Starvation Days.

[Drew81]

Now when I got my two girls the breeder said that once a week I should switch off the lights and nor feed them as this would mimick the fact that in real life they wouldn't find food everyday.

I just wondered if anyone else does this, or if you have any other suggestions?

 

[JoesMum]

Does someone switch the sun off one day a week? I don't think so! I'll accept that you get rainy days, but even on those days UV gets through the clouds. Lights should remain on their normal schedule.

As for food, one day a week would do no harm, but tortoises will look for food every day in the wild... and most days they'll find it. If they don't find food in the wild, it would be for more than one day due to weather conditions probably.

I think you get my drift... I will continue to feed daily. It's up to Joe whether he chooses to eat every day (and there are very occasional days when he panics me by not eating!)

 

[dmarcus]

Does someone switch the sun off one day a week? I don't think so! I'll accept that you get rainy days, but even on those days UV gets through the clouds. Lights should remain on their normal schedule.

As for food, one day a week would do no harm, but tortoises will look for food every day in the wild... and most days they'll find it. If they don't find food in the wild, it would be for more than one day due to weather conditions probably.

I think you get my drift... I will continue to feed daily. It's up to Joe whether he chooses to eat every day (and there are very occasional days when he panics me by not eating!)

I agree with this....

 

[tortuga_please]

I would keep the lights on their normal schedule and feed daily.

 

[pdrobber]

this is a thread with kind of related answers. some people leave the enclosure lights off for a day here and there.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...t-lives-indoor?highlight=cloudy#axzz1l0D1Eqng

 

[Drew81]

Thanks for the advice everyone, as it stands I turn the light off every Sunday but they still move about so I was thinking of only turning the light off every few weeks.

 

[Neal]

Now when I got my two girls the breeder said that once a week I should switch off the lights and nor feed them as this would mimick the fact that in real life they wouldn't find food everyday.

I just wondered if anyone else does this, or if you have any other suggestions?

Interesting. Were you able to see any of the breeders tortoises in pictures or in real life?

I would be interested to see how this method works for the breeder.

 

[Drew81]

They seemed healthy but my two just won't stop getting up and moving around

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Feed mine every day, and they get light (and water) every day...in about 40 years of tortoise keeping, I've always done it that way and see no reason for them to ever go without...it may not be "natural", but there's very little about keeping pets in captivity that's "natural".

 

[gopherhockey03]

I would feel bad! My little Russians destroy everything without food! Knock stuff over move everything in their enclosure they are little devils!!! It's easier for me just to put the food in haha But a day without food can't hurt them!

 

[Tom]

I see no reason to deprive them. I did this with my current adult sulcatas when they were babies. I now think it was a mistake. They will survive this practice, but I don't see it as beneficial at all.

 

[Drew81]

Cheers, have now decided to do away with the starvation days.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Now when I got my two girls the breeder said that once a week I should switch off the lights and nor feed them as this would mimick the fact that in real life they wouldn't find food everyday.

I just wondered if anyone else does this, or if you have any other suggestions?

I think that advice might be - might be - more relevant for carnivores than herbivores.

In the wild, carnivores may look for prey but not always find it. So, they do have adaptations for going without food for a while. This may apply to all kinds of predators, from fish to aquatic turtles to mammals, like cats and dogs.

Herbivores, however, don't really have that problem because they are, to one extent or another, surrounded by food everyday. Sure, plants have defenses, too, but basically, the only time an herbivore would be unable to find vegetation would be during the winter or dry season when plants are not growing - and many animals deal with that by either hibernating or migrating. So whether it's a tortoise, a rabbit, or a cow, an herbivore is going to be feeding everyday during the growing season.

Now, tortoises are cold-blooded, which does allow them to go for a while without food. However, if that breeder was telling you not to feed your tortoises in order to mimic wild conditions, then I don't think that's accurate, because in the wild, tortoises eat everyday, except when hibernating.

So, no, I don't think you should refrain from feeding your tortoises, unless they are overweight. Even carnivorous turtles should be fed a little bit everyday, as opposed to trying to impose a feast-and-famine regime, which is really hard to duplicate artificially.

EDIT: I think I see what he was trying to say, because yes, on bad-weather days, tortoises do not go out to forage, that's true. However, I don't really think mimicking that is to their benefit. I would argue that's just something they're adapting to put up with, not something that is really necessary to their health.

 

[Tom]

EDIT: I think I see what he was trying to say, because yes, on bad-weather days, tortoises do not go out to forage, that's true. However, I don't really think mimicking that is to their benefit. I would argue that's just something they're adapting to put up with, not something that is really necessary to their health.

I agree with this. Well worded. I have seen disastrous results when people have tried to overly restrict the food of a grazing herbivore.

On a related note, I was told that sulcatas go for 8 or 9 months with no food during the "dry" season over there, and this is why would should feed them light and skip days. Just recently, I found out from my African friend that they actually drag a ton of fresh grass down into their burrows at the end of the rainy season and eat this for the entire dry season. Seems they don't ever go without food for long in the wild.

 

[Drew81]

Seems like there is a lot of different views but in the end our lol shelled friends are different as well so I think its a case of tailoring the patterns to them individually.

Thanks everyone for your help much appreciated.