Red foot tortoise protein source

Xaviertort

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Hey guys, so I have a young red foot and I wanted to know what are the best sources to get him protein from and how often to feed him protein. Thanks
 

Toddrickfl1

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Hey guys, so I have a young red foot and I wanted to know what are the best sources to get him protein from and how often to feed him protein. Thanks
I feed earthworms, scrambled and hard boiled eggs (with the shell), chicken, shrimp, tuna, wet cat food, and occasionally moistened aquatic turtle food. I usually feed protein about once a week.
 

Canadian Mojo

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Thank you guys so much. What kind of mushrooms do you feed?
The normal white ones you get at the grocery store. Sometimes my wife spoils him and grabs a Portabello or some other fancy type, but I don't think he really appreciates the difference.
 

ArmadilloPup

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I am curious where folks got the information that mushrooms are high in protein. They really aren't, as far as I can tell.

They're not high in it. It's just a part of the wild redfoot's diet that has some protein and no fat. It makes more sense to replace a week's portion of meat with mushrooms as opposed to replacing a veggie. I do agree that they still need occasional lean meats.
 

pawsplus

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OK. Well, I treat mushrooms as a regular part of the diet. After all, they grow right non the ground, so are readily available pretty often to wild redfoots.
 

jsheffield

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I feed all of my tortoises mushrooms... my forest tortoises (RF and MEP) get them more often than my Russians, but they all like them, and they're a good part of a varied diet.

Jamie
 

Canadian Mojo

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They're not high in it. It's just a part of the wild redfoot's diet that has some protein and no fat. It makes more sense to replace a week's portion of meat with mushrooms as opposed to replacing a veggie. I do agree that they still need occasional lean meats.
The bulk of their protein would probably come from fungi and invertebrates in the wild.

Every once-and-a-while, they hit the motherload.

Chelonoidis-carbonaria-Red-footed-Tortoise-scavenging-on-the-carcass-of-a-horse-in.png
 

Madkins007

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Field studies of redfoots in the wild, by people like Moscovitz, shows that MOST of the 'meat' they get in the wild is from butterflies and termites. (Yes, butterflies. Butterflies in the jungle are EVERYWHERE and they like to lick the salt around the eyes of lots of animals, like torts. A quick snap and the butterfly is food.) Most of the rest is carrion (an infrequent choice, but when the find it, they gorge on it.) A small portion is fox dung.

The PROTEIN needs of the redfoot are also met by mushrooms (which redfoots LOVE), fungi, and lots of different plants, especially dark leafy greens. It has been argued by a lot of reptile diet experts that the forest tortoises probably do not need much additional protein since grocery store produce is generally much richer in it than the wild foods are.

Books on tortoise nutrition and health suggest that there are some levels of proteins for tortoises:

GOOD proteins are not too fatty or rich in calories. They would include things like the typical feeder invertebrates, 'furries' (pinkie mice and rats that have light fur, and higher calcium levels), lean or white meat and poultry, and eggs.

MEDIUM proteins have fat and such, but offer other benefits. Some of these would include oily fish like salmon or mackerel (which cause smelly stools), dog or cat foods (canned or kibbles, but not the cheap all-filler stuff), and good tortoise chows like Mazuri. Lean red meat falls here, but also offers iron which is helpful, too.

BAD proteins would be processed stuff like bacon or sausage.

HOW MUCH? Basically- not much at all overall. About the easiest way for me to monitor it is that a weekly dose of meat would not be larger than the torts head.
 
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