I have heard for longest time...tortoises are to eat veggies and little fruit only, then recently I've heard they need meat in their diet to prevent leg paralysis. I have 3 beautiful russians and 2 gorgeous baby redfoots. The reds I have got to eat a little bit of protein very easily, the russians I have not tried yet. But....thanks to loads of research, it is hard to find the real answer on who eats meat and who does not. I have finally found an article that explained...tropical tortoises require some meat for protein, but Mediterranean tortoises should never have meat in their diet. I am so very relieved I have never given any to my russians. I have tried to do a search on here if russians can eat meat, but nothing. So I am hoping this helps a few of us out there to understand the differences a bit more. If anyone else has knowledge or input to this as well, please add. The more we learn about our little family members, the happier they will be.
To eat meat or not to eat meat, that is the question
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T4bsF
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I've had a tortoise for over forty years - he's always lived outside and hibernated outside. In all that time, I've taken him to the vet once to have his nails clipped. His main diet is Chappie (tinned dog food) supplemented with lettuce, tomatoes, apple, cucumber, dandelions, nasturtiums etc. He's always woken from his hibernation with bright, clear, shiny eyes and has steadily put on weight year on year. All this seems to be the reverse of most things I read on here - but if he's been happy and healthy for well over forty years (I don't know how old he was when he strolled into my back garden - but was approx 7lb in weight) - I don't think I could have been doing too much wrong!!!
As this thread is almost a year old, I'm hoping you've since found the answer to your inquiry. This forum has been extremely helpful for new keepers in clearing up any confusion. The best place to start is with the care sheet for your particular tortoise species.
Redfoot Care Sheet:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/redfoot-tortoise-caresheet.172531/
Russian Care Sheet:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
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Redfoot can eat a diet of 75% fruit and live well.
Especially if were talking about low sugar fruit like figs. Etc.
They also can eat quite a bit of animal protein.
The Redfoot diet is a diet that will kill your Russians.
This is my regimen:
Fruit 50%
Green leaves and flowers 40%
Mushroom, dog food, meat and eggs 10%
This is my average here in Florida.
Redfoot can and will eat SO MANY THINGS!
For your Russians, I suggest you make another post.
They require different care.
(And seperate enclosures)
Especially if were talking about low sugar fruit like figs. Etc.
They also can eat quite a bit of animal protein.
The Redfoot diet is a diet that will kill your Russians.
This is my regimen:
Fruit 50%
Green leaves and flowers 40%
Mushroom, dog food, meat and eggs 10%
This is my average here in Florida.
Redfoot can and will eat SO MANY THINGS!
For your Russians, I suggest you make another post.
They require different care.
(And seperate enclosures)
At first my thoughts were exactly the same as yours & believed red foots preferred eating 45% tortoise pet food, 45% greens, 9% fruits & only 1% meats, but that was what the pet shop tells me & want you to believe because they sold me the pet food from day one. But now I discovered my red foot is addicted to all kinds of animal proteins & is now eating tuna fish, raw salmon & along with plants, flowers, leaves, fruits & Mazuri tortoise pet food. This diet wouldn't work for other kinds of tortoises like sulcatas etc...
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Correct.
Redfoot can process sugars. Most other species can not.
One of the many great reasons to keep Redfoot is because of how easy they are to provide safe and healthy food for.
They are natures vacuum cleaners.
That is funny to think about, but also a very good point. Redfoots must fulfill a similar niche as the vulture in terms of cleanup. Cool stuff.
I'm a little concerned about why my little red foot still needs me to place food directly in front of her to start eating, I've once in a while seen her forage around on her own sniffing throught the substrates for something to eat. I don't usually keep uneaten left overs all day in the enclosure as it dries up because of the light, sometimes she eats once & later refuses further foods.
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I'm still concerned about that MVB bulb that you're still using.
Yes the mercury vapor bulb is still in use along side an incandescent bulb for heat only, I had noticed the MVB became much less bright than first installed. It has only been in use for 3 weeks but it's much dimmer now & I don't keep it on for extended priors of time beyond 7 hours as I use the incandescent lamp half the time for heat & lamination of just 40 watts, I understand now that MVB's are more harsh on the eyes of tortoises so from the start I only choose the lowest of 80 watts compared to others of 100 & above. I think my RF tort does hide regardless of any light & I haven't noticed her eyes being shut during times when she's active, in your opinion is it best just to use a UVB alone separately & is it absolutely necessary to have a UVA bulb than an ordinary incandescent bulb? What is the importance of Solar self-ballasted in a UV light & one's without?
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The MVB doesnt distribute UVB efficiency and they are not consistent one to the other with some having almost no UVB and another blasting out entirely too much.
They also dry out the enclosure and cause pyramiding by drying out the tortoises shell.
Redfoot aren't like most other tortoises. They are very uncomfortable in bright light. MVB are very intense. Redfoot also don't need a lot of heat. A MVB projects a lot of heat. Redfoot don't require a lot of UVB with a good diet. That MVB may be dumping out 10 times (or more) more than is needed.
Where are you located?
I have several strip florescent UVB lamps I don't need. That you are welcome to keep.
That thing needs to go.
Then we can see how much of the problem was the MVB and continue to go from there.
Aren't you letting your tortoise have some actual sunlight? (I don't recall) if so, I'd just get rid of that MVB and just use a small wattage heat source like that incandescent bulb you mentioned.
I've been reading your posts. And I've offered help. I've warned about that MVB since your first post. I'm still convinced that that horrible MVB is still the cause, at least partially for a lot of the issues that you are continuing to have.
You're from HK? Is that Hong Kong?
If you're in the United States I'll pay for shipping of the new light.
If it's Hong Kong....That's another story.
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Thanks so much, you have been immensely helpful in sharing your sensible experience & advice. Yes I totally agree the MVB isn't appropriate for any tortoises maybe suitable for other reptiles like dissert lizards that isn't affected by intense light & heat, I did used another UV full spectrum bulb initially at the beginning but due to improper use from lack of experience it soon burned out & was replaced with this MVB one which I immediately noticed a change in my torts behaviour. As for calcium intake I purchased ZOO MED calcium carbonate with D3 & a cuttlefish bone to bite on, the pet shop insisted for full synthesize of D3 a UVB light is essential & yes I do take my tort out for 30 minutes to 1 hour of natural sunlight whenever possible 3 times per week when weather permits. I appreciate your kind offer but unfortunately there's a voltage difference from the States as 110v & HK is 220v, even neighbouring countries here are of different voltages from country to country like Europe, the Americas, the Middle East & Africa. I notice some warmer states like Florida keep an outdoor enclosure but other states can't. In HK we do have mild winters & very balmy summers & it's probably more suitable to keep RF's than many colder climate regions, unfortunately I live in an apartment that doesn't get direct sunlight in the house so have to take her out to parks for roaming etc....
A tortoise in the wild may take few bite of an animal carcass when he walk by. And I saw a photo show an Sulcata that eating a rat he "caught".
I'm not sure for regular diet.
I'm not sure for regular diet.
I've seen that too, RF's are true omnivores. From what I've learnt on this forum I've began to feed my red foot fish & chicken in addition to fruits & vegetables in the first month, so far raw salmon, canned tuna, 2/3 cooked chicken & egg whites she wasn't too interested in as animal protein was offered. As to fruits blueberries, star fruits & mangos were ignored surprisingly, she didn't cared too much for broccoli & salad green lettuces either. I follow & watch Kamp Kenan as it's pretty good entertainment but I understand he isn't your typical average pet owner, he raises his torts differently in much larger scales & breeds & trades them. I'm interested seeing him raise different breeds of tortoises & kept them all divided in separate enclosures etc...I found friends in the past raised mostly turtles completely wrong & they still managed to survive, could it be turtles needs much less care with providing them the essentials as tortoises do? I've seen people keep their turtles in appalling conditions for years which was sad when I think of it, many of these turtle pet owners brought them impulsively & mislead by bad pet shop salespeople that these animals requires little to care for.
How often should I feed my red foot tort? She doesn't seems to have any preferred time of eating, I tried feeding her early in the morning after a hydration soak & she does nibble on some & on other times she would eat a little in the afternoons & I also offer her a meal in the evenings. I haven't found out her preferred time for feeding yet, should they even be fed more than once? At times hardly anything is eaten, I heard in the wild red foots eats one large meal & hardly at all for 2-3 days.
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I feed my Redfoot, and other forest tortoises, meat about once a week.
The meat is most often reptilinks, but I've also fed them whole shrimp (with shells), salmon with skin, and beef or chicken liver.
Jamie
The meat is most often reptilinks, but I've also fed them whole shrimp (with shells), salmon with skin, and beef or chicken liver.
Jamie
I've never tried feeding liver. Do you feed it raw?
That's great, sea food & chicken are most often feed to my RF tort. They will eat raw fish & partly cooked chicken but I haven't tried any others except once with boiled egg whites but she didn't care for it, I will try insects like crickets, earth worms, meal worms or something they will encounter in the wild. Do you suggest raw over cooked?
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