Yellow Turtle said:Interesting, this plant is plenty here in my country and I don't know it's edible for tortoise. I see protein content is quite high though, so looks like it's not going to be main diet for tortoise.
Will said:Yellow Turtle said:Interesting, this plant is plenty here in my country and I don't know it's edible for tortoise. I see protein content is quite high though, so looks like it's not going to be main diet for tortoise.
Much like the concept of raising 'desert' habitat tortoises in a dry enclosure, the misnomer of protein exists.
Yellow Turtle, that protein content on that page I sourced is on a Dry Matter (% DM) basis. So fed green that means it is approximately 9% protein, and that is indeed OK.
Will
sunshine_hugs said:So, this might sound crazy, but it also grows in abundance where I live...my family and I all consume it (and on the island here, they use the flowers and seeds as well as the leaves)...but the crazy part is that I've never thought of offering it to my tortoises.
If it's safe to do so, I think we'll try it out and see what they think.![]()
Yvonne G said:***she silently raises her hand and taps Will on the shoulder...I've just bought three of these off Amazon, and I'm willing to share***
Will said:sunshine_hugs said:So, this might sound crazy, but it also grows in abundance where I live...my family and I all consume it (and on the island here, they use the flowers and seeds as well as the leaves)...but the crazy part is that I've never thought of offering it to my tortoises.
If it's safe to do so, I think we'll try it out and see what they think.![]()
Cool.
So how do you prepare it for youself and is it "tasty" good?
Will
Will said:I am not sure what manufactured diets you have access to there, nor that you would use them should you have access. Many manufactured 'tortoise' diets available here in the US have 9% to 12% protein. So that is a start for a basis to say, no 9% is not on the high side. However the labels on the containers often do not explicitly state if it is % DM or not.
In another thread http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-64528.html I sought out a more detailed content of at least one food, ZooMed grassland pellets.
The mix and match way to look at the many manners of data presentation is called a 'proximate analysis', not all analyses are in % DM.
In all I find that up to 20% protein works for neonates, when ample water and long fiber are included in the diet. Yolk, at least from chickens is 15% protein, and when we consider that the yolk is absorbed into the gut and feeds into the intestine of hatchling turtles and is their food for the first few week or so, you have a sound basis to consider this amount of protein.
From what I have read and spoken about with reptile nutritionists is that up to 25% is OK for rapidly growing neonates.
So, in short 9% as fed is just fine in my view.
If I had the space, I would already be growing some of these trees, if for no other reason than my own consumption, to try it out. I do on occasion eat mulberry leaves and grape vine leaves, different leaves from different parts of the plant taste different. Some leaves are sinks for nutrients some are source. It seems older source leaves are what the tortoises like best, but that is another topic.
Will
BeeBee*BeeLeaves said:Here are some recipes for tortoise keepers who want to try moringa in their diets ...
http://www.moringatreeoflife.com/Recipes.html
sunshine_hugs said:Great link! Lots of new ideas to try.![]()