How much should I feed him?

Ceyda

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Jul 1, 2020
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31
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Turkey
I’ve been giving my tortoise food for 2 or 3 times a day but then I watched a video on YouTube and the guy said that he feeds them 3 times a week because the grocery store produces have so much vitamins and that’s for human consumption so he feeds them 3 times so they could get all the nutritions they need and not loaded with vitamins so they will not have internal organs crushing. I sometimes take my tortoise outside so he could eat flowers and whatever looks appealing to her but other than that I buy my greens from grocery store too. Sorry this is being so long. So what I’m trying to say is how much should I feed him in a day or in a week? I don’t want him to have internal problems. I love her little organs and cute little face and I want to love them for as long as I live and when I die I want my grandchildren to love her.
 

jsheffield

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Hi Ceyda,

Welcome to TFO!

Most important, what species is your tortoise? - the diet will be very much based on the species and their individual nutritional needs.

If you don't know what species you have, you can post some pictures of the shell, top and bottom, head and tail; people here will be able to tell you what species it is.

Once you know that, we can help you develop a healthy diet for your tortoise.

I feed all of my tortoises once a day, an amount that is just a bit more than they will eat (so there's a bit of leftover the next morning). If you miss a day once in a while it's not a problem.

Good luck!

Jamie
 
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Ceyda

Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2020
Messages
31
Location (City and/or State)
Turkey
Hi Ceyda,

Welcome to TFO!

Most important, what species is your tortoise? - the diet will be very much based on the species and their individual nutritional needs.

If you don't know what species you have, you can post some pictures of the shell, top and bottom, head and tail; people here will be able to tell you what species it is.

Once you know that, we can help you develop a healthy diet for your tortoise.

I feed all of my tortoises once a day, an amount that is just a bit more than they will eat (so there's a bit of leftover the next morning). If you miss a day once in a while it's not a problem.

Good luck!

Jamie
Thank you. My tortoise is Hermann.
 

Tom

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Whatever YT channel that was should be ignored. That is old, incorrect, out-dated advice. Just plain wrong.

Here is the correct care info:

Feeding:
So much contradictory info on this subject. Its simple. What do they eat in the wild. Grass, weeds, leaves, flowers, and succulents. Feed them a huge variety of these things, and you'll have a healthy tortoise. All of these species are very adaptable when it comes to diet and there is a very large margin of error, and many ways to do it right. What if you don't have this sort of "natural" tortoise food available for part of each year because you are in the snow? You will have no choice but to buy grocery store food. What's wrong with grocery store food? It tends to lack fiber, some items are low in calcium or have a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio, and some items have deleterious compounds in them. All of these short comings can be improved with some simple supplementation and amendments. A pinch of calcium two times per week will help fix that problem. You can also leave cuttle bone in the enclosure, so your tortoise can self-regulate its own calcium intake. What about fiber? Soaked horse hay pellets, soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets, Mazuri tortoise chow, "Salad style", "Herbal Hay" both from @TylerStewart and his lovely wife Sarah at Tortoisesupply.com, or many of the dried plants and leaves available from Will @Kapidolo Farms. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Add in arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find. If you mix in some of the aforementioned amendments, these grocery store foods will offer plants of variety and fiber and be able to meet your tortoises nutritional needs just fine. I find it preferable to grab a few grapevine or mulberry leaves, or a handful of mallow and clover, or some broadleaf plantain leaves and some grass, but with the right additions, grocery store stuff is fine too. Grow your own stuff, or find it around you when possible. Tyler and Sarah also sell a fantastic Testudo seed mix that is great for ALL tortoise species and also super easy to grow in pots, trays, raised garden beds, or in outdoor tortoise enclosures. When that isn't possible, add a wide variety of good stuff to your grocery store greens to make them better.
 

Ceyda

Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2020
Messages
31
Location (City and/or State)
Turkey
Whatever YT channel that was should be ignored. That is old, incorrect, out-dated advice. Just plain wrong.

Here is the correct care info:

Feeding:
So much contradictory info on this subject. Its simple. What do they eat in the wild. Grass, weeds, leaves, flowers, and succulents. Feed them a huge variety of these things, and you'll have a healthy tortoise. All of these species are very adaptable when it comes to diet and there is a very large margin of error, and many ways to do it right. What if you don't have this sort of "natural" tortoise food available for part of each year because you are in the snow? You will have no choice but to buy grocery store food. What's wrong with grocery store food? It tends to lack fiber, some items are low in calcium or have a poor calcium to phosphorous ratio, and some items have deleterious compounds in them. All of these short comings can be improved with some simple supplementation and amendments. A pinch of calcium two times per week will help fix that problem. You can also leave cuttle bone in the enclosure, so your tortoise can self-regulate its own calcium intake. What about fiber? Soaked horse hay pellets, soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets, Mazuri tortoise chow, "Salad style", "Herbal Hay" both from @TylerStewart and his lovely wife Sarah at Tortoisesupply.com, or many of the dried plants and leaves available from Will @Kapidolo Farms. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Add in arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find. If you mix in some of the aforementioned amendments, these grocery store foods will offer plants of variety and fiber and be able to meet your tortoises nutritional needs just fine. I find it preferable to grab a few grapevine or mulberry leaves, or a handful of mallow and clover, or some broadleaf plantain leaves and some grass, but with the right additions, grocery store stuff is fine too. Grow your own stuff, or find it around you when possible. Tyler and Sarah also sell a fantastic Testudo seed mix that is great for ALL tortoise species and also super easy to grow in pots, trays, raised garden beds, or in outdoor tortoise enclosures. When that isn't possible, add a wide variety of good stuff to your grocery store greens to make them better.
Thank you so much this is very useful. I’m gonna have to use the translator for some parts? but thank you soooo much
 

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