How do I break "bad" habits

[jjsull33]

My 3 redfoot torts each have something they seek out and try to eat when I bring them outside. Filia goes for rocks, Amelia bites trees like see trying to eat the bark, and Lina goes for twigs and sticks. They do this even with a giant pile of food for each of them. How do I get them to stop, it's kind of difficult watching 3 of them to make sure no one is eating twigs and rocks, and I don't have time to bring them each out individually.

 

[lvstorts]

Eating rocks is not that uncommon. Some say its a vitamin/mineral deficiency....as long as the rocks are small they will go through their system.

If they are 'obsessed' with eating rocks and other items that aren't necessarily on the Redfoot diet consider looking closely at their diet. How varied is it? Are they getting the same stuff every feeding? How many plant varieties do you offer? Do you supplement?

They may indeed be lacking something.

 

[Yvonne G]

I use a product called Miner-all manufactured by Sticky Tongue Farms. It provides the needed minerals that seem to be lacking in many tortoises' diet. I use it just like the calcium supplement...that is, I sprinkle it over the food two or three times a week.

 

[jjsull33]

Ill look into supplements because at the moment I don't use any, as for a varied diet they get spring mix, collards, mustard greens, kale, turnip greens, chia, clovers, dandelion, chicory and mallow for their greens, different ones daily. For fruits I do strawberry, mango, pineapple, and melons several times a week, and for protein I use mazuri, earth worms, pill bugs, and today we tried sardines which seemed to go over well. They also get mushrooms quite frequently as well, and have cuttle bone almost always. Inside they eat fine, outside they ignore the food (piles or still growing) and go for rocks and twigs. Does my diet sound good? Should I be adding anything else?

Overall they seem pretty healthy, they were rescues and were in pretty bad shape, an their first few poos with me lead me to believe twigs and leaves are what their previous owner fed them, could that be why they go for that?

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They get occasional lettuce too, if it had been particularly hot out I buy a nice big head of romaine for my outdoor Russians to make sure try are staying hydrated and give some to the reds as a treat.