Was I Under-feeding?

[hunterk997]

My russian tortoise's level of activity was extremely low. I have a feeling that I might not have been feeding enough. This week she has been eating green leaf lettuce. I was feeding one big leaf of it, they are each around six inches long, and four to five inche wide. I though this was too much, actually. But a few days ago, I was out visiting family, and my parents cared for her for me, and turned the lights on/off and fed her. They fed her three of these huge leaves. Then when I came back later that day, she was very active. She was exploring, basking, and digging. So since then I have been feeding her two leaves and it rakes up all of her food dish, basking rock, and some of her "walk ways." she has remained active, even more actually. So I was wondering, if it was possible that I was under feeding. I also asked about her inactivity a few times and I have been confirmed the conditions are close to correct, if that helps.


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[wellington]

I feed my leopard and Russian a big handful. If they eat it all, I give them more. I always make sure they have some left over for nibbling. They also have to opportunity to graze all day. One leaf of lettuce is not enough. Also, be sure to give a wide variety of food, not just one or two things, as many as possible.

 

[tyrs4u]

Lol I've had 4 inch Russians & Sulcatas that could polish off two heads of romaine for breakfast Before everything else

 

[EchoTheLeoTort]

agreed with Barb. Offer variety, and enough food for your tort to finish. If she finished the one leaf you were feeding per day, you need to up the food she is probably still hungry. It'll be okay though, just start feeding the proper amount. If you want to find it. Offer 3 big pieces of lettuce, watch her eat, see how much she takes in. Keep it in mind then leave. Come back later in the day and see if any of the remaining food was eaten again. This means she is nibbling, and its best to stick with the 3 pieces.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Definitely wasn't enough of food.

Heather
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[hunterk997]

Thanks for the responses. I'll stick with the three peices and see if she nibbles throughout the day. I do offer variety, it's just that this week I bought her artichoke and green lettuce, but she doesn't like artichoke. So this week is green leaf. This coming week will probably be cilantro and arugula.


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[ascott]

http://www.britishleafysalads.co.uk/know/leaf-guide.shtml

If you don't have access to a variety of weeds and such from your yard then the link will show you a variety of store bought foods....

I would tightly grab an entire handful (or a couple-to equal the size of the tort) of greens and leave that for your tort --this is a good starting size of how much to offer...

they are each around six inches long, and four to five inche wide.

If you were offering one leaf for multiple torts then absolutely there was a food shortage for them....I would offer food piles equal to each of their shells....

 

[hunterk997]

When I was saying size, I was refering to the leaf. And I only have one tortoise, norl worries. And I just found last week that our local tops as tons of tortoise safe foods. They also have a huge variety.


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[GeoTerraTestudo]

A good rule of thumb is to offer a pile of food about as big as the tortoise, or what the tortoise can eat in about 20 minutes. Many keepers (including me) like to feed this in the morning and let them eat the leftovers throughout the day, but you could offer it later in the day if you wish. If you split the rations into two (or three) servings per day, then divide the amount each time accordingly. Some keepers like to skip feeding days sometimes, based on the idea that in the wild, tortoises might not find food everyday. However, I don't think tortoises actually need to skip days; it's just that life in the wild can be tough sometimes.