Treat day!!!

[Claud_the_tortoise]

 

[Yvonne G]

I applaud your effort to treat Claud occasionally, however I wonder if you realize too much fruit isn't good for him? Given Claud's size, a treat might be only one piece of fruit, and maybe once a month. It is my understanding that too much fruit upsets the gut balance and may lead to a parasite bloom.

I can tell that you think the world of Claud, and to be honest, what's not to love?!!

 

[wellington]

Totally agree and second Yvonnes post and warning. Do the right thing and don't give any fruit as a treat or any time. There are other things that you can use as a treat that won't affect their gut.
Romaine lettuce, cactus, mazuri tortoise pellets just to name a few. My leopards and Russian love romaine. I use it to help give extra hydration in the hottest of summer and when I want to give them a treat.

 

[zolasmum]

Hello and welcome from Devon. Claud looks lovely, but it's true that fruit isn't good for him. We didn't realise that when we first got Zola, 22 years ago - we found out fairly early, luckily, but at that time this forum didn't exist, and there was very little good information available. The people here are very helpful and kind, and I'm so glad you found this forum. It would be nice to know more about Claud - and to see a bigger photo.
There are getting to be quite a few UK members here, but I'm not sure if there are any near you.
Best wishes to you and Claud from Angie

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to you and Claud!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome! Russians are the best!

Are you in the U.K? Bad advice is everywhere but I notice fruit recommended over there much more than in North America.

There are so many things you can give your tortoise for enrichment that are less risky for him. A small mushroom; the end of any marrow/courgette or cucumber; a small bit of any winter squash or sweet potato, a snap or sugar pea, a green bean.

If you want to offer something with more sugar you can give a strip of red capsicum, a small bit of carrot (it's quite high in sugar), or honestly any flower.

Our tortoise gets a bit of something every week, sometimes twice. This week she had a bit of cucumber and a couple of squash blossoms; last week some sweet potato peels and a romano bean. A

 

[Claud_the_tortoise]

I applaud your effort to treat Claud occasionally, however I wonder if you realize too much fruit isn't good for him? Given Claud's size, a treat might be only one piece of fruit, and maybe once a month. It is my understanding that too much fruit upsets the gut balance and may lead to a parasite bloom.

I can tell that you think the world of Claud, and to be honest, what's not to love?!!

Oh, I didn't realise sorry. I know that tortoises can't have too much fruit so twice a month I'll give him some chamomile flowers (not alot) and a couple berries. I'll be more cautious next time.
Thanks

 

[Claud_the_tortoise]

Totally agree and second Yvonnes post and warning. Do the right thing and don't give any fruit as a treat or any time. There are other things that you can use as a treat that won't affect their gut.
Romaine lettuce, cactus, mazuri tortoise pellets just to name a few. My leopards and Russian love romaine. I use it to help give extra hydration in the hottest of summer and when I want to give them a treat.

Thanks for the reply, I'll try and give him some romaine. I am trying to expand his diet so that is very helpfull

 

[Claud_the_tortoise]

Welcome! Russians are the best!

Are you in the U.K? Bad advice is everywhere but I notice fruit recommended over there much more than in North America.

There are so many things you can give your tortoise for enrichment that are less risky for him. A small mushroom; the end of any marrow/courgette or cucumber; a small bit of any winter squash or sweet potato, a snap or sugar pea, a green bean.

If you want to offer something with more sugar you can give a strip of red capsicum, a small bit of carrot (it's quite high in sugar), or honestly any flower.

Our tortoise gets a bit of something every week, sometimes twice. This week she had a bit of cucumber and a couple of squash blossoms; last week some sweet potato peels and a romano bean. A

Thanks for the advice, I do give him peas as a treat aswell because he absolutely loves them with some chamomile flowers. He doesn't like dandelions which are very common where I live but he loves the leaves so I will give him some clean and washed dandelion leaves

 

[RosemaryDW]

Thanks for the advice, I do give him peas as a treat aswell because he absolutely loves them with some chamomile flowers. He doesn't like dandelions which are very common where I live but he loves the leaves so I will give him some clean and washed dandelion leaves

They are always so interesting in what they decide to eat! Mine won't eat chamomile at all. Flowers are much more acceptable than fruit. They have some sugar, yes, but nothing so much as fruit.

Peas on occasion are good as they offer more protein than many foods. All tortoises need plant protein. (English advice sometimes says to avoid protein. That's old advice, back from times where it was't uncommon for tortoises to be fed dog food!)

You might try a dandelion flower that's going to seed, that's when mine will most often eat them. The seeds also are a fair source of protein.

If you ever want to try a pellet food to round the diet out, Nutrazu is the name of the food you will often see mentioned here: Mazuri. You can google it and find tortoise shops that sell it in small quantities. You can sometimes get Pre Alpin, which is a food we can't get in the states; the ingredients look a little bit better to me but they are both very good. I've been looking at a new-to-me shop over there, Tortoise Hut. They sell both a "snack pack" of dried flowers, leaves, and even a slice of opuntia cactus! I don't think I've ever seen a shop over there that sell opuntia directly. They've also got a "trial pack," which includes some of the dried plants and opuntia along with samples of both Nutrazu and Pre Alpin. Plenty of single bags of specific dried plants and flowers as well: https://www.tortoisehut.co.uk/dried-food-for-tortoises.

They sell a tortoise seed mix as well, if you ever have the time and space to grow your own.

 

[Claud_the_tortoise]

They are always so interesting in what they decide to eat! Mine won't eat chamomile at all. Flowers are much more acceptable than fruit. They have some sugar, yes, but nothing so much as fruit.

Peas on occasion are good as they offer more protein than many foods. All tortoises need plant protein. (English advice sometimes says to avoid protein. That's old advice, back from times where it was't uncommon for tortoises to be fed dog food!)

You might try a dandelion flower that's going to seed, that's when mine will most often eat them. The seeds also are a fair source of protein.

If you ever want to try a pellet food to round the diet out, Nutrazu is the name of the food you will often see mentioned here: Mazuri. You can google it and find tortoise shops that sell it in small quantities. You can sometimes get Pre Alpin, which is a food we can't get in the states; the ingredients look a little bit better to me but they are both very good. I've been looking at a new-to-me shop over there, Tortoise Hut. They sell both a "snack pack" of dried flowers, leaves, and even a slice of opuntia cactus! I don't think I've ever seen a shop over there that sell opuntia directly. They've also got a "trial pack," which includes some of the dried plants and opuntia along with samples of both Nutrazu and Pre Alpin. Plenty of single bags of specific dried plants and flowers as well: https://www.tortoisehut.co.uk/dried-food-for-tortoises.

They sell a tortoise seed mix as well, if you ever have the time and space to grow your own.

They are always so interesting in what they decide to eat! Mine won't eat chamomile at all. Flowers are much more acceptable than fruit. They have some sugar, yes, but nothing so much as fruit.

Peas on occasion are good as they offer more protein than many foods. All tortoises need plant protein. (English advice sometimes says to avoid protein. That's old advice, back from times where it was't uncommon for tortoises to be fed dog food!)

You might try a dandelion flower that's going to seed, that's when mine will most often eat them. The seeds also are a fair source of protein.

If you ever want to try a pellet food to round the diet out, Nutrazu is the name of the food you will often see mentioned here: Mazuri. You can google it and find tortoise shops that sell it in small quantities. You can sometimes get Pre Alpin, which is a food we can't get in the states; the ingredients look a little bit better to me but they are both very good. I've been looking at a new-to-me shop over there, Tortoise Hut. They sell both a "snack pack" of dried flowers, leaves, and even a slice of opuntia cactus! I don't think I've ever seen a shop over there that sell opuntia directly. They've also got a "trial pack," which includes some of the dried plants and opuntia along with samples of both Nutrazu and Pre Alpin. Plenty of single bags of specific dried plants and flowers as well: https://www.tortoisehut.co.uk/dried-food-for-tortoises.

They sell a tortoise seed mix as well, if you ever have the time and space to grow your own.

Hi, yeah I totally agree, tortoises are quite picky. I sprinkle the chamomile on his food so he eats it, its supposed to be really good for him. We do have pellet food but our local reptile shop advised us to vary his diet a bit more before going back to having the occasional pellets. But overall thank you

 

[zolasmum]

Our tortoise absolutely loves radicchio - it isn't all that common in the UK, but it's the dark red stuff you can often get in mixed salad bags. We have found a large fruit and veg warehouse (25 miles away ) where we can get whole heads of radicchio , and I get several, as it keeps well in the fridge -to save the long journey ! They call it 'red lettuce" - but I think it's actually a sort of chicory.
Angie (in Devon)