- Joined
- Nov 7, 2012
- Messages
- 5,172
- Location (City and/or State)
- South of Southern California, but not Mexico
Yeah this is all good reasoning on the difference between kinds of diets and metabolism that goes with a tortoises versus a dog, versus a deer etc.
I think, maybe wrong on this, but what about the enrichment an outdoor tortoise that grazes (an exercise) gets that an equal amount and type of foods an indoor tortoise does not get.
I have spent some time watching some outdoor radiated and they walk about a rather large enclosure eating some of this and some of that, like the fun some people might get from shopping in a mall, while (to run with the metaphor) the inside enclosure tortoises gets everything via Amazon, and does not 'get-out' much.
So somewhat beyond actual food quality or quantity, maybe even the exercise, do those outdoor tortoises have "fun" picking and choosing what they eat. Does it qualify as enrichment?
I tend to think of tortoises more like automatons and that they don't care some much about this kind of thing. But the recent tortoise watching in friends yard with the radiated got me thinking about this and RedFire's question popped up.
Radiated are pretty fearless and don't seem to care if your in their enclosure, they also didn't come running over to me like I'm the monkey dropping food for them. They just went about their business like I was not there.
I feed most all the tortoises I have everyday. When I skip a day it's for my need to move the enclosure projects ahead, or work on the honeydo list. I see they will slacken off eating at about four or five days in a row of an overabundance, they still eat but less until that fast day, followed by a clean the food tile off eating day. The Pancakes are the most difficult to see what's happening as each individual cycles on their own for gorging or low intake days. The day after a fast day for them, and the tile is always picked clean.
I think, maybe wrong on this, but what about the enrichment an outdoor tortoise that grazes (an exercise) gets that an equal amount and type of foods an indoor tortoise does not get.
I have spent some time watching some outdoor radiated and they walk about a rather large enclosure eating some of this and some of that, like the fun some people might get from shopping in a mall, while (to run with the metaphor) the inside enclosure tortoises gets everything via Amazon, and does not 'get-out' much.
So somewhat beyond actual food quality or quantity, maybe even the exercise, do those outdoor tortoises have "fun" picking and choosing what they eat. Does it qualify as enrichment?
I tend to think of tortoises more like automatons and that they don't care some much about this kind of thing. But the recent tortoise watching in friends yard with the radiated got me thinking about this and RedFire's question popped up.
Radiated are pretty fearless and don't seem to care if your in their enclosure, they also didn't come running over to me like I'm the monkey dropping food for them. They just went about their business like I was not there.
I feed most all the tortoises I have everyday. When I skip a day it's for my need to move the enclosure projects ahead, or work on the honeydo list. I see they will slacken off eating at about four or five days in a row of an overabundance, they still eat but less until that fast day, followed by a clean the food tile off eating day. The Pancakes are the most difficult to see what's happening as each individual cycles on their own for gorging or low intake days. The day after a fast day for them, and the tile is always picked clean.