What Shop Bought Food Can I Give Him?

[TaniaB]

I was wondering if anyone can recommend any suitable salad type food that I can buy for him from a supermarket as there aren't exactly many weeds around at this time of year so I have to rely on shop bought. At the moment he's mostly eating watercress, rocket, pepper and some different dry tortoise foods but I'd like to give him a bit more variety until the weeds start sprouting. I've read on other threads that I can try him with chicory but what about carrot and radish?
Just for reference I live in the UK, my tortoise is still little and he lives in a table.

 

[Princess Nova]

I was wondering if anyone can recommend any suitable salad type food that I can buy for him from a supermarket as there aren't exactly many weeds around at this time of year so I have to rely on shop bought. At the moment he's mostly eating watercress, rocket, pepper and some different dry tortoise foods but I'd like to give him a bit more variety until the weeds start sprouting. I've read on other threads that I can try him with chicory but what about carrot and radish?
Just for reference I live in the UK, my tortoise is still little and he lives in a table.

Is he a Russian? Variety is key. Carrot and radish are OKAY in moderation, but shouldn’t be part of his daily diet. Collard greens, turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, and spring mix are all good, they are my go-to’s. You can find them in your supermarket. You can also give him the occasional squash, zucchini, broccoli & cauliflower, and much more. If you’re not sure about a certain food you’d like him to try, a quick google is easy. As long as you don’t feed one thing too much, your tort will be happy and healthy

 

[Princess Nova]

Also, you should avoid dried tortoise food. Many of these products you have to soak promote unhealthy growth rate and pyramiding. Dark, broad leaf greens are the best diet.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

 

[TechnoCheese]

Also, you should avoid dried tortoise food. Many of these products you have to soak promote unhealthy growth rate and pyramiding. Dark, broad leaf greens are the best diet.

Diet does not cause pyramiding. Pyramiding is caused by being raised in conditions that are too dry.

 

[Tom]

I was wondering if anyone can recommend any suitable salad type food that I can buy for him from a supermarket as there aren't exactly many weeds around at this time of year so I have to rely on shop bought. At the moment he's mostly eating watercress, rocket, pepper and some different dry tortoise foods but I'd like to give him a bit more variety until the weeds start sprouting. I've read on other threads that I can try him with chicory but what about carrot and radish?
Just for reference I live in the UK, my tortoise is still little and he lives in a table.

Some dry tortoise foods are better than others. Which ones are you using? In most cases those are a good way to make sure the tortoise is receiving all the balanced nutrition it needs, and they typically add fiber which is also sorely lacking in most grocery store greens.

If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. These are the most "weed-like" in their composition. Then add lots of variety to the mix. I wouldn't use carrots as they are too high in sugar. Broccoli and cauliflower are too high in goiterogens. Carrot tops, cilantro, and other dark leafy greens are all good for variety.

 

[Melis]

Is he a Russian? Variety is key. Carrot and radish are OKAY in moderation, but shouldn’t be part of his daily diet. Collard greens, turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, and spring mix are all good, they are my go-to’s. You can find them in your supermarket. You can also give him the occasional squash, zucchini, broccoli & cauliflower, and much more. If you’re not sure about a certain food you’d like him to try, a quick google is easy. As long as you don’t feed one thing too much, your tort will be happy and healthy

Be mindful of the information on find on google. A lot of the info on the internet and in books is outdated. Stick with this forum for info. And the tortoise table is a good reference as far as the food questions go.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/grocery-store-greens-good.81609/#post-759776

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-tortoise-chef.153728/

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/w...ry-and-garden-published-nutrient-list.161833/

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome @TaniaB!

When you say he’s eating pepper, do you mean capsicum? Just wanting to be sure we all mean the same thing, since we use different words in different areas. I agree with most here he should be eating it very rarely. VERY rarely.

You can try him with radish and carrot tops, not the actual vegetables.

I might be remembering the product name wrong but I believe in the UK there is a bagged mix called “Crispy Florets” that is all chicories (good). @JoesMum can help me on the product and/or stores. She also knows some of the better dried foods available where you are.

In the UK there is a also dried food we can’t get in the U.S.; Pre Alpin is the brand name. Their regular product “Testudo Fibre” should be fine but I notice they are now marketing a “baby” version. It comes in a pink bag, for babies, I guess. https://www.agrobs.de/futter/en/shop/PRE+ALPIN+Testudo+Baby/?shop_category=&card=1572&var=true

 

[DARKFIRE007]

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That is an EPIC chart...I am going to keep that thing. Can actually use that to up my females calcium without powdering her half to death with multi-vitamin.

Great post.

 

[TaniaB]

Thank you for all the advice; I'm trying to give him the widest variety of food that I can so that he can get all of the vitamins he needs until it gets consistently warm enough for him to go outside during the day. But I am getting concerned that I might be feeding him too much each day as he's started to get small white marks on his shell and I've read that over feeding can cause that?

 

[Tom]

Thank you for all the advice; I'm trying to give him the widest variety of food that I can so that he can get all of the vitamins he needs until it gets consistently warm enough for him to go outside during the day. But I am getting concerned that I might be feeding him too much each day as he's started to get small white marks on his shell and I've read that over feeding can cause that?

Small white marks? Caused by over feeding? Not anything I've ever heard of. Are you talking about the little white squiggly lines, or the new growth lines? Either way, both are normal and not harmful. Growth is a sign of good health.

 

[TaniaB]

I’ll put a picture up tomorrow when he’s woken up.

 

[TaniaB]

Its the intermittent line running along the bottom of the main plates just above the little ones along the bottom edge.

 

[Tom]

Its the intermittent line running along the bottom of the main plates just above the little ones along the bottom edge.

That is normal looking new growth. A sign that you are doing things right.

 

[Yvonne G]

I was wondering if anyone can recommend any suitable salad type food that I can buy for him from a supermarket as there aren't exactly many weeds around at this time of year so I have to rely on shop bought. At the moment he's mostly eating watercress, rocket, pepper and some different dry tortoise foods but I'd like to give him a bit more variety until the weeds start sprouting. I've read on other threads that I can try him with chicory but what about carrot and radish?
Just for reference I live in the UK, my tortoise is still little and he lives in a table.

It's pretty easy here in the states to get the right kind of greens. We have a product here called "Santa Barbara Mix". It's a packaged salad consisting of endive, escarole and radicchio. This is a very good staple. Then to that I add edible weeds and leaves from the yard. I occasionally add soaked Zoo Med Grassland Tortoise Food or Mazuri Tortoise Diet. In the UK, where those items aren't available, tortoise keepers use (Dang it! The name escapes me, but it's a large lizard, maybe Komodo Dragon diet. It comes in different flavors and there's one that's quite suitable for tortoises).

 

[TaniaB]

That is normal looking new growth. A sign that you are doing things right.

Thank you for reassuring me, I was just a bit concerned that I might be over feeding him with the line appearing and the weight gain.

 

[Tom]

Thank you for reassuring me, I was just a bit concerned that I might be over feeding him with the line appearing and the weight gain.

Baby tortoises are supposed to grow! Stop reading that old incorrect info that convinces you that growth is somehow bad. Feed your baby a good high fiber diet, keep him hydrated with soaks and a water dish or two, give him a humid hide and some damp substrate, and enjoy watching him thrive and grow.