Blending your torts food

[tortoisetime565]

So, I've gotten butternut squash and spaghetti squash. Once cut, I chop it into little cubes and put it in the blender with water. I make it mushy and chunky. Not quite baby food like but close to it. I also mix in calcium powder. I was wondering. If I did this with a lot of their food to get them to eat it would that be okay? I mixed spaghetti squash and carrots and calcium tonight. They are chowing down. But if I maybe added grass or hay to help them incorporate the taste? Of course they will need to have something to help with their beaks but is this an okay option? Bad? They are 9", 8", 7", 5" and 4". Kept desperate of corse!

 

[pfara]

You can do that to introduce new foods. Just make sure to add less of the squash each time until it's just the other food left. I wouldn't keep feeding the squash mixture every day or they'll hold out for just that. Plus, variety is key.

 

[tortoisetime565]

Yes that's what I mean but could I blend up a salad? Like spinach, lettuce, kale, celery? Like make a variety? Instead of giving them the whole pieces that they choose. Like a mostly baby food like mixture?

 

[pfara]

I don't see why not. But, I see it as "Do they have blenders in the wild?" Plus, I like to keep my husbandry simple.. I have enough to clean and I'd rather not add a food processor to the list. I give my torts a "mix" like you do, though, but once a week.

Oh and also, perhaps it isn't a good idea to "baby food" things frequently. Now that I'm thinking about it, you need to let your tortoise digest things on his own. If you blend it, you aren't letting the tort break food down on his own terms (man, I hope you know what I mean cuz I'm struggling to put the words out there lol..)

 

[tortoisetime565]

Well see. When I mix stuff, they pick and choose. I feed them in little terra cotta dishes. They are on the balcony where there is some substrate but not a lot. So I just wipe it clean.

 

[pfara]

If they keep picking around, maybe it's time for some tough love

 

[tortoisetime565]

NEVER!! They must never be punished! They run this!

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I don't see why not. But, I see it as "Do they have blenders in the wild?" Plus, I like to keep my husbandry simple.. I have enough to clean and I'd rather not add a food processor to the list. I give my torts a "mix" like you do, though, but once a week.

Oh and also, perhaps it isn't a good idea to "baby food" things frequently. Now that I'm thinking about it, you need to let your tortoise digest things on his own. If you blend it, you aren't letting the tort break food down on his own terms (man, I hope you know what I mean cuz I'm struggling to put the words out there lol..)

And it's not quite baby food. It's chunky... And has carrots and such in it.

 

[gtc]

So, I've gotten butternut squash and spaghetti squash. Once cut, I chop it into little cubes and put it in the blender with water. I make it mushy and chunky. Not quite baby food like but close to it. I also mix in calcium powder. I was wondering. If I did this with a lot of their food to get them to eat it would that be okay? I mixed spaghetti squash and carrots and calcium tonight. They are chowing down. But if I maybe added grass or hay to help them incorporate the taste? Of course they will need to have something to help with their beaks but is this an okay option? Bad? They are 9", 8", 7", 5" and 4". Kept desperate of corse!

LOL....funny spelling mistake. Keepimg your torts desperate of course ;D

 

[tortoisetime565]

Lol I didn't even notice. Hahaha

 

[Madkins007]

The 'why not' would be that by blending the foods, you have torn open the cell walls and broken up the fibers. In general fiber works better in long strands than in small ones. The more of the fibrous materials you can leave intact, the better for the animals.

Personally, I would just stop the junk food and offer real, whole foods as much as possible. They may ignore it for days, but unless they are hatchlings, it won't hurt them.

 

[spuds]

So, I've gotten butternut squash and spaghetti squash. Once cut, I chop it into little cubes and put it in the blender with water. I make it mushy and chunky. Not quite baby food like but close to it. I also mix in calcium powder. I was wondering. If I did this with a lot of their food to get them to eat it would that be okay? I mixed spaghetti squash and carrots and calcium tonight. They are chowing down. But if I maybe added grass or hay to help them incorporate the taste? Of course they will need to have something to help with their beaks but is this an okay option? Bad? They are 9", 8", 7", 5" and 4". Kept desperate of corse!

If your willing to put in the time to cut and blend then this is a great way to introduce new foods to stubborn torts. Your not cooking and making into a puree so I don't see any significant drop in nutritional value.
I use a similar method to feed new hatchling (Leo, Indian Star). As they grow I increase the size the of the aggregate.