Quick question about diet

[Cliygh and Mia]

The title says it all, but right now since it's the winter, we have been feeding our two Russian tortoises Kale, Collard greens, and diced carrots mixed into the mixture, with occasional vitamin and calcium supplements added about every other feeding. Is this correct? I've heard some plants have "Anti-nutrients," and I want to be sure that they are eating the right foods. Also, is every other feeding good for the supplements, or does it need to be less frequent? The animals are both (Supposedly) 4 years old. Many thanks!

 

[Rusky]

Where did you get your tortoises? If they are wild-caught, it is difficult to tell their age. Also, do you know their sexes? It is very difficult to keep two Russians together, even in a large enclosure where both are female. There is a thread pinned to the top of the Russian section about this. I would recommend buying a cuttlebone for calcium. This allows the tortoises to regulate their own calcium intake. It's better to provide a very broad range of greens, and there is a list of these under the Russian caresheet. I've found that pellets help maintain this variety during the winter, but they should not make up the majority of their diet.

 

[Cliygh and Mia]

Where did you get your tortoises? If they are wild-caught, it is difficult to tell their age. Also, do you know their sexes? It is very difficult to keep two Russians together, even in a large enclosure where both are female. There is a thread pinned to the top of the Russian section about this. I would recommend buying a cuttlebone for calcium. This allows the tortoises to regulate their own calcium intake. It's better to provide a very broad range of greens, and there is a list of these under the Russian caresheet. I've found that pellets help maintain this variety during the winter, but they should not make up the majority of their diet.

They were purchased at Repticon, and captive bred (At least what the vendor said). Both are male, and I have read it and sent it to my mother, who bought two thinking they'd need companions. I have purchased a cuttlebone, they do not seem to use it, they've completely hidden it underneath their substrate at the time of writing this message. I'll look into the pellets as well, have to find out which ones are good and which ones are bad. Thanks for the help by the way, I appreciate it!

 

[Rusky]

No problem. Mazuri Tortoise Diet, ZooMed Grassland, and some others are recommended. Russians really should not be housed together unless you have a very large outdoor enclosure, especially if they are two males. You may not see aggression, but they will definitely compete for food, basking, different areas of the enclosure, and generally to show dominance. Most people who have multiple Russians keep them separate or have 1 male with 3 or more females. Please take a look at this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

 

[Cliygh and Mia]

No problem. Mazuri Tortoise Diet, ZooMed Grassland, and some others are recommended. Russians really should not be housed together unless you have a very large outdoor enclosure, especially if they are two males. You may not see aggression, but they will definitely compete for food, basking, different areas of the enclosure, and generally to show dominance. Most people who have multiple Russians keep them separate or have 1 male with 3 or more females. Please take a look at this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

Again, I do know, I sent the link to the person who purchased them, and she and I have looked over it, and should be getting a separate enclosure within the coming days. Thanks for the feeding suggestions as well, I do appreciate it. One other thing to note, I feel as if summer (AKA time for the two to be outdoors) will be far too humid for what this dry, grassland species needs, seeing as we're in Georgia. As impractical as it is, I could probably set up something for them to be indoors a majority of the time, correct? I do know they both would need large amounts of it though. Open to suggestions, and many thanks!

 

[Cheryl Hills]

They will do just fine outdoors for the summer