Healthy&Unhealthy

[RedFire]

Hello friends here. I post this thread for discuss feeding tortoises seriously and comprehensively. I know lots of people breed their lovely torts in garden which is a big, very big place for their active, but I also know lots of people live in apartment and love tortoises so much as me, we have relative limited area to live and make indoor inclosure for them.
People said you need to feed them as much as they want. But when they were full, they can lay down rest all day, they lost their finding food nature. Tortoises in wild is eating or finding food, but captive breed is eating. I think we need to keep their nature.

 

[wellington]

Tortoises kept in too small of an enclosure is a problem. That isn't nature of natural. Tortoises that have large enclosures, whether inside or outside of both is loving more like nature/natural and can eat a lot because they have the room to walk it off and therefore not get over weight. If your tort is in a small enclosure thrn you need to figure out a way to give them a proper sized enclosure, be it a second level or adding enclosures together to make it bigger. If a small aquarium is all one has room for then they should not have a tortoise

 

[RedFire]

Tortoises kept in too small of an enclosure is a problem. That isn't nature of natural. Tortoises that have large enclosures, whether inside or outside of both is loving more like nature/natural and can eat a lot because they have the room to walk it off and therefore not get over weight. If your tort is in a small enclosure thrn you need to figure out a way to give them a proper sized enclosure, be it a second level or adding enclosures together to make it bigger. If a small aquarium is all one has room for then they should not have a tortoise

Thanks for your concerning. My mean is not the space, I could give them a practically enough space for their activity, and take them on the floor when they grown up. But how can they have a roam after they have a big eating? All I observation is have a rest after a big eating. So the point is how much should we give them.

 

[Fredkas]

In my opinion, you really cannot duplicate their nature. Be it small or large enclosure; enough, too much, or little food.
If you really want to let them live as natural as possible, then you need to go to where this species from, and buy the area, claim it as yours. If there is snake, racoon, or any other animals / insects, you just let them survive by themself, all you need is watch without interfering. Can you do that?
In nature, they have instinct to survive, they always alert everytime. In your safe enclosure, they get nothing to afraid of. How can this be nature?
In nature they can eat until explode, but i think they won't do it, they need to stay active, not heavy. In captive, what will they do? they just eat and get lazy.
Well.. maybe you could pretend to be something that want to eat them, then they will eat less and alert and hiding and when you are not around they will be looking for food you provided for them, but always keep alert, when they see you, they will run away.
But this is not making any sense right?
So, nothing nature about captive life.
How much should we give them? They will always eat until they feel lazy to eat in captive. If you think you are overfeeding, well maybe you count.
Example:
1st day. Give 10 leaves, if by the end of the day your tortoise eat 8 of them, then maybe for 2nd day, you give only 6 leaves? Can it work for you?
I think this way your tortoise will be alert, looking for food because his stomach is not full. You can do this.
Btw, tortoise should not roam your room/house where there is possibility they can access to something not degradable. They can eat soil in forest, it still ok. But they can't eat plastic or wool. They should not eat hair, should not eat anything that not degradable and you are not aware it is on the floor. Tortoise like to go to corner where people not keep attention there is something there. And i think tortoise always try to sample anything.

 

[RedFire]

In my opinion, you really cannot duplicate their nature. Be it small or large enclosure; enough, too much, or little food.
If you really want to let them live as natural as possible, then you need to go to where this species from, and buy the area, claim it as yours. If there is snake, racoon, or any other animals / insects, you just let them survive by themself, all you need is watch without interfering. Can you do that?
In nature, they have instinct to survive, they always alert everytime. In your safe enclosure, they get nothing to afraid of. How can this be nature?
In nature they can eat until explode, but i think they won't do it, they need to stay active, not heavy. In captive, what will they do? they just eat and get lazy.
Well.. maybe you could pretend to be something that want to eat them, then they will eat less and alert and hiding and when you are not around they will be looking for food you provided for them, but always keep alert, when they see you, they will run away.
But this is not making any sense right?
So, nothing nature about captive life.
How much should we give them? They will always eat until they feel lazy to eat in captive. If you think you are overfeeding, well maybe you count.
Example:
1st day. Give 10 leaves, if by the end of the day your tortoise eat 8 of them, then maybe for 2nd day, you give only 6 leaves? Can it work for you?
I think this way your tortoise will be alert, looking for food because his stomach is not full. You can do this.
Btw, tortoise should not roam your room/house where there is possibility they can access to something not degradable. They can eat soil in forest, it still ok. But they can't eat plastic or wool. They should not eat hair, should not eat anything that not degradable and you are not aware it is on the floor. Tortoise like to go to corner where people not keep attention there is something there. And i think tortoise always try to sample anything.

You are right, I can not duplicate their nature. I just use their nature to let them have activity when I'm not stay with them. Like your example, if they can eat 8 leaves a day, I give them each time 4 leaves for twice a day or 6 leaves a day, this is what I mean. Between two times eating, they search food and get activity from their nature. Am I right to do this?
My "nature"opinion is not duplicate every nature in wild, and not tormenting them, but is give them activity their need.
And you are right again about breed on the floor, they will eat hair, just need people care when they on the floor. They will stay in shadow and also may reactivity with their breeder after a long breed time as they grown up, then I'll try to take on the floor.

 

[Big Charlie]

You are right, I can not duplicate their nature. I just use their nature to let them have activity when I'm not stay with them. Like your example, if they can eat 8 leaves a day, I give them each time 4 leaves for twice a day or 6 leaves a day, this is what I mean. Between two times eating, they search food and get activity from their nature. Am I right to do this?
My "nature"opinion is not duplicate every nature in wild, and not tormenting them, but is give them activity their need.
And you are right again about breed on the floor, they will eat hair, just need people care when they on the floor. They will stay in shadow and also may reactivity with their breeder after a long breed time as they grown up, then I'll try to take on the floor.

You could also put food in different parts of their enclosure so they have to walk from one place to the other. Put things in their way that they have to walk around. My tort, who lives outdoors in a fairly large area, does this naturally. He'll graze in one place for a minute or two, then walk all the way across the yard to graze in another area. He also does a lot of what I call patrolling; he paces along a fence on one side of his enclosure, back and forth, many times.

 

[RedFire]

You could also put food in different parts of their enclosure so they have to walk from one place to the other. Put things in their way that they have to walk around. My tort, who lives outdoors in a fairly large area, does this naturally. He'll graze in one place for a minute or two, then walk all the way across the yard to graze in another area. He also does a lot of what I call patrolling; he paces along a fence on one side of his enclosure, back and forth, many times.

Good idea!

 

[wellington]

If you are talking about hatchlings then you need to feed them enough that they eat it all and then give a little more at the next feeding. Hatchlings need to eat a lot and every day. Adults, need to eat every day a lot but they also need the room to roam around. As much room as possible but if only a 2x2 or 4x4 is all the space you can give for an adult then you need to find a way to give them more space. The roaming on a floor of your house is never a good space for a tortoise to be large or small

 

[RedFire]

No, I don't have an adult tortoise unfortunately, the biggest one is only 11.70cm and very active.