Need help with food for tortoise

[nathanlevi]

Should I feed my leopard tortoise Timothy hay or alfalfa and should it be fresh or dry like for hamsters. Also should I give the flowers of geranium to my leopard tortoise the leaves or both. Thanks

 

[TechnoCheese]

If it’s a baby leopard, it probably won’t eat hay. It needs to be fed fresh weeds and dark leafy greens. Not sure about the geranium.

Can we see a pic of your tortoise and enclosure?

Welcome to tortoise forum!

 

[Curtis_]

I would massively suggest going online and looking at a leopard tortoise care sheet. It's critically important they have the right diet, hydration, humidity, and uv. I don't own a leopard tortoise so I couldn't tell you personally what you should feed it, but I really don't think hay or flowers is the best choise, especially for a baby tortoise.
Best of luck!

 

[Bambam1989]

Geranium leaves and flowers are both good tort food. We have some good care sheets right here
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/

Here is some diet help. Diet for leopards and sulcatas are basically the same, just less grass for a leopard
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

 

[Jodie]

Welcome to the forum. Diet depends on size and your available foods. Alfalpha is not good for any age though. Orchard grass hay is my prefered. I chop it up and soak it to feed it to my adults. I do not feed it to babies. When available I feed weeds, leaves and grass. I winter i feed endive, escarole, other grocery greens in small amounts, and supplement with zoo med grassland tortoise food, and hydrated timothy hay pellets.

 

[TechnoCheese]

We need to see a picture of your enclosure to help you further

 

[nathanlevi]

thank you all for helping!!! By the way do any of you know what kind of cactus leopard tortoises eat and how often.

 

[TechnoCheese]

thank you all for helping!!! By the way do any of you know what kind of cactus leopard tortoises eat and how often.

Spineless Prickly pair cactus, also known as nopales or paddle cactus. Like all foods, feed in moderation. Cactus is a great source of calcium, but is also a laxative.

So how about those enclosure pics?

 

[nathanlevi]

I just got him 2 weeks ago from a friend

 

[TechnoCheese]

Just a few things.
- you need hides. Tortoises need a dark place where they can feel secure. You have none. A regular hide and a humid hide are perfect.
-the lights. The red light you have makes tortoises think that the substrate is food, and they will try to eat it. Also, tortoises need total darkness to sleep, and can see the red lights. It needs to be replaced with a ceramic heat emitter for night heat.
I’m also going to assume that you have a coil/compact uvb bulb in there. If not, please correct me. They are known to cause eye problems, and are not very effective. You need a fluorescent tube light, or a mercury vapor bulb. Please look these up, and ask us about them when you are trying to choose one.
-the thermometer. Those disk thermometers are not reliable at all, and you could take 30 off of one shelf and they’d all read something different. You need a digital thermometer with a probe, or a temperature gun. You can find temp guns on amazon for 15 dollars, and they are an absolute life saver.
The substrate- your substrate needs to be MUCH deeper, like 4+ inches.

Keep in mind, the temperatures need to remain above 80 degrees at all times everywhere in the enclosure, and the basking spot needs to be around 100.

I’m just going to warn you, tortoises are very expensive animals that require a lot of space. I have had mine for a little over a year, and have already spent 500-1500 dollars on it, and it’s only 6 inches or so long.That tiny tank is going to be out grown in a few months, so I would suggest to start building a very large closed chamber. Your tortoise will have to go outside full time, if you have the right weather for it. Are you ready for a ft-ft and a half long tortoise?

 

[TechnoCheese]

Also, mesh covered tops like that are almost impossible to keep heat and humidity in. I would cover it with tin foil, and cut out circles for the lights.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Do you have a UVB light?

 

[Bambam1989]

thank you all for helping!!! By the way do any of you know what kind of cactus leopard tortoises eat and how often.

Prickly pear cactus is good, you can find thornless varieties, they are often called Opuntia and in grocery stores you can sometimes find them labeled as "nopales".
You can also feed "aloe vera" leaves.
A couple of common succulent house plants that are edible are "Christmas cactus" and the "Jade plant"

 

[nathanlevi]

Prickly pear cactus is good, you can find thornless varieties, they are often called Opuntia and in grocery stores you can sometimes find them labeled as "nopales".
You can also feed "aloe vera" leaves.
A couple of common succulent house plants that are edible are "Christmas cactus" and the "Jade plant"

Thanks

 

[nathanlevi]

Do you have a UVB light?

I do have a uvb but I did not know that they are bad for the tortoise

 

[nathanlevi]

Do you have a UVB light?

I will change it

 

[nathanlevi]

Also, mesh covered tops like that are almost impossible to keep heat and humidity in. I would cover it with tin foil, and cut out circles for the lights.

Thanks I never thought about that

 

[nathanlevi]

Thanks I never thought about that

But will do it

 

[nathanlevi]

Just a few things.
- you need hides. Tortoises need a dark place where they can feel secure. You have none. A regular hide and a humid hide are perfect.
-the lights. The red light you have makes tortoises think that the substrate is food, and they will try to eat it. Also, tortoises need total darkness to sleep, and can see the red lights. It needs to be replaced with a ceramic heat emitter for night heat.
I’m also going to assume that you have a coil/compact uvb bulb in there. If not, please correct me. They are known to cause eye problems, and are not very effective. You need a fluorescent tube light, or a mercury vapor bulb. Please look these up, and ask us about them when you are trying to choose one.
-the thermometer. Those disk thermometers are not reliable at all, and you could take 30 off of one shelf and they’d all read something different. You need a digital thermometer with a probe, or a temperature gun. You can find temp guns on amazon for 15 dollars, and they are an absolute life saver.
The substrate- your substrate needs to be MUCH deeper, like 4+ inches.

Keep in mind, the temperatures need to remain above 80 degrees at all times everywhere in the enclosure, and the basking spot needs to be around 100.

I’m just going to warn you, tortoises are very expensive animals that require a lot of space. I have had mine for a little over a year, and have already spent 500-1500 dollars on it, and it’s only 6 inches or so long.That tiny tank is going to be out grown in a few months, so I would suggest to start building a very large closed chamber. Your tortoise will have to go outside full time, if you have the right weather for it. Are you ready for a ft-ft and a half long tortoise?

For the hides part I use the one to the right of the pic I took it out so you can see everything. Do you think that that hide would work if you want I can take a picture of it separately.

 

[nathanlevi]

Just a few things.
- you need hides. Tortoises need a dark place where they can feel secure. You have none. A regular hide and a humid hide are perfect.
-the lights. The red light you have makes tortoises think that the substrate is food, and they will try to eat it. Also, tortoises need total darkness to sleep, and can see the red lights. It needs to be replaced with a ceramic heat emitter for night heat.
I’m also going to assume that you have a coil/compact uvb bulb in there. If not, please correct me. They are known to cause eye problems, and are not very effective. You need a fluorescent tube light, or a mercury vapor bulb. Please look these up, and ask us about them when you are trying to choose one.
-the thermometer. Those disk thermometers are not reliable at all, and you could take 30 off of one shelf and they’d all read something different. You need a digital thermometer with a probe, or a temperature gun. You can find temp guns on amazon for 15 dollars, and they are an absolute life saver.
The substrate- your substrate needs to be MUCH deeper, like 4+ inches.

Keep in mind, the temperatures need to remain above 80 degrees at all times everywhere in the enclosure, and the basking spot needs to be around 100.

I’m just going to warn you, tortoises are very expensive animals that require a lot of space. I have had mine for a little over a year, and have already spent 500-1500 dollars on it, and it’s only 6 inches or so long.That tiny tank is going to be out grown in a few months, so I would suggest to start building a very large closed chamber. Your tortoise will have to go outside full time, if you have the right weather for it. Are you ready for a ft-ft and a half long tortoise?

For the lights part I will change the red light but do you know where I can find a ceramic heat emitter?