Peas

[Mr Buster]

Buster loves peas.

He actually crawls over his romaine and cilantro and finds and eats the 7 to 10 peas I place in his food first and ignores everything else until he gobbles them peas down.

Are the peas good for him ? I checked some food charts but I really have not found any data on peas. I would really hate to deny Buster his seemingly one joy and purpose in life.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Peas are from the legume family, which makes them high in protein and some other things that aren't good for tortoises. Tortoises need a high fiber, low protein diet.

A occasional few won't hurt him but they are definitely not for everyday eating. I'd look to broaden his diet with other foods.

Sorry!

 

[Tom]

Peas and other legumes are good for them as a small part of a varied diet. 7-10 peas a day for a small tortoise is too much, in my opinion. Once or twice a week for that amount would be good though. Be sure to soak often when feeding a diet that is higher in protein.

I use peas, green beans, alfalfa, clover and Mazuri to get the needed protein into my tortoises diets.

If you mash up a couple of peas and mix it with a little water, you can use that mush to coat new foods and get him to try them.

 

[Mr Buster]

So far Buster ignores Mazuri. That was a disappointment because it seemed like a lot of people had great luck with that item.

This is my 10th day being a tortoise slave and I have been working over 10 hours a day so not a lot of time to forage. I do have over 35 rose bushes in my yard and he did show some interest in those leaves and a couple pedals from the only two roses that are still blossoming this time of year. I just bought timothy hay from walmart today too.