What am I looking for?

[Amanda81]

When you are looking up nutritional values of certain items, what should you been looking for? Fiber, vit a,b,c, calcium? Or every single thing? What should I look at to see which is more nutritional for my tortoise? I found 2 different value tables but didn't know which I should really compare. There is a short version table and then there is a long version table.

 

[Amanda81]

With the short version one I can select my food item and the serving amount, therefore I can put in same amount for each food item and see which has the higher or lower values for that specific food item. My concern is that the short version might be missing an important vitamin or mineral value that I should be taking into consideration when I do my comparison.

 

[Amanda81]

For example I chose plantain and grape leaveS. I can chose the exact same amount serving size for both and get a true comparison of values. My issue is, is there a limit? Is there a certain amount of calcium that's too much? At what percentage do u say, ok too much fiber, we may have watery poos? What are the important items to compare?

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I have never had an issue with TOO MUCH fiber, it is really just good for them... anyone else?
I'm sorry, I usually just pick the weeds and vary them up all the time to ensure everyone's getting what they are supposed too haha, now I'm thinking I should really check to see what's in them!

 

[Amanda81]

The fiber was an example. What I'm asking is, do I need to be looking at more then what's on this short version? Should I find a nutritional guide that has all the vitamin and minerals listed or are the important things on short list? I would like to educate myself on the nutritional value of some the items I am feeding my torts and would like to know what I should be looking for, what's the point in looking it all up if I don't know what to look for? I don't know if there is an amount that would be considered too much. If humans eat something real high in fiber, we poo more then usual, or should anyways, is this the same for torts?

 

[Jabuticaba]

Just an observation, the values for the "plantain" look more like those of bananas and not the weed.


May
THBs: Darwin & Merlin
Aussies: Dax, Vegas, & Cricket
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES

 

[Levi the Leopard]

That all sounds like way too much work for me. I guess it doesn't hurt anything to research all the nutritional values of everything...but I don't think it's needed either.

I make sure my guy gets a lot of grasses, weeds and as much variety from the "good stuff" list as possible. I do my best to limit anything store bought and grow my own of what I can. It's worked well so far and I don't feel any pressure from trying to over analyze every detail

So to bluntly answer your question (with every intent of helping you, not harassing you) is I don't look for the nutritional values of anything.

 

[zenoandthetortoise]

Excellent question! The bummer is that I have never found a definitive guide on the subject, so we are left with generalities. The first to consider is that the %RDA is not relevant in absolute terms as it is calibrated for human (or in some cases, livestock) requirements. It can indicate relative nutrient components and that can be helpful. For example, vitamin A is a critical nutrient that is easy to over supplement, but almost impossible to OD on from biological sources. So as you are selecting foods, make sure that a rich source of vitamin A is present.
As to the short form label; a significant gap is the amount of phosphorous. The big issue here is that the ratio of phosphorous to calcium can render calcium unavailable. For that consider the attached reference.



As to the nuances of nutrition, there are so many unknowns, that is where variety comes into play. There are many strategies to address. I aim for 10 different plant families each meal and make regular use of Tortoise Supply's herbal hay as well as weekly use of Mazuri.

 

[Amanda81]

Just an observation, the values for the "plantain" look more like those of bananas and not the weed.


May
THBs: Darwin & Merlin
Aussies: Dax, Vegas, & Cricket
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES

Well that's something to perhaps look into. Isn't banana's on the "bad" list?

 

[Amanda81]

Ya I have been doing a lot of reading and come to the conclusion it's really just trail and error with this topic