Karen the T
New Member
Hello All,
Two weeks ago I adopted a Sonoran Desert tortoise. Rumble is a male, ~20-30 years old that I got through the AZ Game & Fish Dept. Although we landscaped our yard to only have tortoise friendly plants ( in addition to lots of spurge in the grass!), Rumble has not been foraging. He loves the hibiscus flowers but will not get them himself. I suspect he was in the AZ Game & Fish dept. for a while since he seems to not know how to feed himself. Consequently, I had begun offering what I read was acceptable food to him-red/curly/green lettuce, apples (not many), prickly pear fruits, and corn on the cob (until I read that that was not good). Other foods I have tried include figs, parsley, mushrooms, various other flowers & kale, none of which he ate. He won't eat any of the other flowers available in the yard (yellow bells, bells of fire, fairy dusters, deer grass or the hibiscus (unless I pick it for him). He will eat spurge only if I sneak it onto his lettuce. It's like having a 2 year old sometimes!
Now I read that lettuce is not good but it is really the only thing he eats. I just ordered Zoo Med Grassland food in desperation as well as dandelion seeds, but what I'd really like is for Rumble to eat the numerous plants that I have available. What would you all recommend I do? Hibernation season will be on us in ~ a month and I'd like him to be nutritionally fortified before then. Should I offer the official tortoise food or stop and hope he figures out how to forage? I read so many conflicting opinions on what foods are good and what foods are not that I'm really confused now. Thanks for your input!
Two weeks ago I adopted a Sonoran Desert tortoise. Rumble is a male, ~20-30 years old that I got through the AZ Game & Fish Dept. Although we landscaped our yard to only have tortoise friendly plants ( in addition to lots of spurge in the grass!), Rumble has not been foraging. He loves the hibiscus flowers but will not get them himself. I suspect he was in the AZ Game & Fish dept. for a while since he seems to not know how to feed himself. Consequently, I had begun offering what I read was acceptable food to him-red/curly/green lettuce, apples (not many), prickly pear fruits, and corn on the cob (until I read that that was not good). Other foods I have tried include figs, parsley, mushrooms, various other flowers & kale, none of which he ate. He won't eat any of the other flowers available in the yard (yellow bells, bells of fire, fairy dusters, deer grass or the hibiscus (unless I pick it for him). He will eat spurge only if I sneak it onto his lettuce. It's like having a 2 year old sometimes!
Now I read that lettuce is not good but it is really the only thing he eats. I just ordered Zoo Med Grassland food in desperation as well as dandelion seeds, but what I'd really like is for Rumble to eat the numerous plants that I have available. What would you all recommend I do? Hibernation season will be on us in ~ a month and I'd like him to be nutritionally fortified before then. Should I offer the official tortoise food or stop and hope he figures out how to forage? I read so many conflicting opinions on what foods are good and what foods are not that I'm really confused now. Thanks for your input!