can i feed this?

[save the gopher tortoise]

I cant get any other source of grasses without going outside plucking them and rinsing them ALOT since i live in a apartment so the landscapers (which don't do good trimming our hibiscus...) put pesticides ect is it ok to feed tortoises hay for rabbits guinea pigs since we have a guinea pig for ourselfs. The hay we use is the plain kind that you can buy at a petshop (in the small bales the brand is kaytee) not the ones with fruit/flowers added.

 

[Yvonne G]

The hay and dried foods you buy at the pet store is so old that it's very harsh and stickery. If you can search through the Yellow Pages for feed stores and go there, you can ask the proprietor if you can scrape up some of the 'leavings' around on the ground near the hay stack. My sister does that and they usually let her fill up a couple plastic bags for free.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

W#hat are you feeding? A Gopher Tortoise?
If you post your species and your general location, there are members likely close by that can recommend places that you can easily obtain cheap and correct foods.

 

[save the gopher tortoise]

The hay and dried foods you buy at the pet store is so old that it's very harsh and stickery. If you can search through the Yellow Pages for feed stores and go there, you can ask the proprietor if you can scrape up some of the 'leavings' around on the ground near the hay stack. My sister does that and they usually let her fill up a couple plastic bags for free.

thanks for the info i guess i could try plucking grass after school i don't really have much to do after school,anyways summer break is coming soon

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Are you in South Florida?
There are MANY weeds that you could collect.
(Also, if you ARE in Florida, keep it on the down and low because keeping or even touching a Gopher Tortoise is illegal and carries pretty stiff fines.)

 

[save the gopher tortoise]

Are you in South Florida?
There are MANY weeds that you could collect.
(Also, if you ARE in Florida, keep it on the down and low because keeping or even touching a Gopher Tortoise is illegal and carries pretty stiff fines.)

no i'm in central florida in bradenton we got him when we went to ocala and my brother was not taking care of it properly at all, no water dish,fed nothing but lettuce so he was so dehydrated his eyes were shut closed and wouldn't eat/move even if i have it i they should of arrested/fined him though i know he doesn't know better because he's one of those unknowingly rednecks

 

[RosemaryDW]

I'm glad he's with you now and that you are working to do what's right for him.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Yvonne posted a nice link a few years back about care of gopher tortoises: http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Gpolyphemuscare.htm.

It's got a short food list on it. One item that is okay for them and most tortoises is opuntia cactus. This will be easily available in many latino or Mexican grocery stores in or near Bradenton. It will be in the produce section and labeled as "nopales." These are large green "paddles" of cactus with no spines; easy to find and feed.

A diet of cactus (or any one plant) isn't ideal for tortoises but it's a nice food source for tortoises, perhaps especially one that has been deydrated. You can also grow some of your own later, if you have a sunny spot.

 

[save the gopher tortoise]

I'm glad he's with you now and that you are working to do what's right for him.

thank you for your understanding of what i am doing, its for his own good and im only raising him until he is big enough to survive birds and raccoons and when he grows up i would like to release him somewhere safe.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Are you able to secure a portion of your yard?
Gophers eat a lot of native weeds and grasses and right now, they are really growing......Like weeds.

 

[RosemaryDW]

You should not have ANY trouble finding bindweed in your area and it's safe in a varied diet. Bindweed comes in all kinds of varieties but in all of them the leaves will be heart or arrowhead shaped and the flowers will be a white to pale pink/purple with a very broad and obvious trumpet shape. Just find a stem and rip it off whatever it's growing over. Chances are you'll pull up some grasses or other weeds at the same time.

 

[save the gopher tortoise]

Not now but my dad said soon we are moving to this non urban neighborhood where his hunting buddy lives so soon we can. Even chickens/roosters are allowed and its in the boondocks and is very grassy and has some woods area.

 

[save the gopher tortoise]

You should not have ANY trouble finding bindweed in your area and it's safe in a varied diet. Bindweed comes in all kinds of varieties but in all of them the leaves will be heart or arrowhead shaped and the flowers will be a white to pale pink/purple with a very broad and obvious trumpet shape. Just find a stem and rip it off whatever it's growing over. Chances are you'll pull up some grasses or other weeds at the same time.

View attachment 175810

We don't really find much except some tassel flowers in spring and dandelions, occasionally you can find some plaintain weeds but its seasonal this is because we don't have much woods except in the dog walking area and most of it is grass. We have some plants we can feed to him such as aloe and waxy begonia but that's it.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

 

[save the gopher tortoise]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

thanks for your kindness i am very glad to have a rescue gopher tortoise and soon as he gets big enough to survive birds and coons i'll release the tortoise where he belongs where he can live happily in the woods.

 

[RosemaryDW]

We don't really find much except some tassel flowers in spring and dandelions, occasionally you can find some plaintain weeds but its seasonal this is because we don't have much woods except in the dog walking area and most of it is grass.

Glad to see you're taking so much effort to check around you for what's growing.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

thanks for your kindness i am very glad to have a rescue gopher tortoise and soon as he gets big enough to survive birds and coons i'll release the tortoise where he belongs where he can live happily in the woods.

You may want to reconsider this plan. I'm not sure what your local laws are, but often the release of captive animals is forbidden. Tortoises in captivity can come across different germs than those in the wild - release of captive animals is generally strongly discouraged if not illegal because you could accidentally introduce a disease into the wild population. If your tortoise comes across any other pets or if you use an old aquarium or supplies from some other pet you really can't know what you have exposed your tortoise to. Only professional wild life rehabbers and those involved in repopulation projects should be releasing captive animals back into the wild. It takes a lot to make sure you do it safely.