my two month red footed tortoises only seems to eat his diet pellets that i was given upon purchasing it and he only really eats that, i think he really enjoys it but he won’t eat vegetables and other stuff that often. is this okay?
my tortoises only eats his pellets
- Thread starter Andrew.H
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I’m very new to this so can only tell you that it was the same for me. I think his first owner fed him pellets and iceberg. I decided to introduce very small amounts or various foods in with his kale which he likes . Bit by bit he is accepting these new food stuffs but I think they are canny and stubborn sometimes ; he deliberately refuses to eat as a form of independence He eats when he says ,!
It's not ok in my opinion. A varied diet is what's best. I would stop with the pellets and simply feed whatever greens he should get and I think redfoots eat fruit as well. And remember one important thing...he can only eat what you offer, stop with the pellets and offer a better diet. But, I am n ot an experienced redfoot person, that would be @ZEROPILOT
thank you
Don't give up yet, you still haven't heard from the Redfoot people....
Try moistening the pellets and mixing them with some finely chopped greens/fruit. Like this
That way the tortoise doesn't have a choice. Then after a few days start using less of the pellets till the tortoise is eating other stuff readily.
Not okay. Start mixing tiny tiny amounts of the new stuff into the pellets. Soak the pellets first to make them soft and mushy, and then mix in some finely minced good stuff. I'm talking like 1% to start with. Over time, up the ratio of new to old. You can repeat this process with any new food item.
What type of pellet is it? Some are better than others.
that’s a good idea, Thank you for that
Picture?
@Andrew.H That is Mazuri. Its a good supplemental tortoise food, but should not be used as a staple.
Hmmmm! Not long ago I was dead set against feeding Mazuri and other "junk" food. Then I kept hearing on here what a great food it is and now I have some and find some of my critters love it. Hmm again! We feed our fish fish food and out cats cat food and dogs dog food, etc so what's wrong with Mazuri and other specialized tortoise diets? I got the impression here that it was a complete diet with all needed nutrients, etc so what's the true story on this stuff?
dagmarbcs
New Member
Hi, new to this forum.
People here say to use pepples food like Mazuri or maybe Grassland diet only as supplements, I live in Mexico and do not get fresh vegetables and salads as in Us. So can I keep feeding people’s
People here say to use pepples food like Mazuri or maybe Grassland diet only as supplements, I live in Mexico and do not get fresh vegetables and salads as in Us. So can I keep feeding people’s
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Guys....
What are you feeding your Redfoot?
A diet of up to 60% fruit. Vegetable matter. Leafy greens. Flowers. Mushrooms. Cactus and even animal protein is required.
Pellets are an occasional item. Or an emergency item or an item that aids in administering medication. It should not be more than 10% of the diet in my opinion. Simply because of the HUNDREDS of items a Redfoot can eat. And ICEBURG lettuce has no nutritional value at all.
My suggestion would be to stop the pellets altogether until your RF starts eating better things. (Trust me. They will not starve to death) Then you can gradually add pellets back in to the mix if you want to. But pellets are 100% unnecessary.
Old post. Still relevant.
What are you feeding your Redfoot?
A diet of up to 60% fruit. Vegetable matter. Leafy greens. Flowers. Mushrooms. Cactus and even animal protein is required.
Pellets are an occasional item. Or an emergency item or an item that aids in administering medication. It should not be more than 10% of the diet in my opinion. Simply because of the HUNDREDS of items a Redfoot can eat. And ICEBURG lettuce has no nutritional value at all.
My suggestion would be to stop the pellets altogether until your RF starts eating better things. (Trust me. They will not starve to death) Then you can gradually add pellets back in to the mix if you want to. But pellets are 100% unnecessary.
Old post. Still relevant.
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Zoos use it. And it's certainly not harmful in moderation.
I only suggest using it sparingly because of how easy it is to feed a Redfoot. Their diet is absolutely gigantic.
BajatheChickenMan
Active Member
Is there any kind of rough timeline on the mashing and mixing food to get them to eat something different/new or is it just kind of it takes as long as it takes sorta thing?
