Food Questions: Russian Tortoise

[missjmg19]

Hi......I've looked at other threads and care sheets, but I have two questions that I need answered......

We are adopting a 5 year old russian tortoise who is used to being fed late afternoon each day (due to work, school schedules). We will stick with this plan.

1. Is there a specific size of meal (salad) we should give him each afternoon?

2. What are best items to purchase from grocery store? I live in Maryland and come fall, outdoor weeds will start dying off. He will live inside full time, but be taken outside regularly when possible.

3. We purchased dried tortoise hay food, dried dandelion mix, and flukers tortoise pellets? Should we mix these with the "salad?" Or, should we leave out a small handful of this stuff in morning when we go off to work/school?

4. How often do we sprinkle calcium on his salad/meal?

Thanks!

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome

Hi......I've looked at other threads and care sheets, but I have two questions that I need answered......

We are adopting a 5 year old russian tortoise who is used to being fed late afternoon each day (due to work, school schedules). We will stick with this plan.

1. Is there a specific size of meal (salad) we should give him each afternoon?

Change it. Put a mound of greens roughly the size of his shell in his enclosure first thing in the morning before you go out. A tort tends to become steadily more inactive and less likely to eat.

Combine that with perhaps not responding to the move well, torts can be slow to accept a new home, and giving him time and space to eat while you're out is sensible.

Put the lights on a timer, soak your tort, cleanup and place food while your tort soaks, replace tort and leave

2. What are best items to purchase from grocery store? I live in Maryland and come fall, outdoor weeds will start dying off. He will live inside full time, but be taken outside regularly when possible.

Will post a list separately

3. We purchased dried tortoise hay food, dried dandelion mix, and flukers tortoise pellets? Should we mix these with the "salad?" Or, should we leave out a small handful of this stuff in morning when we go off to work/school?

Russians don't tend to eat much hay. Dried foods need to be soaked and can be used to supplement greens.

4. How often do we sprinkle calcium on his salad/meal?

Thanks!

A tiny sprinkle on food 3 times a week.

Please see the TFO guides which are written by species experts working hard to correct outdated information widely available on the internet and from many pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders, rescues and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

We love pictures by the way

 

[JoesMum]

Make a list of greens that grow around you and of those you can buy in the grocery store and look the up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database for suitability to feed.

http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp
----

Here's a list of suitable greens

Look them up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database if you're not sure what they look like.

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

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

There is a thread about freezing weeds. I will search for it and post the link later, but this could be an option. I live in Maryland also and there are a lit of broadleaf plantain's growing in my mims neighborhood. Those are freeze tolerant so you could save that for winter meals.
Aside from this, JoesMum has answered your other questions perfectly

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index....and-retain-good-texture!.128563/#post-1347151

 

[Tom]

Hi......I've looked at other threads and care sheets, but I have two questions that I need answered......

We are adopting a 5 year old russian tortoise who is used to being fed late afternoon each day (due to work, school schedules). We will stick with this plan.

1. Is there a specific size of meal (salad) we should give him each afternoon?

2. What are best items to purchase from grocery store? I live in Maryland and come fall, outdoor weeds will start dying off. He will live inside full time, but be taken outside regularly when possible.

3. We purchased dried tortoise hay food, dried dandelion mix, and flukers tortoise pellets? Should we mix these with the "salad?" Or, should we leave out a small handful of this stuff in morning when we go off to work/school?

4. How often do we sprinkle calcium on his salad/meal?

Thanks!

I agree that food should be left out in the morning, not afternoon/evening.

Your questions:
1. Let him eat as much as he wants. Put out a big pile. If he eats it all, use more tomorrow. Some left over? Use less the next day.
2. Favor endive and escarole, but use lots of variety. Carrot tops, squash leaves, collard, mustard and turnip greens, cilantro, celery tops, watercress, opuntia pads, radiccio, occasional grated squash, etc… Use ZooMed Grassland pellets to amend the grocery store greens and add some fiber. Just soak one or two pellets and then mix them up with the days greens. Regular Mazuri is good to use in that way a couple of times a week too.
3. You'll need to mix all those with some pre-wtted salad. I would use those up and then stick to the ZooMed and Mazuri after that. The dandelion mix sounds like it might be good a couple times a week in the long term, but I'd skip the hay and Flukers stuff personally.
4. If this is an adult male and you are using the supplements I mentioned, I don't think you need any calcium supplementation. At most, I'd use a tiny pinch once a week.

 

[missjmg19]

Thanks all. To clarify....this is the stuff I purchased to supplement with leafy stuff:

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/Dandelionleaf


Is this the stuff you are recommending: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/zoomed-natural-grassland-tortoise-food/ ?

Thanks!

Also, can we give him "snack" or anything in afternoon/evening? I ask only because we want to be able to watch him eat and eventually see if he will eat from our hands (way down the road). Thoughts???

 

[missjmg19]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/These-can-be-frozen,-thawed,-and-retain-good-texture!.128563/#post-1347151

Thanks so much!

 

[Tom]

Thanks all. To clarify....this is the stuff I purchased to supplement with leafy stuff:

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/Dandelionleaf


Is this the stuff you are recommending: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/zoomed-natural-grassland-tortoise-food/ ?

Thanks!

Also, can we give him "snack" or anything in afternoon/evening? I ask only because we want to be able to watch him eat and eventually see if he will eat from our hands (way down the road). Thoughts???

All three of those products are EXCELLENT and I highly recommend all of them to anyone who will need to rely on grocery store foods over a frozen winter.

Yes on the afternoon snacks and hand feeding.

 

[missjmg19]

All three of those products are EXCELLENT and I highly recommend all of them to anyone who will need to rely on grocery store foods over a frozen winter.

Yes on the afternoon snacks and hand feeding.

Thanks! We'll be off to grocery store Sunday morning, since we pick up our little guy Sunday afternoon!

 

[KaitlinKeefe_]

i am so excited for you! perfect age for your first tort! and of course im super fond of russians

once the little guy/girl gets settled in and use to you and their new home they are SUCH a pleasure to care for. great personalities!

my older russian responds to my voice and when i feed him does funny things like looking at his food and looking back at me like "THANKS MOM!" he gets really "excited" to see me and loves to be talked to and loves his head pet. great choice!

 

[missjmg19]

i am so excited for you! perfect age for your first tort! and of course im super fond of russians

once the little guy/girl gets settled in and use to you and their new home they are SUCH a pleasure to care for. great personalities!

my older russian responds to my voice and when i feed him does funny things like looking at his food and looking back at me like "THANKS MOM!" he gets really "excited" to see me and loves to be talked to and loves his head pet. great choice!

I'm so excited by this post! Thank you!!!! I wish we were home in mornings when he'll get fed so that he could get more used to eating from our hands, but I guess we'll just make afternoon snack time a regular thing. Will post pictures tomorrow once we get him!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Looking forward to the Pictures.
And good luck tomorrow.

 

[missjmg19]

Looking forward to the Pictures.
And good luck tomorrow.

Since I'm still new to this forum, too, is there a special place to post pictures of new pet?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Since I'm still new to this forum, too, is there a special place to post pictures of new pet?

I would post it under the introductions section, myself, "Introducing............" or something. This would probably get most views.
Or there is a "Tortoise Photos and Videos" section.
Or some people post them under the relevant species in the "Species Specific" area.
It's up to you.

 

[KaitlinKeefe_]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/show-us-your-russian-tortoises.78247/page-8#post-1360640

this is a good thread to post pics of russians

 

[missjmg19]

I would post it under the introductions section, myself, "Introducing............" or something. This would probably get most views.
Or there is a "Tortoise Photos and Videos" section.
Or some people post them under the relevant species in the "Species Specific" area.
It's up to you.

Thanks.....figured the intro place would be good!