Is canned chicken good for adult red foots also is cat food good for red-footed tortoises?

[tortoisefreak21]

Hi I was researching red-footed tortoises and their diet and I know they need protein I found canned chicken at the grocery store and the ingredients are Chicken Breast Meat with Rib Meat, Water, Contains 2% or less of Sea Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Phosphates, Chicken Flavor (Salt, Chicken Broth, Natural Flavors), Flavoring. I was wondering is that good for red foots and if cat food is okay to give for protein is it going to harm the tortoise if I give him cat food. I'm also interested and giving him nightcrawlers but I don't want to keep them in the refrigerator yuck. can you store nightcrawlers in a different way and have them last longer without putting them in the refrigerator.

 

[Yvonne G]

If you do try it, rinse off the 'juice' they can it in before feeding.

I'd use a good quality canned dog food instead of cat.

 

[tortoisefreak21]

If you do try it, rinse off the 'juice' they can it in before feeding.

I'd use a good quality canned dog food instead of cat.

what's wrong with cat food and what about nightcrawlers do I need to store them in the refrigerator because if that is the case I'm going to use them that's nasty to me can I store them in a different way without putting them in the refrigerator.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

what's wrong with cat food and what about nightcrawlers do I need to store them in the refrigerator because if that is the case I'm going to use them that's nasty to me can I store them in a different way without putting them in the refrigerator.

Any of that prepared, store bought wet dog or cat food needs to be refrigerated after it's opened or you'll quickly start growing some nasty bacteria.

As for the protein....I use dog food because I have a dog and the foods already here. But you can feed your Redfoot things that you and your family eat. Any meat. Just don't season it.

 

[Sam & Ella]

Hi I was researching red-footed tortoises and their diet and I know they need protein I found canned chicken at the grocery store and the ingredients are Chicken Breast Meat with Rib Meat, Water, Contains 2% or less of Sea Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Phosphates, Chicken Flavor (Salt, Chicken Broth, Natural Flavors), Flavoring. I was wondering is that good for red foots and if cat food is okay to give for protein is it going to harm the tortoise if I give him cat food. I'm also interested and giving him nightcrawlers but I don't want to keep them in the refrigerator yuck. can you store nightcrawlers in a different way and have them last longer without putting them in the refrigerator.

There are SO many great sources of redfoot diet guides. Go there. The last thing I'd do is canned chicken. (That's even too low a bar for me, and like my redfoots, we're nearly garbage disposers.)

There is already too much protein in most foods and veggies, like beans. Too much causes pyramiding. (One cause.) I shoot for 8-12% or so, and a bit of occasional steak. an ounce or so, for adults, and super-quality, dry dog or cat food, ground in a blender and sprinkled about 10 times a year on their greens. Very little fat content.

And for their birthdays, we do shots of bloody Marys. (Hah!)

 

[tortoisefreak21]

Any of that prepared, store bought wet dog or cat food needs to be refrigerated after it's opened or you'll quickly start growing some nasty bacteria.

As for the protein....I use dog food because I have a dog and the foods already here. But you can feed your Redfoot things that you and your family eat. Any meat. Just don't season it.

ya, cause I'm researching any protein I can use the only thing I'm not going to use is fish because I'm allergic.

 

[Rachels]

no..protein maybe a pinky once a month..stick to mazuri soaks in warm water mixed with fruit (papaya, kiwi,banana, strawberry..) yellow and green squash (heated with rinds cut off..and in small pieces), greens (no lettuce) like kollard greens, ocassional spinach..but greens should be main diet..Hes not a cat rather a special red toe tortie ..suggest you google diet suggestions for red toe tortoises

Happy Mojo is a wonderful example ..he loves to eat..climb..stroll in his quarters. Important to get humidifier on 24/7 as he needs moisture to prevent pyramiding..and heat lamp must maintain temp always above 60 degrees preferably 70-80 degree..uvb too

 

[Rachels]

Red Toes are special little torts..they are not dogs ( I have two) nor cats..Please respect them as you do the others..as Im sure you wouldnt feed your dog Mazuri tortoise food would you?

 

[tortoisefreak21]

Red Toes are special little torts..they are not dogs ( I have two) nor cats..Please respect them as you do the others..as Im sure you wouldnt feed your dog Mazuri tortoise food would you?

ya, I also heard mazuri tortoise diet has protein but I dont know if it's good enough for them because doesn't it have plant protein and not animal protein.

 

[COmtnLady]

My Red Foot doesn't like nightcrawlers, but loves meal worms. And keeping either in the fridge is no biggie, they'll be in small closed containers.

Think about tortoises being in the wild where they evolved. They could more easily get at plants to eat than some form of meat. Also, most of the animals that grow big and sturdy eat plants to get that way (cows don't eat meat). There's nothing wrong with plant proteins, you just have to make sure your tort gets the right balance and enough of the nutrients it needs because it can't go searching for it for themselves.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Mazuri 5M21 is both eagerly eaten by Redfoot and is fine to use as part of the varied diet.
Variety again being the key word.
(And Collard, Mustard greens, Romaine and Kale can also be rotated in)

 

[JTH]

no..protein maybe a pinky once a month..stick to mazuri soaks in warm water mixed with fruit (papaya, kiwi,banana, strawberry..) yellow and green squash (heated with rinds cut off..and in small pieces), greens (no lettuce) like kollard greens, ocassional spinach..but greens should be main diet..Hes not a cat rather a special red toe tortie ..suggest you google diet suggestions for red toe tortoises

Happy Mojo is a wonderful example ..he loves to eat..climb..stroll in his quarters. Important to get humidifier on 24/7 as he needs moisture to prevent pyramiding..and heat lamp must maintain temp always above 60 degrees preferably 70-80 degree..uvb too

Agree with Rachels, some soaked Mazuri tortoise diet once or twice a month is fine. While redfoots can tolerate more protein than most other torts, new owners worry too much about it; while a wild redfoot might scavence a dead animal carcass, they are by no means predators or carnivores, and do fine on a largely (like 95%+) vegetarian diet. Healthy greens, soft or ground veggies, and some fruit should be emphasized. A bit of soft dogfood is OK once in a while, but you can safely forget the beef, poultry, and eggs. Catfood is richer and higher protein, might be a bit much for young torts except as a rare treat.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Hi I was researching red-footed tortoises and their diet and I know they need protein I found canned chicken at the grocery store and the ingredients are Chicken Breast Meat with Rib Meat, Water, Contains 2% or less of Sea Salt, Modified Food Starch, Sodium Phosphates, Chicken Flavor (Salt, Chicken Broth, Natural Flavors), Flavoring. I was wondering is that good for red foots and if cat food is okay to give for protein is it going to harm the tortoise if I give him cat food. I'm also interested and giving him nightcrawlers but I don't want to keep them in the refrigerator yuck. can you store nightcrawlers in a different way and have them last longer without putting them in the refrigerator.

Canned chicken is fine I feed it to mine all the time. Some other things I feed for protein are earthworms, tuna, boiled chicken, scrambled eggs, sardines, shrimp and canned cat food. I usually do protein about once a week.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Canned chicken is fine I feed it to mine all the time. Some other things I feed for protein are earthworms, tuna, boiled chicken, scrambled eggs, sardines, shrimp and canned cat food. I usually do protein about once a week.

I'll make sure that my own Redfoot don't hear about that diet.
They'd be jealous