Zucchini as a staple food?

[fgately]

My three Russian torties love to munch on the small grove of zucchini we have growing in our backyard. They actually seem to be eating it almost exclusively unless I bring them something else. One of my females gorges on a big zucchini growing near the bottom. Interesting that it is still attached to the plant, so even though it is half eaten, it is still growing and not rotting.

I checked out the nutritional profile of zucchini, and it seems great. I compared it to green leafed lettuce by pulling up both nutritional values. Their are some differences, but it seems like a good staple plant for them to eat. It has lots of moisture, so my torts are always very well hydrated.

Is this a good food staple?
One of my females looked bloated until she urinated. She urinated quite a bit, and then went over to her big zucchini and started munching. Is this safe? Do the torts sometimes look a bit puffy?

Looking forward to replies.

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

I would always mix things up, no specific food is adequate in itself... none...

 

[Tom]

I feed it from time to time, but I wouldn't consider it a staple.

Mine don't bloat no matter what they eat, so you might have a problem there.

 

[fgately]

I mix it up quite a bit. It's just that if I leave them be, they focus on eating the zucchini. It's like a little tort community in there. They like to eat and stay under the leaves for much of the day. Seems like because I let them free roam, they decide what they want to eat. If I were to keep them in a pen, I would have more control over what they eat.

Now I'm concerned about the bloating. Any ideas on what this could be? She is eating and moving well enough.