bought it and tried it, no one seemed to like it. now if you excuse me I got to go soak my tortoises in Evian water. cheerio

Uggghhhh Yuck. Evian is so low-class.

Our torts ONLY poop in the finest Fiji volcanic filtered geothermal spring water or that stuff the Japanese harvest from Antarctic glaciers.
The redfoot refuses to bathe in anything but million year old glacial water, and only if it is an even 83.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[dmmj]

I find it funny that Evian spelled backwards is naive

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Isn't ALL water billions of years old?

 

[Redstrike]

According to this resource (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1441494030/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20) and tortoiselibrary.com:

Greens should make up the bulk of your diet. A small amount of fruit and protein on a weekly basis is sufficient. I think it's best you make your own feeding decisions.

What has worked for me is lots of outdoor time Spring-Fall where they can consume plantago, dandelion greens, clovers, etc. and get UVB exposure. I provide them papaya, mango, kiwi etc. once/week with a serving ~ the size of their head. I also put protein (sardines in water, frozen pinky mice, crickets I froze from pet store, etc.) once/week. I again strive for a head-sized portion of the protein source.

 

[dmmj]

According to this resource (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1441494030/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20) and tortoiselibrary.com:

Greens should make up the bulk of your diet. A small amount of fruit and protein on a weekly basis is sufficient. I think it's best you make your own feeding decisions.

What has worked for me is lots of outdoor time Spring-Fall where they can consume plantago, dandelion greens, clovers, etc. and get UVB exposure. I provide them papaya, mango, kiwi etc. once/week with a serving ~ the size of their head. I also put protein (sardines in water, frozen pinky mice, crickets I froze from pet store, etc.) once/week. I again strive for a head-sized portion of the protein source.

Blerrgh sardines? They can have them all

 

[dmmj]

Isn't ALL water billions of years old?

all water is billions and billions of years old it's just thought that glacier water has been recycled far less through the various life forms on this planet so it's considered clean or pure or whatever crazy marketing scheme they come up with. but it's all chemically the same but you can't sell chemically the same for lots of money like you can Pure Glacier water

 

[cupcake1674]

These mushrooms pop up in the outside enclosure. Are they safe?
I live in sw Florida and the humidity is high so they're coming up every morning. He's already eaten one and seems okay