turdle yerdle
Active Member
Something I've been wondering
Do Russian Tortoises NEED timothy hay
- Thread starter turdle yerdle
- Start date
No, not to eat or as a substrate
Linhdan Nguyen
Well-Known Member
My vet told me i should feed my russians timothy hay, or any type of hay....
Read this caresheet. Scrolling down in it you will find diet. A lot of vets don't have a clue about tortoises.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
I agree. No hay for Russians.
Linhdan Nguyen
Well-Known Member
She specializes in avian & exotic pets.. Though honestly i feel like she has no idea about tortoises either, i believe im the only patient with a tortoise, which is why ive spent hundreds on vet bills and my tortoise still has not gotten better.
But yes I've read the care sheet twice, but I had that "listen to the vet cause shes studied reptiles and all" but i dont think its going very well. My healthy tortoise nibbles only a little timothy hay every now & then.
There are few vets, even exotic and reptile vets that know about tortoises or have even seen one. Most are also stuck on the old ways of caring for them. Russians eat broad leaf weeds, etc. if there is nothing else for them to eat, they will eat what is there, but a better diet of what they should eat is best
Linhdan Nguyen
Well-Known Member
Thank you !
Just out of curiosity, will having timothy hay available in the substrate for burrowing encourage the tortoise to eat the substrate? In other words, if they're hungry, do you feel they'll start thinking it's OK to eat the substrate if there's timothy hay in it?
Just goes to show you that your vet doesn't know much about tortoises. Russian tortoise eat broad-leaf plants and weeds. Hay is made out of blade type plants and grasses.
Unless a vet actually has his/her own collection of tortoises, they really can't be depended upon for up-to-date knowledge on husbandry. Illness, accidents, etc. yes, but husbandry, no.
Timothy hay is not a harmful food item. It's just that Russian tortoises aren't interested in eating it. If your Russian tortoise nibbles on timothy hay it's not going to cause any kind of problem for the tortoise. It's all good. The only thing bad about adding timothy hay to your tortoise's habitat is you also want a bit of moisture in the habitat, and moisture causes the hay to mold.
Linhdan Nguyen
Well-Known Member
Thats frustrating though because they are there to treat our sick pets. good thing we have this forum.
My tortoise max pooed some yesterday (first after his deworming) and of course there were alot of parasites that came with it, but hes a little more active today! He actually poked his head out of the hiding log and walked around a little before going back. Hes still not too interested in food but he has been eyeing. I believe the added baby food carrot soak helped him some. Thanks for the advice on deworming and soaking !
For the record, hay is any dried plant matter that is put up as animal fodder. Hay can include grasses, legumes or other (broadleaf) herbaceous plants.
There is predominantly grass hay. There is predominantly legume hay. Most 'general' pasture hay is likely a mix of grass and legume (mostly alfalfa, but other legumes may be more popular in given areas, such as clover, fescues, etc.) and various other broadleaf plants.
Now, some of those 'other' plants might be of concern. If there are high amounts of a toxic weed (example: St. John's Wort, Milkweed, etc.) in the hay it can cause problems if consumed in large amount by the animal it is being fed to. Also...there are certain moulds of some legumes, such as clovers, that can cause issues. The clover isn't toxic...but the mould on it can be. Hopefully the producer is paying attention to such things, but you never know. So it's important to inspect your hay and see what's in it. Make sure it's not too dusty or has mould, or has rot, etc..
We were talking about timothy hay, which is grass.
