Baby Hermann's Tortoise Diet

[Jessiek1993]

Hello, my boyfriend and I are aiming at getting a Hermann's tortoise this summer. I'm doing as much research as possible to prepare. We will be getting a baby, the breeder sells them at around 2 inches. I was wanting to see what kinds of food everyone has had luck with a baby tortoise. We will be providing leafy greens and such however the pellets I keep seeing seem like they would be much too big for a baby. Any links to smaller pellets would be appreciated as well. Thank you for any and all advice!

 

[Krista S]

My Hermann’s loves the Fluker Tortoise Buffet pellets. I remove the dried fruit bits because they shouldn’t have fruit, but these pellets are my torts absolute favourite and they are a small sized pellet. I soak these in water and they completely soften. They actually resemble the size and look of aquatic turtle pellet sticks. https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/flukers-tortoise-buffet-blend-59832.html

A lot of people have success with Mazuri 5M21 pellets. Keep in mind that almost all pellets get soaked before being fed, so it doesn’t really matter how big the pellets are. With Mazuri, most people with soak the pellets and then mix them into greens once or twice per week.

I highly recommend taking a thorough read of this thread that was created by one of the forum experts, Tom. It’s got the best advice and information available.

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Good for you, for doing all of this research in advance. You’re saving yourself a lot of headache, heartache and worry by doing it right the first time.

 

[Jessiek1993]

My Hermann’s loves the Fluker Tortoise Buffet pellets. I remove the dried fruit bits because they shouldn’t have fruit, but these pellets are my torts absolute favourite and they are a small sized pellet. I soak these in water and they completely soften. They actually resemble the size and look of aquatic turtle pellet sticks. https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/flukers-tortoise-buffet-blend-59832.html

A lot of people have success with Mazuri 5M21 pellets. Keep in mind that almost all pellets get soaked before being fed, so it doesn’t really matter how big the pellets are. With Mazuri, most people with soak the pellets and then mix them into greens once or twice per week.

I highly recommend taking a thorough read of this thread that was created by one of the forum experts, Tom. It’s got the best advice and information available.

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Good for you, for doing all of this research in advance. You’re saving yourself a lot of headache, heartache and worry by doing it right the first time.

Thank you so much! I'll go through and read that thread. I want to ensure we take care of the little guy properly.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Hello, my boyfriend and I are aiming at getting a Hermann's tortoise this summer. I'm doing as much research as possible to prepare. We will be getting a baby, the breeder sells them at around 2 inches. I was wanting to see what kinds of food everyone has had luck with a baby tortoise. We will be providing leafy greens and such however the pellets I keep seeing seem like they would be much too big for a baby. Any links to smaller pellets would be appreciated as well. Thank you for any and all advice!

Kudos for finding this forum and doing your research months in advance! I have a Russian tortoise and use this Mazuri which is tiny in size. But as it was already stated, you’ll soak it first.

MAZURI Small Tortoise LS (Low Starch) Food, 8-oz bag - Chewy.com

Buy Mazuri Small Tortoise LS (Low Starch) Food, 8-oz bag at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome.
Good idea to research before you buy and don't let pet shops talk you into buying unsafe and unnecessary expensive equipment which will be a waste of money. They rarely give correct advice because they are profit driven. Use cheap terracotta plant saucers for water and food dishes - much safer for baby torts to access and exit than the steep sided dishes sold in shops.
The dial type thermometers and hygrometers are pretty unreliable so get yourself a good digital t/h with a probe to give readings at tort level and a digital temp gun to spot check areas around the enclosure. Coiled and cfl type bulbs have been known to damage tort eyes so research your uvb, basking and night heat sources well. There's lots of great advice from very experienced keepers here and it's all up to date so forget FB and other websites. The caresheet will help you with almost everything but there's always someone around to answer any questions.

In the summer you'll have lots of lovely weeds and plants available that he will enjoy which should be his main diet.
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is a good guide to familiarise yourself with safe plants for food and enclosures.