Diet question

jsheffield

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I don't want to steer you wrong but I'm sure you'll get good advice from people more knowledgeable, and with more experience, than me.

Jamie
 
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ZEROPILOT

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No tortoise should ever drink milk or cheese. No matter how much they beg for milk and cookies at night time. Egg yolk and eggs themselves are acceptable for certain species including but not limited to Red foot (is the plural feet???) box turtles.
I prefer FEETS or FOOTSES.:)
 
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ZEROPILOT

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Those of us that keep Redfoot tortoises are very lucky in that there is a LOT OF THINGS that they can and will safely eat. Fruit, flowers, plants and animal protein. Including some dog and cat food.
The trick is to mix it up. Don't get lazy. Provide multiple items each day. And don't give too much of any one item over and over again.
The poo never has white in it.
And because Redfoot are omnivorous. They seem to have some very foul poo from time to time. But it should never be very runny for more than 1 or 2 days in a row. Some watery foods will do that.
Chronic watery poo is going to be something else a may require a vet.
 

Ketta

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Those of us that keep Redfoot tortoises are very lucky in that there is a LOT OF THINGS that they can and will safely eat. Fruit, flowers, plants and animal protein. Including some dog and cat food.
The trick is to mix it up. Don't get lazy. Provide multiple items each day. And don't give too much of any one item over and over again.
The poo never has white in it.
And because Redfoot are omnivorous. They seem to have some very foul poo from time to time. But it should never be very runny for more than 1 or 2 days in a row. Some watery foods will do that.
Chronic watery poo is going to be something else a may require a vet.
Ohhh ok I do remember that some times their poop smelled a bit. But wasn't sure that was normal or not! So how much and how often can I give him dry dog food? Is it by his weight or something like that.
 

Ketta

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Ok so for example morning I give him arugula with basil leaves? Then noon I give him some fruit and evening some dog food? What type of flowers can they eat besides cayenne pepper flowers?
 

Ketta

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Those of us that keep Redfoot tortoises are very lucky in that there is a LOT OF THINGS that they can and will safely eat. Fruit, flowers, plants and animal protein. Including some dog and cat food.
The trick is to mix it up. Don't get lazy. Provide multiple items each day. And don't give too much of any one item over and over again.
The poo never has white in it.
And because Redfoot are omnivorous. They seem to have some very foul poo from time to time. But it should never be very runny for more than 1 or 2 days in a row. Some watery foods will do that.
Chronic watery poo is going to be something else a may require a vet.
Hence why I never saw white poop in the torts I had before.
 

Ketta

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https://m.facebook.com/messages/rea...7179:1587463866&fbid=323235481688121&refid=12

This is his temporary enclosure in my neighbours house it's an hexagonal glass terrarium with only 2-3 soil cms the one I'm preparing will have around 10 cm of soil...
The one he is in right now have some flat rocks but no shelter. So I will try to make him one with some branches... his actual terrarium is about 18 cm wide and 25 cm long while the one I'm preparing is 24 cm wide and 48 cm long.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Ok so for example morning I give him arugula with basil leaves? Then noon I give him some fruit and evening some dog food? What type of flowers can they eat besides cayenne pepper flowers?
I mostly feed mine Hibiscus flowers. They're easy to come by here. Flowers and leaves.
I feed mine dog food maybe once a month. Up to once a week should be ok.
As part of the diet.
 

Ketta

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I have some cuttlebone so I can give him calcium from there what about mineral block can I give him that too?
I don't have any of those flowers here in my country.. the ones I had when I was little ate the cayenne pepper flowers from the plant we had even chewed the leaves..
 

ZEROPILOT

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You can offer Cuttlebone.
I wouldn't worry about a supplemental block.
Just vary the diet.
I often feed as much as 75% fruit some days during the Summer.
More green stuff in the Winter.
But always varied.
Varied diet. Humidity. Warmth and sunshine.
 

Ketta

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You can offer Cuttlebone.
I wouldn't worry about a supplemental block.
Just vary the diet.
I often feed as much as 75% fruit some days during the Summer.
More green stuff in the Winter.
But always varied.
Varied diet. Humidity. Warmth and sunshine.
Wow good to know so for now more fruits than greens?
 

lizznet15

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I have learned so many things i didn't knew in such a short time! So when i was little (i was 8 years old, now i'm 35 years old) i had 9 tortoises but their poop had no white they were outside all the time we fed them fruits, some tomatoes, lettuce, carrots. I did saw them eating dog poop once! Even tho we tried hard to stop them from doing that it didn't always worked. So for my new tortoise i want to make sure that s/he have the right diet. We have no dogs or cats now.
Also what does a 'normal' tortoise poop looks like? Cause from what i'm reading the ones i had didn't had normal poop. Theirs was dark brown almost black no white at all and quite dry they also stole the dry dog's food. Maybe that's why it was brown... all 9 fought to eat dog food even when they had healthy veggies/fruits next to it, i have always wondered if that was unhealthy for them? Even tho the dog food was not for them, the dogs were terrified of the tortoises every time the dogs went to eat and the tortoises were there, the dogs just went away .
I read in a book that they can drink milk and cheese? o_O and cooked egg yolk as part of a healthy diet? also wheat germ?
I have a sully who eats vegetables and fruit, nopales and flower pedals. Hes pop is moist and looks like hay. There is very little to no smell because of what he eats He does have white calcium that comes out which is normal. Do not give it celery, unless you dice it up I read the string in celery could get caught up in his intestines, not sure if true or not so I make sure its dice, because it also provides more water . Good luck
 

DancesWithDinosaurs

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ok i will go later today to my neighbor's house and take some pictures of my new tortoise! Interesting so some species can eat dog food! I thought it wasn't good for them.
Dog food ISN'T good for them, nor is cat food! Both canned & dried pet food contain garbage not safe for any creature, but especially a small creature like turtle's & torts. There were undercover investigations done on the pet food industry. They use dead pet's from Veterinary office's, roadkill, meat & fat from slaughterhouse cast offs where tumor's & infected wounds of murdered animal's are cut out of meat to be used for human consumption. Toxic ingredients from China, including mold sicken & kill numerous pet's. It takes a lot to get a pet food recall done. Even supposed top brands like Blue Buffalo use crap ingredients that aren't plainly disclosed. Flea collars, micro chips, cancer & euthanasia drug's end up in pet food. Only after numerous animal's end up sick & dead, is there testing & a recall. There is only 1 safe brand of food we order & ship to feed our dog's the best food. It's made by the actor Bruce Ward of Batman. He hired scientists to formulate a super dog food & his rescue dog's live far longer than normal dogs. It's called "Gentle Giant" but all sized dog's can eat it. Comes in cans & dry bags w probiotics, non gmo & in poultry or Salmon. Some ppl claim their torts w diarrhea get cleared up bcuz they ate some bites of dog feces. In humans fecal transplants are helping ppl w Crohn's. Dog's carry different bacteria than torts, so I'm not thrilled at that idea. Our rescue habitat Sanctuary has waterfowl that share acreage & ponds w the aquatic turtle's. We've never had a sick turtle. Our Eastern Box was a rescue from another rescuer who had vetted him for 15 year's with a turtle vet & cared for him indoors w strolls out on her country property with a stream. She couldn't do it anymore, it exhausted her as she faced health issues. Since coming to live here, we built him an outdoor enclosure for security & let him hibernate for the 1st time since he was rescued injured 3 rescuers ago. He's been with us about 4 year's now & has zero health issue's. I think exposing him to dog & cat feces isn't the greatest. Waterfowl, cows & horse's are more naturally found in their environment. BUT, if your pet's & livestock get worming, eating that feces will sicken & usually kill fowl & turtle's. Commingling torts & turtles with pet's isn't great. 1 bite, 1 scratch, getting flipped over, picked up & dropped, are all eventual probabilities & risks. We do have a herd of llamas that guard the habitat. When we worm, we scoop up their llama doo pellets (looks like coffee beans) & don't expose our ecosystem to their manure after worming. Llamas & cattle have superior digestion & really don't pose as great of a concern as other animal's but the worming agent's do. Always triple check advice on dietary choices, some ppl claim "this or that" hasn't killed their tort YET, but the health, confort & longevity of any creature in your care (our care) is up to us. Never show off & bring turtle's & torts to public place's & park's etc. Most places use weed killer's, chemicals & possibly nowadays GMO plant's & seeds. NEVER feed any GMO produce. Probiotics aid to prevent & halt diarrhea. You can research which foods contain the most. We use an Alaskan Salmon Oil with added probiotics on felines & canines. The ingredients seem safe for turtle's if needed, u could add a few drops to a turtle's food but you would need to know if your critter is able to safely consume fish oil. Many great herbs are supportive too. Get your information from universities that publish the latest information on dietary recommendations because older advice from many vet's was utter garbage. Believe information from the last 10 year's & up. Best wishes..
 

DancesWithDinosaurs

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Is red krill oil safe for him?
I would think Krill would be good because they come from the cold deep water (for box turtle's or species that consume meat.) Our Eastern Box gets sardines & salmon offered up every 2 to 3 day's. Depending on the weather extremes & he's always thrilled to eat it with vigor. You never want farm raised fish & tuna has mercury in it so we avoid tuna. I'm guessing your krill oil capsule would be puncured & squeezed onto his produce, hay, grass or turtle or tort diet food. Whatever isn't eaten in an hour or so (involving fish) we remove as to not attract yellow jacketd, skunks, racoons & animal's that love fish. Our box turtle is in a fully secured run type of situation but I still don't want predators being attracted to the rest of the habitat because our aquatic turtle's are free to roam our natural pond's & acreage. Avoid GMO food & try to get all organic. You can grow herbs, grasses, flower's & veggies in trays & pots. Strawberries that aren't organic are heavily laden with toxic chemical's used by growers. Paying a little bit more for organic will save you thousands in vet bills as you try to save a pet. Chemical's & GMO disrupt the digestive tract & weaken the immune system. Fat in the body stores toxins too & is a reason doctor's say overweight people have a much greater risk of getting cancer. Sardines packed in water are affordable & you can put the extra in a ziploc or freezer container & freeze them until you wish to pull 1 out to defrost & feed your turtle. Never feed chilled food to your turtle's & torts. I hope this helped & I wish you joy & success with your little dinosaurs:)
 

DancesWithDinosaurs

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I have some cuttlebone so I can give him calcium from there what about mineral block can I give him that too?
I don't have any of those flowers here in my country.. the ones I had when I was little ate the cayenne pepper flowers from the plant we had even chewed the leaves..
Many plant's are toxic to certain animal's & human's but safe for others. Hibiscus are safe for tortoises & turtle's but very toxic to horse's, llamas & lots of other animal's too. Same with fig leaves. You can look up which plant's are safe for each species. Most veterinary teaching college's post up to date information on toxic & safe plant's. Another example is the Easter Lily is TOXIC & DEADLY to cat's! Just the pollen touching a cat's whiskers will swiftly sicken & kill cat's. Vet's dread Easter because people will bring Easter Lily's into their home or yard & many cat's die
 

DancesWithDinosaurs

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I mostly feed mine Hibiscus flowers. They're easy to come by here. Flowers and leaves.
I feed mine dog food maybe once a month. Up to once a week should be ok.
As part of the diet.
Please read my "reply" in which I describe why you shouldn't feed dog or cat food to your turtle's.
 

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