Can't seem to post on the right place. Am newer to computers than I am tortoises!

[Reserchbeforecommitment]

Lotus my RT and I have been together 8 days and I cant speak for her but I'm smitten! Every day she becomes more out going she is amazing! Nothing fazes her I live in south Florida so she is outside all the time her hide is on the porch and the fence for her enclosure leads off the porch onto the lawn and garden she walks back to her hide to sleep when the sun is too hot and again when it goes down she has plenty of shade and other hides but seems to prefer to sleep or nap in her hide box on the porch. She will follow your feet around the lawn and loves to sneak up the step Into the kitchen to explore. 8 short days ago she had never been outside before and had only eaten a freeze dried re-constituted tortoise diet, not that she isn't healthy she just was very reluctant to try anything new. Then a day or two off eyeing everything suspiciously she finally toook a bite of kale!..... She has not looked back she will try anything your fingers present her with!
Sometimes she doesn't like it, she helped herself to a snatch of cilantro growing in a tub on the porch and literally spat it out and stalked off in disgust! She is hysterical. Then yesterday after watching her sit staring thoughtfully at the grass under her feet for the last week, she took a snatch of grass. For the next 35 minutes she didn't raise her head! She ate like it might disappear any moment! I had to gently encourage her to move her feet as she ate everything she could reach down to the earth! Ok so I am very proud and relieved as I had told my husband she will help with the lawn and weeds and yet all he has witnessed is the bill from the organic grocery store! My question is this is there a particular grass that is best suited to Russian tortoises as I will purchase some seed. Currently in our garden is burmuda grass mix.

 

[Yvonne G]

Steppe tortoises will eat a bit of grass, but they really prefer broad-leaf plants and weeds. In my steppe tortoise pen I have clover, dichondra, sow thistle, fillaree, broad-leaf plantain and, sorry to say, the Bermuda grass is starting to take over.

 

[JoesMum]

It sounds like Lotus has just what she needs... a happy RT

 

[Reserchbeforecommitment]

It sounds like Lotus has just what she needs... a happy RT

Thank you so much! I would never have expected to gain so much pleasure from such a little package but she really is a sweetheart I drink my morning coffee with her and she scuttles over to sit near my feet. ;-)

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Steppe tortoises will eat a bit of grass, but they really prefer broad-leaf plants and weeds. In my steppe tortoise pen I have clover, dichondra, sow thistle, fillaree, broad-leaf plantain and, sorry to say, the Bermuda grass is starting to take over.

Thank you, am off to farmers feed store this afternoon so will take a look at grass seeds they also have a large plant area I will check out. Thank you very much, also should I have a dry sandy area because of the dryer temps she would experience in the wild?