Alfalfa?

[Crystal2807]

I am doing some work before hand. I do not yet have a tort but plan to adopt one when available and have been researching and getting ready tell then. I was wondering if a red foot or russian can eat fresh alfalfa? I have not been able to find this plant on a no list or have I seen anyone talking about it yet. There are so many posts here I could very well be missing it. I wondered because here in Nebraska we have these fields all over, including the farm I grew up at and I plan to take my tort there to roam on the weekends and don't want him in it if it's bad.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Crystal:

Eating too much fresh alfalfa might cause bloat. I would be hesitant to feed it very often or too much at one time.

 

[Crystal2807]

Thanks for the response, I did see that it is ok but to use caution with it.

 

[yagyujubei]

There's a 30 acre hay field next door, so I feed some in the summer. They'll eat some, but don't seem to love it.

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Hi Crystal:

Eating too much fresh alfalfa might cause bloat. I would be hesitant to feed it very often or too much at one time.

Agree completely. Just feed it to your tort in moderation.

 

[Madkins007]

The only way I can get my guys to eat any hay is to chop it up fine and sprinkle it on as a fiber-boosting addition.

However, lots of local plants are great- mulberry, grape leaves, plantain, dandelion, and more.

 

[Tom]

I know a breeder, one of the biggest in the country according to his peers, who grows his own alfalfa for his torts. He told me where to get the seeds and what kind to use. Fine as part of a varied diet.

Be careful with those fields. Out here in the west, they irrigate them with "reclaimed" water, which is partially treated sewage water. Often called "gray" water. The growers won't go out in the fields while the sprinklers are running...

 

[GBtortoises]

With the exception of Marginateds, which eat very little, none of my tortoises, regardless of species, will consume alfalfa hay, unless, like Madkins, I chop it fine and sprinkle it on their food as an additional fiber source.
Most do show some interest in 2nd & 3rd cut Timothy hay because it is usually full of dried weeds like dandelion. Even then, they usually pick out the things they like and leave the grasses.

All of them will eagerly consume fresh alfalfa, especially once it's flowered.