Alternative to Tortoise Bites - need more vitamin A

[Buzz]

Although he eats plenty of carrots, my russian tort is lacking in vitamin A. He has squinty eyelids and an overgrown beak. My vet suggested Tortoise Bites as a supplement. At first he couldn't get enough of them, but now he throws them out of his bowl to get to the stuff he likes.

I regularly feed him radicchio, spring mix salad, hibiscus leaves and a carrot 2 or 3 times a week.

Are there any other supplements I could try?

 

[Maggie3fan]

Although he eats plenty of carrots, my russian tort is lacking in vitamin A. He has squinty eyelids and an overgrown beak. My vet suggested Tortoise Bites as a supplement. At first he couldn't get enough of them, but now he throws them out of his bowl to get to the stuff he likes.

I regularly feed him radicchio, spring mix salad, hibiscus leaves and a carrot 2 or 3 times a week.

Are there any other supplements I could try?

Read up on Russian tort care here...

Russian tortoises

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

Although he eats plenty of carrots, my russian tort is lacking in vitamin A. He has squinty eyelids and an overgrown beak. My vet suggested Tortoise Bites as a supplement. At first he couldn't get enough of them, but now he throws them out of his bowl to get to the stuff he likes.

I regularly feed him radicchio, spring mix salad, hibiscus leaves and a carrot 2 or 3 times a week.

Are there any other supplements I could try?

Vitamin A deficiency is usually a turtle thing, not a tortoise thing, and most vets know little about tortoise care. Carrots are not a good tortoise food.

Tortoise eye problems are usually cause by:
-Wrong lighting, like coil bulb for UV.
-Overly dry or dusty conditions from dry substrate or the wrong substrate.
-Poor health due to wring diet, dehydration, or wrong temperatures.
-Mechanical injury.

Read this for the current and correct care for your species. Tell us about your four temperatures, and what heating and lighting equipment you are using. The diet you are feeding needs improvement. Its lacking variety and fiber.

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[JKR11]

Although he eats plenty of carrots, my russian tort is lacking in vitamin A. He has squinty eyelids and an overgrown beak. My vet suggested Tortoise Bites as a supplement. At first he couldn't get enough of them, but now he throws them out of his bowl to get to the stuff he likes.

I regularly feed him radicchio, spring mix salad, hibiscus leaves and a carrot 2 or 3 times a week.

Are there any other supplements I could try?

I’m interested also because mine also has issues with its beak.