I just bought a can of pumpkin for my Sulcata and its enough to last it for what i think the next year. My question is. I read a posting about soaking your your young tortoise in baby food for the xtra vitiamns they absorbe up. Can you feed your tortoise like for example the squash baby food so the vitiamns actually get in there body through the digestive system. I am very new to this and my mind wonders. Thanks for your time.
Baby Food
- Thread starter cknfrmr
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I think this is a very good question. I hope someone chimes in with an answer. My guess is that somebody on here has fed it before.
When my baby Yellowfoot tortoise were first out of the egg, I had a hard time getting them to start eating. What finally turned them around was putting Gerber baby food over their greens. I used the different fruit flavors. They just gobbled it up.
If your baby is eating his greens and you'd like to get some baby food into him, there's nothing wrong with putting a little pumpkin or baby food over the food. Just don't use fruit for a desert-type tortoise.
If your baby is eating his greens and you'd like to get some baby food into him, there's nothing wrong with putting a little pumpkin or baby food over the food. Just don't use fruit for a desert-type tortoise.
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I didn't think that tortoises absorbed nutrients through their skin
Maybe someone was thinking of Repta-Aid to spoon feed the malnourished Torts with a pipette?
Very stressful to force feed any animal.
Very stressful to force feed any animal.
I wouldn't use baby food or pumpkin or such in a soak unless the young tort was ill (same with bird vitamins, another common treatment). If the tort is healthy, just feed a healthy varied diet and use a pure calcium supplement daily (no vitamins or D3 if you have a UVB bulb or the tort gets sun).
I give my Russian tort a very small amount of pumpkin or butternut squash (typically organic canned). I do treats as less than 5% of the diet to give you an idea of what I mean by small amount (pumpkin, squashes, cactus, Mazuri, Grassland, etc). After you open the can, you will have to freeze it in small amounts if you want it to last. Ice cube trays works great. I wouldn't keep it open in the fridge for more than 5 days or so. Remember to never keep food in open cans as the metal becomes toxic or something. I serve my tort pureed type foods in a baby food jar lid. He quickly learned how to eat from it without biting the metal, and it really cuts down on the mess vs. putting it over the greens. Silly tort always eats his treat food first. Squash (butternut is best) baby food is the only type I'd feed. If the tort was sick and you wanted to soak in baby food water, carrot is another appropriate type. You don't want yams, fruits, and starchy kinda foods.
How old of a tort, what species, and is it healthy? We need more information to give you advice about pumpkin/vitamins/soakings. Thanks!
I give my Russian tort a very small amount of pumpkin or butternut squash (typically organic canned). I do treats as less than 5% of the diet to give you an idea of what I mean by small amount (pumpkin, squashes, cactus, Mazuri, Grassland, etc). After you open the can, you will have to freeze it in small amounts if you want it to last. Ice cube trays works great. I wouldn't keep it open in the fridge for more than 5 days or so. Remember to never keep food in open cans as the metal becomes toxic or something. I serve my tort pureed type foods in a baby food jar lid. He quickly learned how to eat from it without biting the metal, and it really cuts down on the mess vs. putting it over the greens. Silly tort always eats his treat food first. Squash (butternut is best) baby food is the only type I'd feed. If the tort was sick and you wanted to soak in baby food water, carrot is another appropriate type. You don't want yams, fruits, and starchy kinda foods.
How old of a tort, what species, and is it healthy? We need more information to give you advice about pumpkin/vitamins/soakings. Thanks!
Vitamin soaks- this is commonly used by a few people and recommended at a few sites. Torts do not absorb water or nutrients (other than UVB) through the skin or cloaca (this has been researched and tested). I am not saying there is no benefit to the practice, it just isn't getting stuff through the skin.
Baby foods- I have a couple jars of baby food in my emergency tortoise kit, along with some canned veggies, Mazuri, cat kibble, and such. I do not think they make a lot of sense as a staple diet element, though- costly, sugary, pureed cell walls damage fiber and nutrients; and because they are digested so quickly, they may cause tummy troubles.
However, they seem fine for getting finicky eaters to eat, delivering meds, and helping dehydrated torts.
Baby foods- I have a couple jars of baby food in my emergency tortoise kit, along with some canned veggies, Mazuri, cat kibble, and such. I do not think they make a lot of sense as a staple diet element, though- costly, sugary, pureed cell walls damage fiber and nutrients; and because they are digested so quickly, they may cause tummy troubles.
However, they seem fine for getting finicky eaters to eat, delivering meds, and helping dehydrated torts.
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Scooter
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I used baby food when my hingeback was being picky and would only eat bananas. I would put the banana baby food on here greens then slowly reduced the baby food.
Did you know they use powdered glass to make the baby food smooth?
We were not designed to injest chemicals and garbage fillers.
We were not designed to injest chemicals and garbage fillers.
webskipper said:
This was the only thing I could find on the subject, and it's over 20 years old.
http://www.pillowrock.com/ronnie/gerber.htm
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