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I have been feeding my little ones a mixture of dark lettuces, mangos,apples and butternut squash. Any more suggestions?
What veggies are best for baby redfoots?
- Thread starter irishbelle30
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For my red foots, I go with a 60/30/10 ratio. Thats 60% leafy greens, 30% fruit, 10% vegetables. Here is a good list of foods to feed.
Greens:
Collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, radicchio, watercress, dandelion, chicory, endive, escarole, grape leaves. Some other foods to mention are kale and spinach. Kale has a bit of goitrogens (a substance that can inhibit iodine absorption. Basically, a bad thing), and spinach a little bit of oxalates. Regardless, kale and spinach are what I refer to as "in the fridge" foods. Once a week is very nutritious and beneficial, but shouldn't really be offered any more often then that.
Fruit:
Plum, peach, apple, pear, grape, canteloupe, honeydew, papaya, kiwi, fig, watermelon, mango, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry
Vegetables:
Squashes such as yellow and green squashes, butternut, acorn. Pumpkin is very good also, and sweet potatoes
Another thing I'd like to mention is, if you are in a warm climate, a rose of sharon or hibiscus bush is very good to buy. The leaves and flowers are very nutritious. Whenever it is warm enough, I would recommend buying a plant, and feeding the leaves and flowers. They are loved by tortoises, and very healthy.
Also, mushrooms. Shiitake and portabella mushrooms are pretty nutritious, and good to offer when you have them.
Mazuri is always good to! Some keepers feed it 100%, some 50/50 with fresh foods, some 25/75, and some just a few pellets a week as a supplement. However you do it, its good stuff. Several members here sell it, and the torts like it.
Just remember, variety is key
.
Greens:
Collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, radicchio, watercress, dandelion, chicory, endive, escarole, grape leaves. Some other foods to mention are kale and spinach. Kale has a bit of goitrogens (a substance that can inhibit iodine absorption. Basically, a bad thing), and spinach a little bit of oxalates. Regardless, kale and spinach are what I refer to as "in the fridge" foods. Once a week is very nutritious and beneficial, but shouldn't really be offered any more often then that.
Fruit:
Plum, peach, apple, pear, grape, canteloupe, honeydew, papaya, kiwi, fig, watermelon, mango, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry
Vegetables:
Squashes such as yellow and green squashes, butternut, acorn. Pumpkin is very good also, and sweet potatoes
Another thing I'd like to mention is, if you are in a warm climate, a rose of sharon or hibiscus bush is very good to buy. The leaves and flowers are very nutritious. Whenever it is warm enough, I would recommend buying a plant, and feeding the leaves and flowers. They are loved by tortoises, and very healthy.
Also, mushrooms. Shiitake and portabella mushrooms are pretty nutritious, and good to offer when you have them.
Mazuri is always good to! Some keepers feed it 100%, some 50/50 with fresh foods, some 25/75, and some just a few pellets a week as a supplement. However you do it, its good stuff. Several members here sell it, and the torts like it.
Just remember, variety is key
.
I think it is hilarious that Peter's helpful list of veggies are all actually fruit!
This is a pretty common question, and there are lots of good lists on-line. The one I made up is at
- https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/diet-plans-omnivore and
- https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/good-foods-list
As for the 'fruit' comment- the way scientists and grocery stores use the word 'fruit' are kind of different. To a scientist, fruits are the part of a plant that develops from the ovaries and produces seeds- thus, nuts, berries, tomatoes, corn, wheat, pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, peppers, etc. are all fruits. Vegetables are generally 'the rest' of the plant- leaves, stems, stalks, roots, flower petals, etc. Grocery stores mostly label something a fruit if it is sweet and juicy.
This difference in terms actually has a major effect on red-foot tortoise care- most field researchers mention how much fruit a red-foot eats in the wild, so we all think that means bananas, mangos, etc. but in reality, most of the fruits they eat are things like cacti (Opuntia), figs (Ficus), pehen (Acacia aroma), Spondias, Annona, Philodendron, bromiliad, and more. Many of these have very un-fruit-like flavors and textures to our tongue.
While offering wet, sweet fruits is great, it seems to work out nicely to serve a larger percentage of 'drier' fruits- green peppers, squash, pumpkin, etc. and a smaller percentage of sweets. Even things like corn and tomatoes, often mentioned as no-nos, are fine in moderation (most of the bad results, like loose bowels, do not seem to happen to fruit-loving red-footeds as much as they do other species).
This is a pretty common question, and there are lots of good lists on-line. The one I made up is at
- https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/diet-plans-omnivore and
- https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/good-foods-list
As for the 'fruit' comment- the way scientists and grocery stores use the word 'fruit' are kind of different. To a scientist, fruits are the part of a plant that develops from the ovaries and produces seeds- thus, nuts, berries, tomatoes, corn, wheat, pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, peppers, etc. are all fruits. Vegetables are generally 'the rest' of the plant- leaves, stems, stalks, roots, flower petals, etc. Grocery stores mostly label something a fruit if it is sweet and juicy.
This difference in terms actually has a major effect on red-foot tortoise care- most field researchers mention how much fruit a red-foot eats in the wild, so we all think that means bananas, mangos, etc. but in reality, most of the fruits they eat are things like cacti (Opuntia), figs (Ficus), pehen (Acacia aroma), Spondias, Annona, Philodendron, bromiliad, and more. Many of these have very un-fruit-like flavors and textures to our tongue.
While offering wet, sweet fruits is great, it seems to work out nicely to serve a larger percentage of 'drier' fruits- green peppers, squash, pumpkin, etc. and a smaller percentage of sweets. Even things like corn and tomatoes, often mentioned as no-nos, are fine in moderation (most of the bad results, like loose bowels, do not seem to happen to fruit-loving red-footeds as much as they do other species).
Ridicule you? Do you mean the comment about your list of veggies are all fruits? But they are! (By the way, the calorie count of figs is 74 calories per 100grams of fruit. Passionfruit is 97, bananas are 89, mango is 65, bell pepper is 20, pumpkin is 66...)
I was just trying to offer some of the 'why' in feeding tortoises and an alternative plan. Several sites mention fairly high percentages of 'sweet' fruits, but offering a red-footed a high-fruit diet often results in loose bowels and obesity (more because of lack of space to move in and lack of a need to forage any distances than just because of the calorie counts.) Sweet fruits are also usually short in calcium and fiber, which many of the 'other' fruits offer in higher levels.
This is an open forum, a place we share opinions and information, working towards a better understanding of tortoise culture. I never claim to be an expert, but I love to research and I like sharing what I find. If i think someone has posted information that may be old, inaccurate, mis-stated, one-sided, or whatever, I will chime in- but it is rarely personal.
I was just trying to offer some of the 'why' in feeding tortoises and an alternative plan. Several sites mention fairly high percentages of 'sweet' fruits, but offering a red-footed a high-fruit diet often results in loose bowels and obesity (more because of lack of space to move in and lack of a need to forage any distances than just because of the calorie counts.) Sweet fruits are also usually short in calcium and fiber, which many of the 'other' fruits offer in higher levels.
This is an open forum, a place we share opinions and information, working towards a better understanding of tortoise culture. I never claim to be an expert, but I love to research and I like sharing what I find. If i think someone has posted information that may be old, inaccurate, mis-stated, one-sided, or whatever, I will chime in- but it is rarely personal.
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