What to feed a redfoot?

NaniRedstone

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Hi Everybody, so Redstone our redfooted tortoise hardly eats ? so far he's had mixes of kale/dandelion leaves/ parsley/ squash/ spring greens/ tomatoes/ superworms/ strawberries & mango (not all at once) but those have been the only things I've managed to get so far, but any way with researching everything at the start everything was saying to make sure their diet consists of mainly veg/leaves but hes hardly eating them! He'll happily eat tomatoes and fruit but that's mostly it? If I only put leaves in he wont eat them so it's not him just favouring them, Just wonder what everyone gives theirs and how much of what I'm to give as theres soo many different bits of information online basically all very contradicting. So far today alone I've red that I have to give 10% fruit on one 15%fruit on another and on the last one said 40%fruit in winter months??? I'm soo confused!! ?
 

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Hi Everybody, so Redstone our redfooted tortoise hardly eats ? so far he's had mixes of kale/dandelion leaves/ parsley/ squash/ spring greens/ tomatoes/ superworms/ strawberries & mango (not all at once) but those have been the only things I've managed to get so far, but any way with researching everything at the start everything was saying to make sure their diet consists of mainly veg/leaves but hes hardly eating them! He'll happily eat tomatoes and fruit but that's mostly it? If I only put leaves in he wont eat them so it's not him just favouring them, Just wonder what everyone gives theirs and how much of what I'm to give as theres soo many different bits of information online basically all very contradicting. So far today alone I've red that I have to give 10% fruit on one 15%fruit on another and on the last one said 40%fruit in winter months??? I'm soo confused!! ?
I feed mine a diet that is high in fruits. Probably 60%. Where I live, it's just very easy to get fresh fruit year round.
Any tortoise can get spoiled and choose to only eat certain things.
Stop offering it for a few weeks and he'll begin to eat other things.
Do not worry about percentages. Just keep the food varied.
Its also entirely possible that your enclosure is stressful to him. Too hot to feel comfortable. Too cool to digest food. Too bright. Etc.
So photos are very helpful to give you a decent theory of what's going on and with suggestions on what to do next.
 
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Toddrickfl1

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Hi Everybody, so Redstone our redfooted tortoise hardly eats ? so far he's had mixes of kale/dandelion leaves/ parsley/ squash/ spring greens/ tomatoes/ superworms/ strawberries & mango (not all at once) but those have been the only things I've managed to get so far, but any way with researching everything at the start everything was saying to make sure their diet consists of mainly veg/leaves but hes hardly eating them! He'll happily eat tomatoes and fruit but that's mostly it? If I only put leaves in he wont eat them so it's not him just favouring them, Just wonder what everyone gives theirs and how much of what I'm to give as theres soo many different bits of information online basically all very contradicting. So far today alone I've red that I have to give 10% fruit on one 15%fruit on another and on the last one said 40%fruit in winter months??? I'm soo confused!! ?
Try chopping everything up and mixing it all together like thisIMG_20200725_184330516.jpgMakes it's harder for the Tortoise to pick thru. @ZEROPILOT gave your great advice. Don't stress percentages, just make sure your feeding a good variety of things.
 

NaniRedstone

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I feed mine a diet that is high in fruits. Probably 60%. Where I live, it's just very easy to get fresh fruit year round.
Any tortoise can get spoiled and choose to only eat certain things.
Stop offering it for a few weeks and he'll begin to eat other things.
Do not worry about percentages. Just keep the food varied.
Its also entirely possible that your enclosure is stressful to him. To hot to feel comfortable. Too cool to digest food. Too bright. Etc.
So photos are very helpful to give you a decent theory of what's going on and with suggestions on what to do next.
Ahh thank you! I thought a high percentage of fruit would rot their mouths?
 

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Toddrickfl1

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Oh that's a good idea? What have you mixed together?
For greens I feed Dandelion greens and flowers, mustard, turnip, bok choy, kale, romaine, escarole, endive, red and green cabbage, plantain weed, clover, hibiscus leaves and flowers, arugula, radicchio, raspberry leaf, mulberry leaf, Moringa leaf, echinacea leaf.

Veggies I feed include, squash, carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms, pumpkin, green and red pepper, cucumber, Opuntia cactus

Fruits I feed include, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, mango, banana, apricot, papaya, kiwi, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pear, peach

For protein I use Earthworms, crickets, Tuna, chicken, shrimp, sardines, scrambled eggs (with the Shell) low-fat cat food and sometimes moistened aquatic turtle food. I do protein about once a week.

I also feed either Mazuri Tortoise chow or Zoomed forest Tortoise a couple times a week.

There's probably more I don't remember at the moment. The key is variety. Feed something different each day and try to offer more than one item daily.
 

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Ahh thank you! I thought a high percentage of fruit would rot their mouths?
I see several issues.
One is that moss. Get rid of it. It gets eaten and causes issues.
Use this from the Home Depot
 

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ZEROPILOT

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Also, what type lighting is that?
What are you using for heat day and night?
How are you measuring temperature and humidity?
And is that an open topped enclosure?
There seems to be several things that would upset a Redfoot.
 

NaniRedstone

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Where is Tregaron?
Do you have Home Depots there?
No Home depot here, we are in wales in the UK, he's got orchid bark in there and then we've got the moss you can see in his bedding area, we've got basking bulb for day then ceramic heat one for the night and a uvb D3 strip bulb too, we've got a thermostat and thermometer measuring both sides then also a hydrometer measuring the humidity, humidity is perfect In there as we have fogger but does seem very wet in there! It's a closed top, in the uk especially where we are it's not warm and houses are especially not warm at night so all uk reptile sites said to use what we've got
 

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No Home depot here, we are in wales in the UK, he's got orchid bark in there and then we've got the moss you can see in his bedding area, we've got basking bulb for day then ceramic heat one for the night and a uvb D3 strip bulb too, we've got a thermostat and thermometer measuring both sides then also a hydrometer measuring the humidity, humidity is perfect In there as we have fogger but does seem very wet in there! It's a closed top, in the uk especially where we are it's not warm and houses are especially not warm at night so all uk reptile sites said to use what we've got
One of my favorite people @Lyn W lives in Wales.
But she isn't on the forum much these days.
 

ShellyKettelley

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I see several issues.
One is that moss. Get rid of it. It gets eaten and causes issues.
Use this from the Home Depot
Fir?? I didn't know! Wonder if that's cheaper than the bedding i get from the pet stores....it's really gone up in price. Soaked Spagnum Moss is great bedding also and great for humidity
 

ZEROPILOT

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Fir?? I didn't know! Wonder if that's cheaper than the bedding i get from the pet stores....it's really gone up in price. Soaked Spagnum Moss is great bedding also and great for humidity
Moss very often gets eaten.
It doesn't digest well and can cause issues.
I don't use it at all.
 

Toddrickfl1

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What all do you have in that mixture in the photo?
If I remember correctly it's Mashed Mazuri, Mustard greens, dried mulberry leaf, blueberries, mushrooms, grated sweet potato, and grated Opuntia.
 

shellcior

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If I remember correctly it's Mashed Mazuri, Mustard greens, dried mulberry leaf, blueberries, mushrooms, grated sweet potato, and grated Opuntia.
Yummy. lol. I will definitely try that out along with some other variations. Thanks!
 

pawsplus

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The field studies of wild torts show them eating 60% fruit and a lot of flowers, so I feed a lot of fruit and as many hibiscus blossoms as my trees will produce. I get greens and weeds down Beasley, who is 22 now and who can take it leave leaves and such (other than hibiscus leaves, which she loves), by chopping mushy or slimy fruit (bananas, mango, and prickly pear cactus fruit work well for this) and then mixing and mashing them into the greens. I also got some dehydrated plantain and dandelion greens from Kapidolo Farms and Tortoise Supply, and I mix those into fruit. They coat the fruit so it's impossible to eat the fruit without eating the greens. I also got dehydrated hibiscus from Kapidolo Farms. Rehydrated, they coat the greens and make everything a delightful and very tempting (to a redfoot) red color. It's a lot like what human moms do LOL.
 

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The field studies of wild torts show them eating 60% fruit and a lot of flowers, so I feed a lot of fruit and as many hibiscus blossoms as my trees will produce. I get greens and weeds down Beasley, who is 22 now and who can take it leave leaves and such (other than hibiscus leaves, which she loves), by chopping mushy or slimy fruit (bananas, mango, and prickly pear cactus fruit work well for this) and then mixing and mashing them into the greens. I also got some dehydrated plantain and dandelion greens from Kapidolo Farms and Tortoise Supply, and I mix those into fruit. They coat the fruit so it's impossible to eat the fruit without eating the greens. I also got dehydrated hibiscus from Kapidolo Farms. Rehydrated, they coat the greens and make everything a delightful and very tempting (to a redfoot) red color. It's a lot like what human moms do LOL.
The SHORT list would be what a Redfoot WON'T eat.
 
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