Desert tortoise diet

[Mosin]

Im trying to feed my Desert tortoise more appropriately I could use any tips. He loves romaine but now I know he should not eat it as much. He eats grass, romaine, leafy greens, and pellets. Any tips Vet said he is healthy but I want to feed him better he has plenty of grass to graze on as well as some native plants.

 

[TammyJ]

Pictures would be nice. Does he get opuntia cactus, pumpkin leaves and flowers?

 

[Tom]

Im trying to feed my Desert tortoise more appropriately I could use any tips. He loves romaine but now I know he should not eat it as much. He eats grass, romaine, leafy greens, and pellets. Any tips Vet said he is healthy but I want to feed him better he has plenty of grass to graze on as well as some native plants.

Lots of weeds, mulberry leaves, hibiscus flowers and leaves, grape vine leaves... You can soak horse hay pellets or ZooMed pellets to mix in with the romaine. Mazuri. Go to kapidolofarms.com and get a few of the dried leaf options like moringa, mallow, dandelion, hibiscus, etc...

As Tammy suggested, opuntia is one of their native foods too. Its really easy to grow and very good for them. Get cuttings of local "spineless" opuntia near you and plant them around your area. You can also buy it in any Mexican grocery store like Vallarta or Tres Sierras.

Any new food will need to be introduced gradually. If you just drop a new item in front of any tortoise, it is likely to be ignored. Mince up tiny tiny amounts of any new food and mix it in with chopped up romaine. There should be hardly any at first, and gradually more over a period of weeks.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Where in the United States do you live? We can give better advice with some background.