Horsefield tortoise wont stop eating!

KateP1994

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Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well. I have a baby horsefield tortoise (9 months old), I got him around 3 months ago and he has settled in well. Im a little bit concerned that he eats so much though - im sure I read on here that you can overfees tortoises, and im concerned that I might be! He will literally hang out waiting for food to appear in his dish, eat it all up and then be waiting around in his empty dish! He is very active, drinks from his water dish and spends lots of time basking under his lamp. I had been feeding him daily (about the amount of his shell) then read that I should be only feeding him every other day but he just sits in his dish if its empty!! Id love to know your thoughts on whether this is normal and how foten youre feeding your baby tortoises?

Many thanks!
 

Tom

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Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well. I have a baby horsefield tortoise (9 months old), I got him around 3 months ago and he has settled in well. Im a little bit concerned that he eats so much though - im sure I read on here that you can overfees tortoises, and im concerned that I might be! He will literally hang out waiting for food to appear in his dish, eat it all up and then be waiting around in his empty dish! He is very active, drinks from his water dish and spends lots of time basking under his lamp. I had been feeding him daily (about the amount of his shell) then read that I should be only feeding him every other day but he just sits in his dish if its empty!! Id love to know your thoughts on whether this is normal and how foten youre feeding your baby tortoises?

Many thanks!
There is a lot of old incorrect info circulating around out there. The whole feed them every other day, or only feed them a little, has been long debunked.

Tortoises are grazers. They should be allowed to eat as much of the right foods as they want daily. Here is a thread with the most current and correct care info, along with feeding info.
 

Cathie G

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Oh me oh my! I can't wait to see your pics of such a cute sounding little baby Russian. Best wishes hopes and prayers. You are at the right place for really good help with the care for your baby.?
 

KateP1994

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Thank you so much for all of your replies!
Will make sure I follow advice from here from now on, there is so much conflicting advice online it can get confusing!20200804_074750.jpg20200804_074750.jpg20200729_163254.jpg Luckily I only saw about feeding every other day about a week or so ago, so hopefully he will forgive me!

Here's Sheldon.. he likes to 'reverse park' and sleep sideways on the stones under his lamp ?
 

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Tom

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Thank you so much for all of your replies!
Will make sure I follow advice from here from now on, there is so much conflicting advice online it can get confusing!View attachment 311812View attachment 311812View attachment 311813 Luckily I only saw about feeding every other day about a week or so ago, so hopefully he will forgive me!

Here's Sheldon.. he likes to 'reverse park' and sleep sideways on the stones under his lamp ?
Looks like the pet shop sold you that Pets at Home substrate. That stuff is dangerous and should be removed ASAP. What idiot thought up that concept? Let make substrate with sand and soil and then add limestone bits into it to encourage the tortoises to EAT the sandy substrate. What a great way to cause an impaction!

Refer to the care sheet linked previously for the best and safest substrate options.
 

ManAlive85

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Jan 13, 2020
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Thank you so much for all of your replies!
Will make sure I follow advice from here from now on, there is so much conflicting advice online it can get confusing!View attachment 311812View attachment 311812View attachment 311813 Luckily I only saw about feeding every other day about a week or so ago, so hopefully he will forgive me!

Here's Sheldon.. he likes to 'reverse park' and sleep sideways on the stones under his lamp ?

Hi Kate,

I love Sheldon’s colours. How often do you soak him/her?

thanks,

Rich
 

RosemaryDW

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So long as your tortoise has plenty of space to walk around he should not have any trouble burning off calories.

Is your baby asleep in that picture? His eyes are closed?
 
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