Is green leaf lettuce & red leaf lettuce good for my tortoise?

[russiantortuga]

I'm going to ask more on other greens.

 

[stinax182]

as part of a varied diet, yes. other fancy or baby lettuces can be offered as well. iceberg lettuce is usually frowned upon. be careful with the lettuces though, most tortoises love them and sometimes refuse any other greens, if fed too often.

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[russiantortuga]

Oh what about kale?

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Oh what about kale?

 

[melly_87]

Kale is really good! My tort loves them!

But on lettuces, Spring Mix has bits of them, right? Is it alright if I've been feeding mine that for about a week now?

 

[russiantortuga]

I just bought kale & romaine lettuce for my Russian tortoise.

 

[Tom]

All of the above is fine as part of a varied diet, but try to feed more weeds and leaves as the are the best thing for your tortoise. Grocery store foods should be a supplement when you can't find anything better in my opinion. Look for dandelion, sow thistle, mallow, filaree, wild mustard, etc. also look for grape, hibiscus and mulberry leaves. If you must use grocery store foods favor spring mix, endive and escarole.

 

[russiantortuga]

I'm confused on the weeds as because I do not know what they look like.. As weird as it may sound I haven't feed my tortoise that, I want to switch up his diet so he can be healthiest to the fullest!

 

[WillTort2]

Yes Kale is fine as part of your diet mix for your tort. I rotate feeding about a dozen different leafy vegetables with several weed and leaf varieties for my Russians.



Endive...............have not seen it in stores lately
Belgian Endive....all ate it
Escarole.............most ate it but not with vigor
Kale..................all like it
Romaine............one of their favorites
Turnip Greens ....all ate it
Carrot tops ........none liked it.
Cilantro..............none liked it.
Arugula..............only Charlote seemed to eat it
Bok Choy...........all ate it none with vigor
Radiccho.............one of their favorites
Water Cress........none liked it; Charlotte ate a little
Hasta................all ate a little
Swiss Chard ......Some ate it; none with vigor
Red Leaf Lettuce...all ate it
Green Leaf Lettuce ....all ate it
Mulberry leaves...most eat them
Grape leaves.......only Charlotte eats them
Dandelions..........all love them
Weeds grown from seed mix.....mostly they ignore them
Cactus Pads.........all like it
Aloe...................most like it

Plus I use the TNT powdered vegetable supplement twice a week just a few sprinkles.

That should give you a starting place.


Good luck.

 

[Tom]

I'm confused on the weeds as because I do not know what they look like.. As weird as it may sound I haven't feed my tortoise that, I want to switch up his diet so he can be healthiest to the fullest!

There is a plant ID section here on the forum. At the top is a sticky that shows all sorts of weeds and says whether or not they are good to feed. You can also post pics of your local weeds and we'll try to ID them for you. Finally, you can take samples to a local plant nursery and ask for ID help there. They will most likely try to tell you how to kill the weed once identified, but You can just explain that you want to grow more, NOT kill them and then watch the look on their face.

 

[russiantortuga]

Re: RE: Is green leaf lettuce & red leaf lettuce good for my tortoise?

I'm confused on the weeds as because I do not know what they look like.. As weird as it may sound I haven't feed my tortoise that, I want to switch up his diet so he can be healthiest to the fullest!

There is a plant ID section here on the forum. At the top is a sticky that shows all sorts of weeds and says whether or not they are good to feed. You can also post pics of your local weeds and we'll try to ID them for you. Finally, you can take samples to a local plant nursery and ask for ID help there. They will most likely try to tell you how to kill the weed once identified, but You can just explain that you want to grow more, NOT kill them and then watch the look on their face.

Thanks both

Yes Kale is fine as part of your diet mix for your tort. I rotate feeding about a dozen different leafy vegetables with several weed and leaf varieties for my Russians.



Endive...............have not seen it in stores lately
Belgian Endive....all ate it
Escarole.............most ate it but not with vigor
Kale..................all like it
Romaine............one of their favorites
Turnip Greens ....all ate it
Carrot tops ........none liked it.
Cilantro..............none liked it.
Arugula..............only Charlote seemed to eat it
Bok Choy...........all ate it none with vigor
Radiccho.............one of their favorites
Water Cress........none liked it; Charlotte ate a little
Hasta................all ate a little
Swiss Chard ......Some ate it; none with vigor
Red Leaf Lettuce...all ate it
Green Leaf Lettuce ....all ate it
Mulberry leaves...most eat them
Grape leaves.......only Charlotte eats them
Dandelions..........all love them
Weeds grown from seed mix.....mostly they ignore them
Cactus Pads.........all like it
Aloe...................most like it

Plus I use the TNT powdered vegetable supplement twice a week just a few sprinkles.

That should give you a starting place.


Good luck.