help on diet of a horsfield tortoise !

[sazzylouise]

when i took taloula (my tort) to the vet for a health check up the vet said that she was quiet fat and he said it seemed like she was trying to burst out of her shell he said he had seen many tortoises.......but then he later told me that he didn't know much about tortoises

please help me and advise me on what kind of food my horsfield tortoise should eat and how much she should eat


thanks

 

[Candy]

Sounds like my vet!

 

[sazzylouise]

i was really quiet anoyed as we payed £6.00 for a health check from someone that didn't know hardley anything about them

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would really like some help please........

 

[Crazy1]

sazzylouise check out www.russiantortoise.org it has a good listing of foods for your tort.

 

[sazzylouise]

thanks....


the trouble is i have been feeding her on the things the website lists and the vet says she is fat.....i must be giving her too much or something any ideas of what i could be doing wrong ?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Louise:

Your tortoise's problem is not what you are feeding it, it is because it doesn't get enough exercise. Are you keeping the tortoise in the house? If yes, you need a very large habitat for it. In the wild they walk great distances to find food, however in your care, the tortoise only has to walk out of its hiding place to this nice great big pile of food, eat, then walk back into the hiding place.

A nice size for an in-the-house-habitat is an old three or four shelf book case, shelves removed and laying on its back, lined with plastic.

If your tortoise is outside, then grazing is the best thing the tortoise can eat. Lots of broad leaf weeds, clovers and dichondra.

So, try to allow the tortoise more space for wandering, and I think you'll see an improvement in the "fattness."

Yvonne

 

[Rhyno47]

I feed my torts a lot. Its amazing to me to see how much they can stuff into themselves. A good way to go is to feed them for 20 minutes. After that remove the food. One of mine is slow so dont count the 20 minutes til they start to eat.

 

[sazzylouise]

Hi Louise:

Your tortoise's problem is not what you are feeding it, it is because it doesn't get enough exercise. Are you keeping the tortoise in the house? If yes, you need a very large habitat for it. In the wild they walk great distances to find food, however in your care, the tortoise only has to walk out of its hiding place to this nice great big pile of food, eat, then walk back into the hiding place.

A nice size for an in-the-house-habitat is an old three or four shelf book case, shelves removed and laying on its back, lined with plastic.

If your tortoise is outside, then grazing is the best thing the tortoise can eat. Lots of broad leaf weeds, clovers and dichondra.

So, try to allow the tortoise more space for wandering, and I think you'll see an improvement in the "fattness."

Yvonne

thanks for you advice yvonne i am keeping her inside i bought a enclosure off of the reptile specialist but i dont think he can be that special


i tend to take her outside when the weather is right i put a rabbit run around her so that no nasties can get to her

so you reckon i should do that more often ?

thanks for all your help yvonne xx

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thanks ryanseiler will try that

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I also have a very over weight Russian. Her name is Fat Nat and she is on a diet. I feed her what she can eat in 10 minutes. I only feed her weeds and a small handfull of grocery store greens. Every afternoon I take her outside and make her walk around the yard. She hates it, and so do I..

This is Nat, she only has one eye so she doesn't know she's not very pretty. Is your tortoise as fat as Nat?

 

[spikemedic]

You have payed £6.00 for a health check from someone that didn't know hardly anything about tortoise? that is not really good..

________________________
Medical insurance

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...can you post a picture of your Tort so we can see if in fact he is too fat? If the vet isn't very knowledgable, he might be giving you wrong info. Either way, he does need outdoor exercise if you are keeping him inside. When you build his outdoor pen, make sure to bury the fence cause they are notorious diggers.
good luck
Patsy

 

[sazzylouise]

my tortoise isnt as fat as nat and i know that i shouldnt have payed £6 for a health check but i thought oh he is a vet he will know about tortoises....will take some pics of taloula as soon as possible thanks for all your help

 

[sazzylouise]

another question.....

will taloula hybernate as she is only 9 months old ? the man were i got her from said that she wouldnt hybernate until she was 5 is this true...?


thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

It's not a matter of "will she," its a matter of will you allow her to. Tortoises hibernate because the land they live in gets cold. Its nature's way of allowing a cold blooded creature to stay alive until the weather warms up. Since your tortoise is only 9 months old and lives indoors, I doubt very much if she will realize that the weather is getting cold and the days are getting shorter.

I think what the fellow you got her from meant was, you shouldn't allow your tortoise to hibernate until its five. That's also a matter of opinion. I know people who allow hibernation the first year of a baby's life. And others (my sister) who never allow their animals to hibernate. Its up to you if you want a vacation from taking care of them or not.

Yvonne

 

[sazzylouise]

thank you emysemys



yet another question..... the man i got my tort off gave me this supplement to sprinkle on her food
but when i took her to the vet he said that he wasnt sure wether she was ment to have it

so my question is.....so tortoises need supplements

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Yes some need supplements. I use calcium powder and a product called TNT that's made specifically for tortoises. So tortoises need a varied diet and supplements. I can't say if your animal needs that specific supplement or not, but I'd sure be using calcium powder and having a cuttlebone in the habitat...

 

[tortoisenerd]

Pure calcium is necessary (no D3 unless the tortoise does not have access to UVB). Anything natural is great (like TNT), but not absolutely necessary (I also use TNT). Anything that is a multivitamin or sorts I would stay away from because you can overdose torts on those. So, depends on what the supplement is!

 

[Yvonne G]

Do you know what the supplement is? Did it come in a labeled package so you can tell us what it is? A very young baby needs some supplementation to his normal diet...calcium, vitamins and minerals, etc.

Yvonne

 

[sazzylouise]

thanks for all of you help guys

taloula is in better shape now.
still having trouble uploading pictures sorry....
thanks for all of you help