diet for Franklin

[Franklincroft]

hello. I'm new to having a Russian tortoise and I was wonder what to feed him? so far I have been feeding him romaine lettuce and he is always eating lots of it. should I stop? should I be worried about him being so hungry?

 

[Jodie]

Romaine has very little nutrition. Check out the Russian section. The care guides provide lists of foods that are way better for him.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Romaine is like crack to tortoises. He needs a wide variety of broad leaves. Check out the care sheet.

 

[kirsty Johnston]

Welcome! Care sheet is best for a newbie but as a rule of thumb weeds and flowers are always best for torts. Get some dandelions, stinging nettles, Dutch clover, rose petals, viola - the list is endless! There are some that are toxic so if your unsure there's a great website - http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/tortoise_home_1.asp which is great for checking if a specific weed, flower or vegetable if your unsure. Make sure you keep the diet as varied as possible so the tort can get as much minerals and vitamins as possible and also make sure you have a good vitamin and mineral supplement you use everyday (calcium is particularly important for a hatchling)
Hope this helps

 

[Franklincroft]

thank you! I have been researching and this helped.

 

[Franklincroft]

so follow up. I found online that I can feed him pineapple, carrot tops, corn, and red leaf lettuce. is this true?

(this is Franklin by the way)

 

[leigti]

Carrot tops and red leaf lettuce yes occasionally. Pineapple and corn no. I give my Russian tortoise one carrot every three months or so. She loves it. Avoid fruit. As far as vegetables go the general answer is no. Except for leafy greens.

 

[Franklincroft]

okay. so red leaf lettuce and carrot tops are a yes. no romaine lettuce and defiantly no iceberg. I've read that it's bad to give them spinach... so if I bought a organic spring mix at the grocery store would that be okay? I would of course take out the spinach.

 

[leigti]

Sometimes it gets very confusing when you talk about diet for tortoises. Romain lettuce and spinach are both okay to feed occasionally. The key to the diet is to feed a wide variety of foods. Some foods are okay if I only fed once in a while. Have you looked under the Russian tortoise section, Tom has written a thread with a list of about 50+ things a tortoise can eat. Printed out if you need to. Start by getting familiar with a few of them and then gradually increase the variety. Become more familiar with weeds and leaves and flowers. Some things that I get at the grocery store for my Russian are collard greens, turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, radish tops, endive,radicchio, escarole, dandelion greens, and cactus.
Don't give up on the food if your tortoise doesn't eat it the first couple times you try to feed it. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to new food.

 

[kirsty Johnston]

okay. so red leaf lettuce and carrot tops are a yes. no romaine lettuce and defiantly no iceberg. I've read that it's bad to give them spinach... so if I bought a organic spring mix at the grocery store would that be okay? I would of course take out the spinach.

Hey!
He is beautiful
I would try and stay away from vegetables as much as you can. Weeds and flowers are the highest in nutrition for torts and an added bonus is that they are free!! You can buy seeds online though if you want to. Spinach is actually ok on occasion - it is higher in oxalic acid than most other veg but is also high on calcium and vitamins so the benefits offset the negatives if that makes sense. So if you do buy a mixed bag you don't nessisarly need to remove the spinach however like I said, you are better getting weeds.
I live in Scotland and the summer doesn't last that long here LOL so if I can't get weeds and need to result in buying store bought food I usually go for artichokes, lambs lettuce and kale
Hope that helps!

 

[Franklincroft]

Sometimes it gets very confusing when you talk about diet for tortoises. Romain lettuce and spinach are both okay to feed occasionally. The key to the diet is to feed a wide variety of foods. Some foods are okay if I only fed once in a while. Have you looked under the Russian tortoise section, Tom has written a thread with a list of about 50+ things a tortoise can eat. Printed out if you need to. Start by getting familiar with a few of them and then gradually increase the variety. Become more familiar with weeds and leaves and flowers. Some things that I get at the grocery store for my Russian are collard greens, turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, radish tops, endive,radicchio, escarole, dandelion greens, and cactus.
Don't give up on the food if your tortoise doesn't eat it the first couple times you try to feed it. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to new food.

I've tried going to that section but I don't quite understand how this app works >D< so I think I went to the wrong place. but I have been trying to feed him a wide variety. I'm just off to rocky start cause I don't know what is poisonous to him and what is just like candy to him. :/

 

[Tom]

Here you go. Just click on these links:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

And here is just a short list of possible good food items:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[kirsty Johnston]

Here you go. Just click on these links:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

And here is just a short list of possible good food items:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

Very detailed Tom I love it! May just keep this for myself lol

 

[Franklincroft]

Here you go. Just click on these links:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

And here is just a short list of possible good food items:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

oh my. ur a life saver! thank u! I'm going to buy a seed mix soon as soon as I find a good one and all of this helped me to find d stuff to feed him now. THANK YOU!! (Franklin thanks you too. now mommy knows some good nom noms)

 

[mystery_girl]

What kind of calcium is recommended? The only ones I saw at the pet store have D3. I bought the ZooMed brand, but havent used it til someone says its ok!