How much to feed my tortoise?

[Faith01841]

Hi! My tortoise Morty is a Mediterranean Horsefield, he is six.

Every morning and evening I give him a big handful of salad (varied, mixed leaves etc,) and he absolutely demolishes them. Should I be giving him more?

I don't let him outside but he lives in a big wooden enclosure full of soil that he likes to run and dig in.

 

[Renee_H]

I’d double it and see what’s left then feed that amnt plus a bit

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello, yeah I’d follow the advice above

This is unrelated, but whilst you’re here you might like going over these threads, you’d be surprised the amount of bad advice new members can sometimes pick up on once they join the forum!

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check your bulbs, it’s very common are sold the wrong ones), sizing(you can get away with smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits, but here in the uk I’d go as big as you can indoors), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

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This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room. If you’re unable to go that big, go as big as possible

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

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Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying if you need

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...

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Hope they come in handy! Welcome to the forum

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hi! My tortoise Morty is a Mediterranean Horsefield, he is six.

Every morning and evening I give him a big handful of salad (varied, mixed leaves etc,) and he absolutely demolishes them. Should I be giving him more?

I don't let him outside but he lives in a big wooden enclosure full of soil that he likes to run and dig in.

Don't just double it...add more daily until he's leaving some...that's how much to feed...as he eats all that start to add a little more...

 

[RosemaryDW]

Your tortoise should have access to food all day. If it’s all gone right away, it likely isn’t enough. Particularly as you are only describing lettuces, which are pretty low in nutrients. So long as he has plenty of space to walk around and burn it off, let him eat. My outdoor Russian regularly blows my mind with how much she will burn through with no ill effects and I’ve had her for years.

An earlier poster is correct, however, to point out that getting the enclosure right is most important. Take a look at that info before spending too much time on diet.

 

[Tom]

Hi! My tortoise Morty is a Mediterranean Horsefield, he is six.

Every morning and evening I give him a big handful of salad (varied, mixed leaves etc,) and he absolutely demolishes them. Should I be giving him more?

I don't let him outside but he lives in a big wooden enclosure full of soil that he likes to run and dig in.

He should be eating mostly weeds and leaves. If that is not available and you must use grocery store greens, you should be adding in amendments to make it a better meal for your tortoise.

The tortoise should be able to graze freely all day. As much of the right foods as he wants.

You should make a safe and secure outdoor enclosure for fair weather. What size is the wooden indoor enclosure? It should be at least 4x8 feet.

Store bought soil is not safe to use as tortoise substrate. Neither is the terrible stuff sold as tortoise substrate in pet shops. Please read these threads for the correct care, diet, and housing info:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

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