Cagedanimal2010
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- Jul 6, 2016
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So tomorrow's the day we pick up our little one, I feel fully prepared bar food, my cupboards aren't stocked, what where how should I be feeding my little beaut?
Herrmann food
- Thread starter Cagedanimal2010
- Start date
If you do a search on this forum, you'll find a very comprehensive list of plants and weeds that are safe to eat. The Tortoise Table also has a great list. Offer as much variety as possible.
And by that - you can feed only one food for 2-3 days...then switch to another, or offer a selection of foods every day. Just make sure your tortoise is getting variety and eating variety. Make sure he isn't picking out only his favourites and not eating anything else.
On top of the list is dandelion. Leaves and flowers. Rose is safe. Hisbiscus. Sow thistle. Plantain. Pigweed. Smartweed. Lady's Thumb....and the list goes on...
Be careful what you are feeding from the garden or roadsides is pesticide free.
Grocery store greens are fine in moderation, and may have to do during long winters (I won't have an option). Argula, raddichio, etc., are fine...along with quite a few others. The issue with these is that may be 'too nutritious' (well fertilized) or too sweet (too high in sugars).
I sprinkle a bit of calcium with vit D3 on the food I offer 2X a week to make sure she eats some, and I have a cuttlefish bone in the enclosure in case she feels she needs more calcium. So far she hasn't show any interest in it, but it's not an issue to have one in there, so I keep it by the food bowl.
You can also introduce a commercial pelleted food. Soak it first. Mine spits it out, but I keep trying. It will add variety and, if they eat it, be really useful if you ever go on vacation and someone else is tortoise-sitting.
And finally...you can add other foods too. Romaine lettuce is fine in moderation (I haven't tried it yet but many seem to love it), a bit of carrot (high in sugar) once a week, a blueberry every two weeks, is all fine and adds to variety - but the bulk should be broad-leaf weeds and salad greens.
And by that - you can feed only one food for 2-3 days...then switch to another, or offer a selection of foods every day. Just make sure your tortoise is getting variety and eating variety. Make sure he isn't picking out only his favourites and not eating anything else.
On top of the list is dandelion. Leaves and flowers. Rose is safe. Hisbiscus. Sow thistle. Plantain. Pigweed. Smartweed. Lady's Thumb....and the list goes on...
Be careful what you are feeding from the garden or roadsides is pesticide free.
Grocery store greens are fine in moderation, and may have to do during long winters (I won't have an option). Argula, raddichio, etc., are fine...along with quite a few others. The issue with these is that may be 'too nutritious' (well fertilized) or too sweet (too high in sugars).
I sprinkle a bit of calcium with vit D3 on the food I offer 2X a week to make sure she eats some, and I have a cuttlefish bone in the enclosure in case she feels she needs more calcium. So far she hasn't show any interest in it, but it's not an issue to have one in there, so I keep it by the food bowl.
You can also introduce a commercial pelleted food. Soak it first. Mine spits it out, but I keep trying. It will add variety and, if they eat it, be really useful if you ever go on vacation and someone else is tortoise-sitting.
And finally...you can add other foods too. Romaine lettuce is fine in moderation (I haven't tried it yet but many seem to love it), a bit of carrot (high in sugar) once a week, a blueberry every two weeks, is all fine and adds to variety - but the bulk should be broad-leaf weeds and salad greens.
Hey there. Rue has lots of info covered above. The tortoise table website has a database of plants and weeds with pics and says which are edible or poisonous. You may be able to yse it to source lots of yummy weeds in your garden or locally so long as they are pesticide free.
Also if you go to the relevant section here you will find caresheets on the various species which are very helpful and have been written by very experienced keepers on the site.
Good luck and happy tortkeeping!
Also if you go to the relevant section here you will find caresheets on the various species which are very helpful and have been written by very experienced keepers on the site.
Good luck and happy tortkeeping!
