Please help (diet)

Countingtherain · Jan 26, 2017

I'm not sure what kind of tortoise I have, (I got him at petco.) and im not exactly sure what is best for me to feed him, so far ive been feeding him romaine lettuce, green beans, corn, peas, and carrots. Is this okay for him to be eating? And is there anything better for him I can feed him?

Yvonne G · Jan 26, 2017

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Russian tortoises (Testudo horsefieldii) are browsers and eat broad leaf plants and weeds. The romaine part of his diet is ok, but you should mix it with other broad leaf plants and weeds. This is a good time to find edible weeds outside:

Dandelion
fillaree
miner's lettuce
prickly sow thistle
mallow (cheese weed)
puncture vine
clover
rose of sharon
and on and on.

You can also buy escarole, radicchio, and endive.

Stop feeding him green beans, corn, peas and carrots. Feed instead leaves of the plants mentioned. Don't get stuck in a rut and feed the same thing. Mix it up.

His eyes look a bit like he may be dehydrated. Place him in a shallow tub of water and leave him there for about 15 minutes. Do that daily for a couple weeks. After that you can assume he's going to drink on his own out of the clay plant saucer you put in his habitat.