SuzanneZ
Well-Known Member
I haven't been able to locate the reasons for not feeding adult tortoises every day. Seems to me in the wild they'd snack all day long every day.
You should feed your tortoise(s) every day. If they aren't hungry, they won't eat. As Alex said above, in the wild, the tortoise would have an opportunity to eat daily. The same opportunity should be available to it in captivity.I haven't been able to locate the reasons for not feeding adult tortoises every day. Seems to me in the wild they'd snack all day long every day.
Thank you. So it's not everybody.Yes, that's how the do in wild and that's why there is a recommendation to feed them every day and to leave feed dish for the whole day long.
The only reasoning I've seen yet on feeding every other days or every 2-3 days was to prevent obesity. But regular exercising in a large enough enclosure prevents obesity better and with more benefits. And yes, the proper diet of course.
Perhaps adult tortoises do fine with either feeding schedule and in the wild they might have "unlucky days" as well, where occasional nibbles is all they've got.
To check if you need to reduce/increase food amount or feeding frequency you can use Jackson ratio.
Thank you. Out in the world feeding 3 days out of 5 is preached. Glad I asked. (I was feeding every day 🙂)You should feed your tortoise(s) every day. If they aren't hungry, they won't eat. As Alex said above, in the wild, the tortoise would have an opportunity to eat daily. The same opportunity should be available to it in captivity.
This is exactly the type of erroneous information that we are combating here daily. This is why we say not to get tortoise care advice from any source outside this forum. You will get told the wrong info and sold the wrong products.Thank you. Out in the world feeding 3 days out of 5 is preached. Glad I asked. (I was feeding every day 🙂)
Thank you. Really sad how many times I read that wrong information. Not everybody finds this forum.This is exactly the type of erroneous information that we are combating here daily. This is why we say not to get tortoise care advice from any source outside this forum. You will get told the wrong info and sold the wrong products.
This myth comes from two old misconceptions"
1. Food and "fast growth" causes pyramiding, so starve your tortoise several days a week to slow down the growth and the pyramiding. The right info: Food has nothing to do with pyramiding. Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. Slowing down the growth with food deprivation does not prevent pyramiding if the conditions are too dry.
2. Wild tortoises grow slowly in most cases, so we should grow them slowly in captivity by starving them. The right info: The reason why wild tortoises grow slowly is because the wild is a very harsh place. Drought, disease, predation, weather extremes, etc... In captivity, we protect our animals from these killers, and offer them optimal ideal living conditions to keep them healthy. Of course they will grow faster under ideal conditions with ideal food offered in captive conditions. In the wild, most of them are able to "survive" periods of bad weather and the natural food and water deprivation that happens. That doesn't mean these conditions are "good" for them. I don't want my tortoises to merely survive. I want them to thrive.
Wait until you find the advice that says feed apples to dry land tortoises! How someone came up with that I'll never know.Thank you. Really sad how many times I read that wrong information. Not everybody finds this forum.
Glad you asked too! Keep feeding the right stuff every day. People who say "oh, every two days or so...!" are either repeating some foolishness they heard or read, or they just don't know and are trying to sound 🦉 wise and knowledgeable.Thank you. Out in the world feeding 3 days out of 5 is preached. Glad I asked. (I was feeding every day 🙂)
As a follow-up to this discussion I would like to add that when I was on the staff of the Bronx Zoo, the tortoises were fed six days weekly, Sunday through Friday, with Saturday being a "Not Fed" day. This was done to give the keepers a break in their routine, not to deprive the tortoises of food.Thank you. Really sad how many times I read that wrong information. Not everybody finds this forum.