Sulcata General Information Q’s

[tortoiseplanet]

Hello,
I’m currently building my own website that will house general information and care for EVERY single specie of tortoise. This is my basic outline:

**THIS IS FOR A RUSSIAN TORTOISE:

General Information
Size: 8 to 10 inches
Life Span: 40+ years
Male Sexual Maturity: 5+ inches
Females Lay Eggs: 6+ inches
Diet
The following greens are easily found in my local stores:

GREENS
Romaine lettuce (fed on occasion)
Red and green leaf lettuce (fed on occasion)
Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Chicory
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Kale
Collards
Spring Mix (mixed salad greens)
Cabbage (fed on occasion)


With the above veggies one can develop a good diet. Variety is the key!
Don't feed the same foods everyday.
Mix varieties and choose a different green as the basis every few days.

OTHER GOOD CHOICES
Some other favorites for Russian Tortoises that are available:
Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Cactus Pads
Hosta
Sedum
Mulberry leaves
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Dandelion
Plantain (not the banana type fruit....the weed plantago major)
Mallow (flowers and leaves)
Henbit
Rose (flowers and leaves....make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
Californian Poppy escholzia
Chia Salvia hispanica
Make sure all are pesticide and herbicide free.

AVOID
The following food items should be avoided for a variety of reasons:
All fruit (although fruit is often recommended, its sugar content can lead to parasite blooms....just not worth it) the exceptions are apples due to the high quantity of pectin, and water melon to ensure hydration on hot and dry days.
Iceberg lettuce
Bok Choy
All grains (including bread, pasta etc)
Dog and cat food
Meat
All human food except what's been listed as "good"




**that is the complete care and information for the Russian Tortoise. As time goes I will create more pages and add more information of different topics but that’s enough for now to accomplish for every specie. If you have ANY information it would help as I can’t find most info on any websites. If you know any info listed above for ANY other Tortoise Specie please also let me know.
Thank you!

 

[Yvonne G]

Your food list is heavy towards grocery store greens. I think it should lean more towards wild food. We have two good Russian tortoise care sheets here on the Forum, plus, russiantortoise.org has a good care sheet.

So, did you put up the russian care as an example of how you want to make a sulcata care sheet? I'm trying to figure out why the subject title says "sulcata" yet the info in the thread says "russian."

 

[wellington]

The main thing missing I think for doing care sheets is hydration and humidity and size of enclosures these tortoises need. Adding a link to a food list would be easier then trying to list it all. Then add in more housing info like I mentioned.

 

[tortoiseplanet]

Your food list is heavy towards grocery store greens. I think it should lean more towards wild food. We have two good Russian tortoise care sheets here on the Forum, plus, russiantortoise.org has a good care sheet.

So, did you put up the russian care as an example of how you want to make a sulcata care sheet? I'm trying to figure out why the subject title says "sulcata" yet the info in the thread says "russian."

Yes, I put it as an example to show the format. I put grocery foods because many people don’t have access to the more wild foods. Yet it is a good idea to add a list for both. I want to create a website that has care information and general info of every specie all found in one easy to navigate website. The information I need I’m even struggling to find online for Sulcatas, so how am I going to find it for the more rare tortoises? There are no sufficient updated websites easily accessible.

 

[tortoiseplanet]

The main thing missing I think for doing care sheets is hydration and humidity and size of enclosures these tortoises need. Adding a link to a food list would be easier then trying to list it all. Then add in more housing info like I mentioned.

I’m going to add a more paragraphed care page for each specie that will include enclosures, humidity, etc. That will be the more in-depth part. For now I’m creating this portion (which is still taking a ton of time to construct and find the correct information for).

 

[Big Charlie]

Yes, I put it as an example to show the format. I put grocery foods because many people don’t have access to the more wild foods. Yet it is a good idea to add a list for both. I want to create a website that has care information and general info of every specie all found in one easy to navigate website. The information I need I’m even struggling to find online for Sulcatas, so how am I going to find it for the more rare tortoises? There are no sufficient updated websites easily accessible.

Why aren't you looking at the care sheets provided in the stickies of each subforum? No need to reinvent the wheel.

 

[tortoiseplanet]

Why aren't you looking at the care sheets provided in the stickies of each subforum? No need to reinvent the wheel.

I have. It does not have ALL the information I am looking for. No care sheet does. I’m putting together information from numerable references to create one care sheet for every species on one website. Which will house general and more advanced care information that will always be updated. I see your take on this, but this website is not only for TFO members but for the near 10,000 people following @tortoiseplanet on Instagram. You’d be surprised of the many emails I receive daily. I can tell you I’ve probably saved hundreds of tortoises lives from typing behind a screen, so many tortoises are mishandled and cared for all throughout the world. This website is going to be a game changer.