Pumpkin Preparation

[fhintz]

Is there a good/best way to serve Pumpkin to my precious? Or is raw ok?

I don't cook much for myself even, so I couldn't say how to prepare it at all really.

Thanks,

Frank

 

[Missy]

Raw is fine, seeds, guts, rind all chopped up. Freeze what you dont use for the winter.

 

[Yvonne G]

If your tortoise is small, you'll have to cook it a bit to soften it otherwise he can't bite it. I put a piece in the micro wave for about 4 minutes, let it cool, then put the whole piece in with the little ones.

For the bigger tortoises, uncooked is just fine.

 

[terracolson]

I boiled mine like i do potatoes.

 

[Torty Mom]

My little one does not like pumpkin.... I put it in the microwave, chopped up into mush, maybe I should try boiling it. I hope yours likes it! Good luck!!

 

[Mao Senpai]

Since mine are small, I just put it in a blender and blend it until it's nice and fine for them to eat.... seeds, guts, rind and all. They go nuts for it.

 

[Tom]

I use a cheese grater for the little torts.

 

[bllauben]

I found that my torts love acorn squash and butternut squash (which is their favorite of the two). I need to try pumpkin. I used to feed canned pure pumpkin to my foster dog and my cats for digestion issues. Never thought to give raw pumpkin to tortoises.

A bit of trivia: if you have a dog who likes eating waste from other pets, feed the pets that are producing the waste canned pure pumpkin. It makes the waste taste bitter according to what a vet told me.

 

[fhintz]

I got a couple mini pumpkins and microwaved em for a minute and a half, and then cut them up. I spoil her usually by cutting up her food, so even then the pumpkin was a bit more solid then what she's used to. Still, she was pretty intent on it for a while, but didn't finish all of it. I think she liked it, but got frustrated that it was harder to get into than what she's used to.

 

[J. Ellis]

I also either chop or blend the pumkins, but I keep meaning to find a sturdy box grater to make things easier..

I boiled mine like i do potatoes.

I just wanted to point out that whenever raw vegetables are heated, they loose a high amount of their nutrients.

When we treat foods with heat, we lose up to 97% of the water-soluble vitamins (Vitamins B and C) and up to 40% of the lipid soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E and K).

 

[goReptiles]

A bit of trivia: if you have a dog who likes eating waste from other pets, feed the pets that are producing the waste canned pure pumpkin. It makes the waste taste bitter according to what a vet told me.

How does that work? My dog likes pumpkin.



When I fed my tortoises pumpkin, I pureed it in the blender, and froze the extra.

 

[Angi]

I use a veggie chopper and chopped it in fine little pieces. My one year old torts gobbled it up.

 

[pongpagong]

My pancake tortoise loves pumpkin..i just chopped it in fine little pieces

 

[sulcatafood]

Our adult sulcatas love raw pumpkin. We have found it to be great for their beaks to have some harder foods to eat through. Since ours primarily graze on elephant grass and pasture mix, a treat of raw pumpkin (skin and all) is something they really enjoy.