Over eating!

[chester tortoiseson]

I want to build my RT an outdoor play area. I want to put Russian tortoise seed mix in it so he can graze. I feed him once a day and I was wondering if tortoises know when they have eaten too much. If they don't, then is that too much food?

 

[Neal]

I honestly have never seen a case where a tortoise has eaten more than it could handle...I've heard of it happening in rare cases...but as long as you provide it with other needs (good UV exposure, plenty of exercise, properly hydrated, plenty of hiding areas to rest), I would not worry about a tortoise overeating at all.

 

[GBtortoises]

I agree with Neal. In any situation that I have seen or heard of a tortoise becoming obese it has been when kept solely indoors, too hot and with very little room for normal activity. The opposite of being kept outdoors.

 

[lynnedit]

True. They get a lot more exercise outside. And they love weeds fresh from the ground!

 

[Yvonne G]

In the wild, steppe (Russian) tortoises are hard wired to eat, eat, eat. Their time awake is not very long, and they have to eat as much as they can to get ready for the cold weather. So they wander for miles eating and wandering.

If you build your outdoor pen big enough, the tortoise can get the exercise it needs so the becoming obese isn't going to be a problem.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Think of it this way: unlike carnivores and omnivores, herbivores are more or less surrounded by potential food items everywhere they go. That doesn't mean they're going to eat everything in sight. For one thing, they are selective. For another, they have other things to do (like explore, fight, and mate). Finally, they do reach satiation as well - an imprecise signal in tortoises, people, and probably every other animal out there, but as long as an individual is active, overeating is not usually a problem. So not to worry.

 

[Tom]

I agree too. Go big on that enclosure and plant the heck out of it with weeds, a few plants like hibiscus or rose of Sharon, and LOTS of that Russian seed mix. You won't ever have to buy food for that little man again.