Tortoise diet

[Karebear123]

Hi all! Today we brought my female leopard tortoise to the vet due to a limp she had. Essentially they just said she was low in calcium and need to add more to her diet and to get her to eat more “earthy greens” like grass and hay. So I guess I have 2 questions 1. My tortoises will not eat grass or hay we have grass in our yard and I’ve tried grass hay before and they won’t touch it. Any recommendations to get them to like it? And question 2. Are there any other types of greens we could give them that would be similar enough to grass and hay that it would be effective like dandelion greens? (They love those!!) TIA!!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome!

You tried mixing fresh grass in with the regular feed?

Just to check, your tortoises aren’t housed as a pair are they? tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial, behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about.

Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

Theres a good diet link to check out in this thread I made towards the bottom, it includes lots of different plants to try and ones to keep clear of

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for this guy until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give you some ideas! I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[wellington]

How old and big is your tortoise?
What size enclosure is it in?
What are you feeding it now?
How much are you feeding?
Do you give any calcium?

 

[wellington]

What kind of test did they do to say low in calcium?
If they did nothing but look at her then they have no clue and do not return to them.
Tortoises should not be fed one thing but a variety of as much different food as possible. Dandelion is fine but not daily and the only item.
Cactus pads, mulberry leaf, hibiscus leaf and flower, rose of Sharon leaf and flower.
Babies usually won't eat hay or grass but if you do try it, cut it up small and with the hay use orchard grass hay and soak it. Also mazuri tortoise pellets is a good food to round out grocery greens
Usually when tortoises can walk, it's a bladder stone, metabolic bone disease or raised in too small enclosure or on slippery floors.

 

[Tom]

Hi all! Today we brought my female leopard tortoise to the vet due to a limp she had. Essentially they just said she was low in calcium and need to add more to her diet and to get her to eat more “earthy greens” like grass and hay. So I guess I have 2 questions 1. My tortoises will not eat grass or hay we have grass in our yard and I’ve tried grass hay before and they won’t touch it. Any recommendations to get them to like it? And question 2. Are there any other types of greens we could give them that would be similar enough to grass and hay that it would be effective like dandelion greens? (They love those!!) TIA!!

Vets usually don't know much about tortoise care. Regular leopards really aren't big on eating grass, and they really don't care for hay. Here are some suggestions for you in addition to what the other posters left:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

Regular leopards eat a lot of succulents in the wild. Opuntia doesn't occur in Africa, but it is a succulent, its very high in calcium and fiber, and thy usually love it. Lucky for you, people grow it all over AZ.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

What are you using as a uvb source? Forgive me if you've already mentioned it.
All the calcium in the world won't help without a way to convert it into something that his bones and shell can use

 

[Karebear123]

What kind of test did they do to say low in calcium?
If they did nothing but look at her then they have no clue and do not return to them.
Tortoises should not be fed one thing but a variety of as much different food as possible. Dandelion is fine but not daily and the only item.
Cactus pads, mulberry leaf, hibiscus leaf and flower, rose of Sharon leaf and flower.
Babies usually won't eat hay or grass but if you do try it, cut it up small and with the hay use orchard grass hay and soak it. Also mazuri tortoise pellets is a good food to round out grocery greens
Usually when tortoises can walk, it's a bladder stone, metabolic bone disease or raised in too small enclosure or on slippery floors.

Thank you! She did an xray and said her bone density was low. We spent 700$ basically to figure out she may have just pulled a muscle! They gave us some pain meds but tomorrow will be her last dose and she is still dragging her leg. My female and male are separate and I’ve kept her confined in a very small area so she can rest the muscle but I feel terrible for her!!! She’s about 7 years old and weighs 25lbs. She gets calcium on her food 3-4x a week but now it’s everyday. Her diet usually consists of a mix of romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, bok choy greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, hibiscus leaves, cucumber, collard greens, and sometimes strawberries. She lives outside during the hot months more confined to the side of the yard that’s mostly shaded, with misters. But the rest of the year we’ll rotate them to have full range of our backyard. And for the winters they both have a little dog house with a heater attached to the top of it, and a uvb bulb. I’ll attach a photo of the receipt I got from the vet which will show exactly what tests they did. I took a screen shot of the food recommendations you guys gave me below and I will try incorporating more of that into their diets. Thank you!

 

[wellington]

No strawberries or any fruit.