HELP! Diet for Marginated Tortoise

[heidip]

Hi!
A family member is taking on a young (1-2 year old) Marginated tortoise. I know NOTHING about tortoises, and their knowledge is at best beginner level, but I am completely passionate about providing animals with the highest levels of care - and so this is what this tortoise will receive. I am trying to put together information to create a general guide to look after this little guy and wanted to confirm some information.

Is there any other main things that should be offered? Should young tortoises be supplemented with a proper kibble/formula?

I am based in the south of UK!

MAIN DIETARY ITEMS (70% of diet)
Dandelion
Hawkweed
Timothy Hay
Chickweed
Lawn Grass ( Not Clippings )
Dock leaves
Clover
Plantain (all varieties)
Sow thistle
Bindweed
Milk Thistle
Groundsel
Honeysuckle
Parsley
Sedum
Sage
Grapevine
Coriander
Hawkbits
Watercress

FINE IN MODERATION (Unsure on frequency)
Spring greens
Carrot Tops
Lettuce (all varieties)
Hibiscus
Broccoli
Nasturtium
Cauliflower
Rocket
Cabbage
Pumpkin
Green Beans
Peas
Mange Tout
Spinach
Brussel Sprouts

SPECIAL TREATS ONLY (Unsure on frequency)
Tomato
Strawberry
Cucumber
Parsnips
Apple
Sweet Peppers
Pear
Grape

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome!

No fruit, and no grass hay. This species is also not a grass eater. All the weeds are great! Be careful which species of sedum you are feeding. Some are toxic, but most are not. Don't forget mulberry leaves if you can find them there. Spinelss opuntia pads are also great. Overall, this is a great list.

Diet and many other care aspects are covered here:

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

You have finally found the correct care info on this forum, and all of your questions are welcome!

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum

 

[COmtnLady]

Welcome to TFO!!!

 

[heidip]

Thank you all for your welcomes!! We are already loving the little guy!

 

[heidip]

Hello and welcome!

No fruit, and no grass hay. This species is also not a grass eater. All the weeds are great! Be careful which species of sedum you are feeding. Some are toxic, but most are not. Don't forget mulberry leaves if you can find them there. Spinelss opuntia pads are also great. Overall, this is a great list.

Diet and many other care aspects are covered here:

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

You have finally found the correct care info on this forum, and all of your questions are welcome!

Perfect! He is alright to go out onto the grass right? He will pick the weeds he wants and not munch on the grass if its not good for him? We want to make him an indoor and outdoor enclosure as summer time is on its way! We have plant fanatics in the house so identification should be safe, but we will double check everything!

 

[Tom]

Perfect! He is alright to go out onto the grass right? He will pick the weeds he wants and not munch on the grass if its not good for him? We want to make him an indoor and outdoor enclosure as summer time is on its way! We have plant fanatics in the house so identification should be safe, but we will double check everything!

Yes, it is fine for him to walk around on the grass. This species is just not really a grass eating species. It won't hurt them, it's just not something they would normally eat. If they do eat it, it will just pass through as roughage.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I know this thread is a bit older now so not sure you’ll see this, but welcome from a fellow uk member! I’m going to pass on some links here you might hopefully find helpful!

This one covers covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need)appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better, but I’ll link more ideas to closer chamber below(I know it says Herman’s and Russians, but care still applies)

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

This one covers a bunch of different closed chamber options, they do come in handy for those who don’t brumate temperate species in winter too

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

This one here is good to read and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

For your initial diet question, we personally love this product! it’s such a great way for getting more variety in, especially during the winter months when things are harder to grow, you soak each cube in water(quantities on packet) until it’s a mushy grassy texture, and add it on top of the fresh stuff, any left over can be stored in the fridge. Most tortoises love it, but it could take a while for him to get used to, they’re very stubborn by nature, so don’t worry if it takes weeks/months of attempts for him to eat it.

There’s some great websites like the tortoise hut, tortoise den, and I believe it’s call hever world tortoise that sell fresh plants too! Hope all this can come in helpful