What do you guys feed your Russian torts?

[SnapperAndShelldon]

Hey everyone, I feed my Russian Tortoise (Shelldon) spring mix, prickly pear, a little bit of romaine, a little bit of butter lettuce, dandelions, lots of home-grown lettuce, and sometimes little bits of apple, and also rarely pellet food on the side. I've just been curious about what you guys like to feed your Russians, considering I'd like to mix it up a bit more.

What do your torts like to snack on? I avoid those really sugary fruits like tomato and such.

Thanks!

~Jill (and Shelldon )

 

[Tom]

Apple is a very sugary fruit. I would avoid that one too. Your tortoise needs more fibrous weeds, leaves and other foods of that nature. Here is a small starter list of some possibilities:
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

 

[SnapperAndShelldon]

Thanks! Much appreciated.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Your tortoise will benefit from less lettuce and more fiber. Tom’s list is a great resource. You do need to stop feeding apple.

Not wanting to toot my own horn but if you read through this thread, you’ll see quite a few posts from me on what I feed my Russian. Basically she gets the kitchen sink.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-tortoise-chef.153728/

Some but not all of the resources I mention may be useful in your area.

 

[SnapperAndShelldon]

I've picked dandelions and grape leaves for him and he seems to like those. I'll order some "testudo seed mix" and today I'll go out for wild onions.