Diet Variety

[mrlax]

Our little 6 week-old hatchling Oscar seems to be doing great thus far. Eating lots, grown from about 24.5 grams to just over 30g in the 2.5 weeks we have had him. Our location is rather disadvantaged for getting 'wild' growing food which is reliable, pesticide-free, etc., so we are pretty much giving him specially-chosen organics from our regular stores. The majority of his diet (approx 80%+) is wheat grass, which he eats with gusto. The other items we taper in and out of his meals are kale, dandelion greens, arugula, tiny amounts of broccoli, zucchini and shredded carrots. I've researched a lot of different sources, and some are expressing that 'rooted' vegetables should be kept at a minimum. Does any other pancake owner have suggestions for other key dietary additions we should be integrating? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Yvonne G]

What a cute baby. I don't know a thing about pancake tortoises, so you can take my response or leave it. I don't worry about what "they" say. If my tortoise eats it, I feed it. My Manouria tortoises actually dig up plants and eat the roots and tubers. I have raised baby leopards, manouria, box turtles, Texas tortoises, desert tortoises, yellowfooted tortoises, sulcatas and aldabran tortoises. I always have fed them grated carrots mixed in with their greens. I also use opuntia cactus, zucchini and yams. The main part is varied greens and weeds, but I mix in the grated veggies too.

 

[mrlax]

Thanks for the message, there are so many opinions and sources of info out there that it can be mind-boggling. I think your experiences and info are very valuable. Unfortunately we arent in an environment where we can provide extensive outdoor time. We live in an apt in San Francisco, and we will be moving to a home with a private yard in about 8-12 months. In the meantime, we have a limited environment for outdoor/sun exposure. Since the summers bring very few days even in the 70s around here, we let our little Oscar out in this screened cubicle for 1-2 hours a day at most, when sunlight hits are deck. When the sun hits, there are varied shadows and a wide variance in the temps, from 100+ to low 70s, so he gets some semi-outdoor time in a safe environment. We usually follow this up with a short soak in a bowl back in his internal home, and then he eats a monster meal.

 

[Tom]

Many things can be grown in pots. Spineless opuntia cactus, grape vines, hibiscus, pasture mixes, etc... You could also try some Mazuri or ZooMed Grassland tortoise chow mixed in with the greens for added nutrition. There is also a product called Salad Style, that is great for adding fiber to grocery store greens. It is basically shredded timothy hay and bermuda hay. You just sprinkle it on top of the grocery store greens. My friend Tyler at http://tortoisesupply.com/ sells it.

 

[mrlax]

Thanks for your advice. I think I will try to grow some more items at home. We have a couple of pots of wheat grass which we are using- I trim one up, then let it revive a bit and move on to the other one. They were like $2 each at our local market. I have some timothy hay as well, I think I will use a blender to break it down to a near-powdery level and start sprinkling it lightly on our daily salads for our little Oscar. I'd like to integrate some edible flowers in here and there as a mix-up as well....