Oogway ate a mealworm

[Oogway]

I read the post "Clifford just ate a bird", which made me wonder if other tortoise species eat what they can get a hold of in the wild. So i tried giving my eastern hermann's a large mealworm that i brought home from work, and he went straight for it! I know there's a lot of fat in mealworms, but since he ate the worm in captivity, i guess they also do it in the wild every now and again? (not necessarily mealworms)

does anybody know anything about this?

I generally give him weeds and proper things to eat. This was his first ever mealworm

 

[GBtortoises]

There is probably no doubt that even Testudo species like your Hermann's will eat worms and other insects occasionally in the wild. Either on purpose or by accident while consuming vegetable matter. They do require some protein, although most of that should come from plant sources. Feeding them animal proteins like worms, meat or canned animal foods on a regular basis should not be encouraged. However an occasional worm is going to do no harm even though there is no real need to do so. I have personally seen a couple of my Eastern Hermann's females, as well as one of my Marginated females eat small snails that they find in the morning dew within their outdoor enclosures. I don't worry about it at all.