What do your tortoises like?

[TortoisesRock!]

My lil Russian loves collard greens! We have also tried very dark leaf lettuces, but her favorite so far is definitely the collards. She also loves dandelion greens, of course! She is absolutely thrilled by banana, don't worry I know this is a treat for her so she recieves it infrequently. I was just wondering what everyone elses' torts enjoy eating?

 

[Defiant]

I feed Dandelion, Grape, Escarole and Collard. Fruits I feed Cantaloupe, plum, mango and strawberry. Mine shows no preference as long as its fresh.

 

[ChiKat]

Nelson (Russian) will eat anything I give him but he really seems to like radicchio. He also loves clover, both the leaves and the flower.

 

[Tom]

I've never had a picky russian. At least not once they acclimated to captivity. Some of the fresh imports take a while to get up to speed, but if you keep them warm enough, set them up right and worm them (if needed), they should eat just about anything you put in front of them, especially in the spring time. I've had people give them to me and tell me the were picky or just not hungry. Once I set them up, the appetite was always great. Over time I began to speculate that some people must be missing some element of the husbandry. The most logical conclusion was temperatures, but maybe its a combination of elements.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I think mine love rose petals the most.

 

[tortoisenerd]

My littlle guy probably likes Mazuri/Grassland best, followed by pumpkin and squash, followed by edible flowers, followed by mustard and radish greens. Hates collard greens but will eat them if that is all on his tile. Never fed him fruit.

 

[TortoisesRock!]

What's this Mazuri? I've heard it mentioned quite a bit on the site.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Its a commercial tortoise diet (one of the two I'd recommend; most are junk) made by Purina. It comes in pellets that for most torts you'd want to soak in warm water. They love it, but I consider it a good small part of the diet. Some people on the forum sell it, or you can get it on Ebay or lots of other places. People buy the 25 lb containers and re-package it, or you can buy a 1 lb bag yourself. Some even feed this as the tort's only food. Zoos use it. The other one I like is Grassland Tortoise Food, which is rather comparable.

 

[TortoisesRock!]

ok, thanks! I'll look into that!

 

[dmmj]

A word of advice don't introduce your russian(s) to hibiscus unless you have a steady supply of them, mine act like little crack addicts around them, I am just glad I got about a dozen or so plants.

 

[samstar]

My Stars are hooked on to Mazuri like drugs