Safe mix for adult redfoot?

[dinomum]

Is this a safe mix of greens for my redfoot? I found this at my grocery store and was wondering if i could add it to the rotation of her greens.

Iv read that spinach is unsafe for them to eat but recently i read something saying its not too bad for them.

 

[ColaCarbonaria]

Yes it’s fine. Spinach will bind, but to my understanding you would need to way over feed it to get the negative side of it. A little here and there is ok. I do every once in a while.

 

[MysticCaribou]

Yes it’s fine. Spinach will bind, but to my understanding you would need to way over feed it to get the negative side of it. A little here and there is ok. I do every once in a while.

Why bother feeding spinach at all, if it isn't good for the tortoises? I would just leave it out of the diet all together. There are so many good greens that you can get from your grocery store - turnip greens, dandelion greens - mushrooms, zucchini - there's just so much available that is very healthy for them with no risks.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I don't think that spinach is an issue at all in small quantities and it does have nutritional benefit.
I feed my torts that sort of mix whenever I feel lazy. (and that's often)

 

[MysticCaribou]

I don't think that spinach is an issue at all in small quantities and it does have nutritional benefit.
I feed my torts that sort of mix whenever I feel lazy. (and that's often)

When there are so many healthy food choices we can make for our tortoises, why feed something that has an cautions. It's not necessary.

 

[Reptilian Feline]

When there are so many healthy food choices we can make for our tortoises, why feed something that has an cautions. It's not necessary.

For some of us, getting a healthy blend of fresh greens in the winter and early spring is very difficult. Most green mixes in Sweden contain spinach or baby spinach. That leaves me with mayby one or two bags I can use spread over several grocery stores... unless I just buy arugola or a head of romain. If spinach isn't such a huge problem, then maybe I can try some of the mixes that contain baby spinach. That would increase the variety tremendusly. Most fresh greens here are sold in pre-mix bags all cut up ready to eat.

 

[lisa127]

When there are so many healthy food choices we can make for our tortoises, why feed something that has an cautions. It's not necessary.

Spinach IS healthy in small amounts here and there.

 

[lisa127]

FYI, for anyone who is worried about spinach if you have an ALDI near you get some there. The large plastic tub of organic spring mix has no spinach in it. The smaller bagged spring mix they have does though so make sure you're getting the right one.

I will say the mix pictured above has lots of spinach as it' the first ingredient listed. Usually spinach is farther down the list, in which case I don't worry about it.

 

[dinomum]

Im having a hard time finding any decent greens other than arugula right now.(winter in alberta) im hoping in the summer there will be more available but i was just looking for something more substantial than just romaine or arugula till then. If i were to find a mix with spinach further down the list maybe that would work? Unless anyone has some suggestions of winter veg that would work as replacement till summer when more greens would hopefully be available.
(sorry, im so new to this tortoise mum thing i dont want to mess it up and cause her harm)

 

[lisa127]

Im having a hard time finding any decent greens other than arugula right now.(winter in alberta) im hoping in the summer there will be more available but i was just looking for something more substantial than just romaine or arugula till then. If i were to find a mix with spinach further down the list maybe that would work? Unless anyone has some suggestions of winter veg that would work as replacement till summer when more greens would hopefully be available.
(sorry, im so new to this tortoise mum thing i dont want to mess it up and cause her harm)

What CAN you find in your stores? Turnip greens, endive, escarole? What are your choices? And yes, spring mix with spinach farther down the list is just fine.

 

[JLM]

My redfoot has really taken to endive and escarole. I cut out spring mix entirely. She really doesn’t like the other greens (mustard, turnip, dandelion, etc)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My redfoot has really taken to endive and escarole. I cut out spring mix entirely. She really doesn’t like the other greens (mustard, turnip, dandelion, etc)

It sounds like a spoiled tortoise.
They can and will pick and choose after a while. So it's best not to let them get used to any one thing. Or many times, that's all that they want.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Spinach is fine in small amounts. It's not like saying that a small amount of poison is o.k.
Spinach is actually a good thing. In moderation.
There are a lot of foods that are part (can be part) of a GREAT food regimen for a Redfoot and a great many of them should only be offered in moderation.
There are a lot.
For example, during the summer, my gang eats quite a bit of purslane. It grows all over the yard. This is another one of those foods that must be fed in moderation, but is 100% safe and healthy for them.
So, feed them spinach (Or purslane) every day? No.
Is feeding it at all o.k. Yes. It's a good thing.
Mix things up. Change the menu. Look at the Redfoot foods list. It's gigantic. There are dozens of things to be found. And a lot of them at grocery stores.

 

[JLM]

It sounds like a spoiled tortoise.
They can and will pick and choose after a while. So it's best not to let them get used to any one thing. Or many times, that's all that they want.

I keep trying it...and started her on that stuff when I got her but she will consistently leave the greens there. Even if it’s the only option for a couple days

 

[Reptilian Feline]

I think mixes get sometimes badly mixed. If all you can get is bags with spinach as the main ingredients, then just pick out the spinach... most of it, and it that yourself as part of a nice pie or something, and feed the rest to the tort.
I sometimes feed forest (wild) strawberry leaves to mine... they stay green through out most of the winter and sometimes start growing as soon as the weather permits. I know the old leaves aren't good, so I avoid those, but feed the nice newer ones. If I'm lucky some of my dandelion plants will grow new leaves as well, but most are sleeping through the winter.
As for turnimp greens and so on, that isn't a big thing here in Sweden, so If I want some of that, I have to grow it myself from the but ends of the turnips... but I asume I could find some in the more exotic grocery stores in the big city.... but those are not on my regular route to and from work.

 

[dinomum]

Thank you all so much!! I feel like iv learnt so much just from these few posts

 

[Robber]

Luckily almost all of my tortoises do not like spinach as much as other greens in the mix, so it will generally be the only thing left after the initial round of eating and I can remove it if I need to. Most of the time the amounts of each ingredient will vary from package to package, so you can try to just get ones that have less spinach in them.

 

[Madkins007]

SPINACH: The concern over spinach is the oxalic acid content. Oxalic acid is what causes some foods to taste bitter or 'stingy'. Oxalic acid can bind with calcium and make it unavailable to the tissues, and is often accused of contributing to bladder stones. Excess oxalic acid is really bad for humans and other animals.

HOWEVER, the acid only really affects the calcium in that food item- it does not 'rob' calcium from other things. There is little solid evidence that it contributes to stones in tortoises (dehydration is a more likely culprit), and wild tortoises routinely eat plants that are so loaded in oxalic acid they are poisonous for humans.

A few other things that make this a more complicated topic than you might think...
- The commonly mentioned oxalic acid level of spinach is not universally agreed on. There are several ways to measure this and not all of them list spinach as high.
- Calcium blocks iron absorption- and you need iron, too! This is why a varied, balanced diet is so important. Spinach and other dark greens are usually high in iron (not as high as old reports listed or Popeye says, but high nonetheless.)
- Many other things we offer are high in oxalic acid but they do not get the same attention. Most of the greens we offer (beet, radish, etc.) are bitter and 'stingy' because of their oxalic acid levels. Dandelion is often listed as a great food item, but that white 'juice' is almost pure oxalic acid.

SO, WHY SERVE SPINACH IF THERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS? A few reasons...
1. Most of us only have access to a few kinds of greens, even during the best seasons. The more kinds of greens we can offer, the more variety we can offer.
2. The foods most of us have access to are nothing like their native diets. We try to compensate by offering a widely varied diet, and spinach can be part of that variety.
3. A lot of the things we call 'better', really ain't all that great.
4. Very few nutritionists would suggest eliminating spinach from the human diet, even though it seems to affect us more than it does tortoises.
5. This is MY OPINION, but I don't think there is enough evidence to ignore the other nutritional benefits of spinach.

 

[daniellenc]

I rotate an herb mix with spring mix which does have spinach. I add collard greens also a moderation food, mushroom, zucchini, red pepper, mazuri, fruit, chicken and shrimp here and there. Radish greens, dried flowers, cactus, clovers, dandelion, rose of Sharon, and basically whatever is in season in store and growing outdoors. Not sure what local veggies you have access to but many are safe and will provide variety mixed with greens and fruits.

 

[Redstrike]

Everything in moderation...