What to feed my tort

[Summer2000]

Hey guys im getting a hermanns tort, i would love to know if anyone could tell me where i can get food for him in canada? Like cactus pads ect, i heard from the market veggies are not as good for them :/

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome.

Your tort's diet should be leafy greens. Your tort cannot digest sugars properly so fruit, peppers and carrot should only be fed very occasionally.

Use The Tortoise Table Plant Database to identify plants growing round you and those you can buy that are suitable to feed
http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp

They have a pdf plant booklet and also an android app that are handy too.

We have a real expert in Hermann's here called HermanniChris who has put together this comprehensive care sheet that I recommend you spend time reading
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/

This Beginner Mistakes sheet is also well worth a read
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Please ask questions as you prepare your new friend's home, and post pictures of your enclosure and lighting, so we can help you perfect it for your new chum. S/he will be with you for the next 50+ years, so it's important to get it right

 

[Summer2000]

Awesome ill look into it.

 

[Tort1419]

Supermarket food is not bad. It should just be fed in MODERATION. And with plenty of VARIETY. Dot just feed the same store bought green everyday. In the winter I like to rotate between endive, escarole, radicchio, spring mix. And other leafy vegetables. Just make sure you don't feed too much, they contain lots of nutrients so too much can cause pyramiding and that is where the problems originate.

 

[JoesMum]

Variety is variety over time however. Don't get anal about providing a mix of things every day. If your tort pigs out on dandelion leaves for a few days and then ends up on spring mix for a few days and then gets something else for the next few days then that is variety

 

[Tom]

Supermarket food is not bad. It should just be fed in MODERATION. And with plenty of VARIETY. Dot just feed the same store bought green everyday. In the winter I like to rotate between endive, escarole, radicchio, spring mix. And other leafy vegetables. Just make sure you don't feed too much, they contain lots of nutrients so too much can cause pyramiding and that is where the problems originate.

I've got to politely disagree on a few points…

Supermarket foods are not bad, as in toxic or anything, but they are not the correct diet for our tortoises. I understand that some people need to rely on store bought food over winter or in times of shortage, but it should be realized that store bought greens generally lack fiber, and some contain harmful compounds if ingested too much or too often, while other have the wrong calcium to phosphorous ratio. You are doing a great job with variety and using the right greens, but I would still add fiber by using the ZooMed grassland pellets, fresh grass, grass hay, or soaked grass hay pellets for horses to what you are feeding. Calcium supplements two or three times a week will also help balance out the calcium needs when feeding those types of greens.

Still, the best foods are going to be weeds, leaves, flowers and cactus pads, of the correct types.

Last thing, pyramiding is not caused by too much food, or too many nutrients. That is an old persistent myth from the past. Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. Slow growth on low nutrition foods or lows amounts of food, results in slower pyramiding, but they still pyramid if conditions are too dry. Faster growth results in faster pyramiding, if conditions are too dry, or smooth growth if conditions are correct.

 

[Tort1419]

I've got to politely disagree on a few points…

Supermarket foods are not bad, as in toxic or anything, but they are not the correct diet for our tortoises. I understand that some people need to rely on store bought food over winter or in times of shortage, but it should be realized that store bought greens generally lack fiber, and some contain harmful compounds if ingested too much or too often, while other have the wrong calcium to phosphorous ratio. You are doing a great job with variety and using the right greens, but I would still add fiber by using the ZooMed grassland pellets, fresh grass, grass hay, or soaked grass hay pellets for horses to what you are feeding. Calcium supplements two or three times a week will also help balance out the calcium needs when feeding those types of greens.

Still, the best foods are going to be weeds, leaves, flowers and cactus pads, of the correct types.

Last thing, pyramiding is not caused by too much food, or too many nutrients. That is an old persistent myth from the past. Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. Slow growth on low nutrition foods or lows amounts of food, results in slower pyramiding, but they still pyramid if conditions are too dry. Faster growth results in faster pyramiding, if conditions are too dry, or smooth growth if conditions are correct.

Thank you for your knowledge.
During the winter I do have to rely on store bought foods, but I also have zoomed grassland tortoise diet and a calcium supplement. I do use the tortoise diet, and I am thinking about starting to use the calcium only once a week because it contains d3 and too much d3 is bad. Anyways my point is:

Next winter I will add hay and grass, but is there anything else We (people who have cold winters)can do so that our torts can be happier and healthier.

 

[JoesMum]

Thank you for your knowledge.
During the winter I do have to rely on store bought foods, but I also have zoomed grassland tortoise diet and a calcium supplement. I do use the tortoise diet, and I am thinking about starting to use the calcium only once a week because it contains d3 and too much d3 is bad. Anyways my point is:

Next winter I will add hay and grass, but is there anything else We (people who have cold winters)can do so that our torts can be happier and healthier.

Your tort is Hermann's. Hay and grass are not part of its diet.

It should be eating leafy greens.

Practically speaking that means, when the weeds are out of season, you feed supermarket greens and supplement with a pellet food.

That's how many of us do it. Just don't use the same store-bought greens all the time.

Calcium doesn't naturally contain D3. You and your tort make D3 from exposure to UVB light. A little calcium powder or grated cuttlebone 2-3 times a week is about right

 

[Tort1419]

Your tort is Hermann's. Hay and grass are not part of its diet.

It should be eating leafy greens.

Practically speaking that means, when the weeds are out of season, you feed supermarket greens and supplement with a pellet food.

That's how many of us do it. Just don't use the same store-bought greens all the time.

Calcium doesn't naturally contain D3. You and your tort make D3 from exposure to UVB light. A little calcium powder or grated cuttlebone 2-3 times a week is about right

I have a Russian tortoise. But the care is basically the same.

The supplement I use contains d3, sorry for not being clear enough

 

[Tom]

Thank you for your knowledge.
During the winter I do have to rely on store bought foods, but I also have zoomed grassland tortoise diet and a calcium supplement. I do use the tortoise diet, and I am thinking about starting to use the calcium only once a week because it contains d3 and too much d3 is bad. Anyways my point is:

Next winter I will add hay and grass, but is there anything else We (people who have cold winters)can do so that our torts can be happier and healthier.

The amount of D3 in most reptile calcium supplements would be hard to overdose, even if you fed your tortoise al to of it every day. I would not worry too much about that.

If its possible, it would be good to grow your own foods in pots or trays indoors under plant lights. This will allow you to feed better foods. For those who do it this way, it is very rewarding.

 

[Tom]

Your tort is Hermann's. Hay and grass are not part of its diet.

You are correct about the natural diet here, but in captivity, for people who must feed a lot of grocery store greens over winter, adding grass, finely chopped grass hay, and soaked ZooMed Grassland pellets, is a good way to "amend" the food and add some much needed fiber.

Feeding some type of grass all mixed in with the grocery store greens is better than the greens by themselves.

 

[Summer2000]

Im definately gunna grow my own stuff asap for winter months.. has anyone checked out tortoise supply.com?

 

[Summer2000]

And im quite confused here between the comments, so what would be a good variety? I have reptivite with d3 and plain calcium will that work? Should i have 2 varieties and different plants daily or something? Lol