Controversy on what greek tort should eat

[ckidd_1999]

So I went to the vet to get my Greek tortoise a checkup. He is a vet tht was recommended to me by the vet list in this forum. So I took him there and he checked out fine. But here comes the issue. The doctor said tht I need to feed him more protein and to not feed him lettuce alot. I also asked about cactus and he said to stay away from it completely. Iv heard great things about both plants so I don't know what to do. Help!!! Also he said to feed him dog food and guinea pig chow. Iv also heard to not do tht. Plz help!!

 

[Tom]

Everybody has their own opinion about this. I don't agree with your vet. I would not go there again personally. They should be eating a variety of broadleaf weeds, leaves and leafy greens. Spinelss opuntia cactus pads are a great food for any tortoise species.

Dog food? Haven't heard that since the 70s. Guinea pig food? Probably okay as part of a varied diet.

 

[ckidd_1999]

Everybody has their own opinion about this. I don't agree with your vet. I would not go there again personally. They should be eating a variety of broadleaf weeds, leaves and leafy greens. Spinelss opuntia cactus pads are a great food for any tortoise species.

Dog food? Haven't heard that since the 70s. Guinea pig food? Probably okay as part of a varied diet.

Yah I'm not going back there. I'm just gonna stick with feeding him greens and in going to get some cactus in a few days (hopefully). I dont believe in feeding hem dog or guinea pig food

 

[paludarium]

Animal matters belong to parts of the diets for wild greeks. The following 2 researches showed that animal matters comprise about 5% of diets.
Long term observations on the alimentation of wild Eastern Greek Tortoises Testudo graeca ibera (Reptilia: Testudines: Testudinidae) in Dobrogea, Romania
Testudo graeca graeca feeding ecology in an arid and overgrazed zone in Morocco

Regards,
Erich

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

^^Thanks for those articles. I particularly like the first one.

Terrestrial chelonians run along a spectrum of diets, from omnivores to browsers to grazers. On one end of the spectrum, box turtles and forest tortoises eat greens, fruits, mushrooms, invertebrates, and carrion. On the other end, big tortoises like sulcatas, leopard tortoises, and gopher tortoises eat greens as well as fibrous grasses.

Tortoises in the Testudo genus are somewhere in the middle. They may supplement their diet with invertebrates, carrion, fruit, and fungi when they come across them, but not often. They may also eat some grass (it varies among Testudo species), but none of them eat a lot of that, either, partly because they're not big enough to digest it very well. So, the bulk of their diet consists of leafy greens, weeds, and flowers. Thus, they don't get as much protein as omnivorous chelonians, but they don't get as much fiber as grazers, either. In the wild, Testudo species eat mostly plants like dandelion, chicory, arugula, mustard, plantain, poppy, buttercup, etc. It's good to feed them these wild plants in captivity, but their cultivated cousins can be fine, too: endive, escarole, lettuce, collard, kale, etc. As long as the diet is varied, these plants are fine. Also, because tortoises come from areas with calcareous soils, and need a lot of calcium for their shells, sprinkle some calcium on their food every once in a while, and provide them with a calcium block or cuttlefish bone to gnaw on (much as wild tortoises do, as shown in the paper above).

Omnivorous box turtles and tortoises may take in quite a bit of protein, but they also drink and pee a lot so their kidneys can filter out all that nitrogen. Browsing and grazing tortoises, in contrast, need only a little bit of protein in their diet. That's why they don't drink very much, and excrete their excess nitrogen as concentrated uric acid in only a small amount of urine. Giving an herbivorous tortoise (like a Greek) dog food is, simply put, a death sentence. All that protein will produce big urate crystals in their kidneys and kill them.

Actually, dog food is not good for any chelonian, because it contains not only a lot of protein, but also a lot of fat. Even omnivorous chelonians, which take in quite a bit of protein, are not equipped for handling that much fat. Many pet chelonians have died from a diet of dog food. A wild chelonian may come across a carcass every once in a while. That may be a tasty and healthy treat, but it's not something that should be a staple of their diet.

Give your Greek tortoise mostly leafy greens, weeds, and flowers. You can also give him a quality commercial food like Mazuri Tortoise Diet. As a monthly treat, you can offer fruit, mushrooms, or snails. Anything else would probably be refused, assuming your guy is in good health and usually well fed.

 

[MasterOogway]

Thanks I enjoyed this informative thread. It would be great in a place easy to access for beginners.

 

[paludarium]

Maybe dog food is not good for tortoises, how about the canned cat food? In a study published in 2005, the canned, vitamin-enriched cat food (Tuffy’s, Heinz Pet Products, Kentucky, USA) was not a bad food for the tortoise, or Testudo graeca terrestris. Growth and body composition in captive Testudo graeca terrestris fed with a high-energy diet. The canned cat food has been the staple of the diet for more than 4 years in the study!

I believe that too much of a good thing can make one sick, unfortunately no one knows exactly how much is too much regarding animal matters. In my opinion, if a tortoise is well hydrated, it could eat more animal matters without a health problem. Most omnivorous chelonians live in the humid areas or near water, but not in the arid areas or deserts. Actually I fed my Burmese star one pellet of dog food once in a week in last summer, when the season was hot and wet. So far it is healthy, and without uric acid stone.

My Burmese star was eating a pellet of dog food:

Regards,
Erich