Variety in meals

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Hi Sydnee. You've gotten all good advice in this thread so far. In my own words:
I would cut out the romaine and any other lettuce and replace it with the previously suggested endive and escarole.

Learn to ID your local weeds. These are the best foods for your tortoise and they are free. Just be sure there are no chemicals on them. You can also add in a variety of leaves and some spineless opuntia pads too, aka: nopales.

I would not add any soil, but making the current coir substrate thicker and more damp is a good idea.

Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. It is not caused by food.

You don't have to hibernate your tortoise, but I am of the opinion that it is best to hibernate species that would hibernate in the wild. I've always hibernated all my russians of any age. We will help you with this whichever way you decide to go.

Here is a list of other good foods to search for or grow:
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
 

Sydnee

New Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
Messages
29
Hi Sydnee. You've gotten all good advice in this thread so far. In my own words:
I would cut out the romaine and any other lettuce and replace it with the previously suggested endive and escarole.

Learn to ID your local weeds. These are the best foods for your tortoise and they are free. Just be sure there are no chemicals on them. You can also add in a variety of leaves and some spineless opuntia pads too, aka: nopales.

I would not add any soil, but making the current coir substrate thicker and more damp is a good idea.

Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. It is not caused by food.

You don't have to hibernate your tortoise, but I am of the opinion that it is best to hibernate species that would hibernate in the wild. I've always hibernated all my russians of any age. We will help you with this whichever way you decide to go.

Here is a list of other good foods to search for or grow:
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


Great info! Thank you! I definitely need to learn how to ID plants. Im just worried about possible pesticides?
Definately buying seed mix though ☺
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
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Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
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Great info! Thank you! I definitely need to learn how to ID plants. Im just worried about possible pesticides?
Definately buying seed mix though ☺

Its okay to worry. Concern and caution is warranted. You just have to assess things and make a good guess. You know grocery store stuff is not 100% guaranteed safe either. It is grown with all sorts of chemicals and pesticides too, even when they label it "organic". Knowing this stuff is my smart wife's business and I think most people would be shocked if they knew what all can be labeled "natural" or "organic".

With weeds I look for signs of insect damage and spider webs. If they were sprayed with chemicals, then in most cases "bugs" are not going to eat them or live on them. The yards of friends, family and neighbors often contain treasure troves of good tortoise food. I regularly raid my parents yard for mulberry leaves, blue hibiscus leaves and flowers, all sorts of weeds, and some flowers species too.
 

Sydnee

New Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2016
Messages
29
Its okay to worry. Concern and caution is warranted. You just have to assess things and make a good guess. You know grocery store stuff is not 100% guaranteed safe either. It is grown with all sorts of chemicals and pesticides too, even when they label it "organic". Knowing this stuff is my smart wife's business and I think most people would be shocked if they knew what all can be labeled "natural" or "organic".

With weeds I look for signs of insect damage and spider webs. If they were sprayed with chemicals, then in most cases "bugs" are not going to eat them or live on them. The yards of friends, family and neighbors often contain treasure troves of good tortoise food. I regularly raid my parents yard for mulberry leaves, blue hibiscus leaves and flowers, all sorts of weeds, and some flowers species too.
Good idea!
Are these prickly pears ok?Screenshot_20160807-112658.png
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
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Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
The fruits are okay once in a while, but the pads are good on a more regular basis.
 

TammyJ

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Joined
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Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
Hello everyone! I am new to the forum, but have learned a lot while reading all of the posts. I have a russian named Todd. I've had him for almost two months. I've been feeding him a little over a hand full of greens/ weeds 6 days a week. I have been keeping as much variety as possible. I am putting a list down below of everything I have been feeding him. I just wanted some ideas from you guys. I buy everything organic.
Italian blend salad mix (no spinach)
Romaine
Collard greens
Dandelion greens
Baby kale
Sunflower sprouts
Wheat grass (and opinion on how often wheat grass should be fed)?
Mustard greens
Cilantro
Frisee
Arugula

Once a week I feed him a small amount of:
Carrots (a few shreads)
Broccoli
Squash

I have been dusting his food 3-4 times with calicum (without D3) and multivitamins. I have two bearded dragons and luckily they have similar needs. Please post any thoughts or suggestions! Thanks guys! ☺
What happens on the 7th day of the week? Is that his Day of Rest? LOL!!!
The food you give him makes me hungry!
 
Joined
Mar 31, 2016
Messages
53
LOL that 7th day comment made me laugh! This thread was helpful to me. I think I have been feeding my Russian too much lettuce mix. Its just so easy. I fed him 2 green beans tonight and he gobbled them, is that okay? There are so many weeds here but they are tough to identify.
 

RosemaryDW

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Newport Coast, CA
@TerraTheRussian, I don't know about green beans; not necessarily bad but not ideal.

Weeds are not easy to identify at the beginning but it does get easier with practice. You'll start to notice which weeds are "damaged" as Tom says, and which areas near you are likely to be unsprayed.

I don't know where you live. I start my searches looking for "common weeds" in the area. These are usually designed by pesticide companies or county agriculture offices; people whose job it is to get rid of weeds. They talk about the places you are likely to find weeds, along with lots of pictures of weeds and ways to identify them. You can do a search for common wildflowers as well, if you really want to learn more. Wildflowers and weeds are often the same thing: plants that don't need our help to grow naturally.

The testudo mix is great but I eventually found that it was easier for me to find weeds and some of the other safe foods that Tom listed above than to grow my own. Plus I get the benefit of taking a walk outdoors! This year I got good enough finding weeds that I was able to get some seeds; that's what I'll be putting in my side yard this year. If they grow, great, if not, I'll find some more. :)
 
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