Self grazing or fed, how does your Tortoise eat.

[DanB]

I for one plant all kinds of grass/weed seeds for my red to graze on when he want to. I try not to put cut food in his enclouser at set times and I never put it in the same place. I do this to encourage foraging. When I used to put his food in a feeding dish at the same time each day he would not explore his area much and stayed in his favorite hiding stop until I put the food in his dish. Now he is all over the place and had a lot of new places he hangs out in. He seems to be much happier (if a tortoise can be happy) with his new feeding regiment.

 

[Yvonne G]

Any way you can think of to enrich their lives is a good thing. I like the way you're thinking.

 

[Tom]

I do both. Both work.

 

[jsheffield]

There are plantings in my redfoot's enclosure ... he nibbles from these as he explores.

I have a small clay underpot with cuttings from other houseplants ... Darwin picks through this on and off all day.

I feed him each day while soaking him ... he eats while soaking, then the bowl goes back in his enclosure and he seems to eat from the bowl too.

I'm always on the lookout for more ways to stimulate and/or feed Darwin.

Jamie

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Fed
There doesn't seem to be much in my yard that interests them. And I don't want them just eating Purslane all day long.

 

[CEvans]

Buzz has almost a 1/4 of an acre to roam in. I have a decent size area of grass that he gets to graze in all day long. He has a long back portion that weeds grow and he has all he wants of this and wildflowers when I throw seeds down. When my honeysuckle is blooming he will nibble from that and when I deadhead my roses he loves those. If you want to see how fast a tortoise can move mine is almost running for his roses.

 

[Relic]

I see what you did there...run for the roses

 

[CEvans]

I see what you did there...run for the roses

Cutest thing ever... he moves fast

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I do both. I've noticed when I put greens in my Redfoots dish he picks around them and doesn't eat them. However when I take a large leaf of greens and stand it upright in some random place in his enclosure like it's a plant growing he devours them within minutes.

 

[Travick]

Tricky the marginated is rather a habitual type. Always give attention to sliding doors moving, because it means that new food is coming. When typical knocking on calcium tube heard, Tricky pull out head to the maximum height and moving toward tray in accelerated pace. Doesn't do this in any other situation. He likes feeding tray and if find something outside he rarely touch it (bite once, with spit option) knowing it's old food, like an hour or so, from his previous feast. There are edible plants in enclosure, but he bite everything rather in predatory manner and eat some plant parts just with destroy interest. I like the idea to letting him find his food, but I think this wouldn't work with domesticated types like Tricky, it would just stress him out. If he want to tell me that it is food time he just lay down next to the tray and watch it.