Dietary balance

[j4yl33]

Hi I'm new to tortoises and my little guy (Russian) seems to despise any type of pellet or hay. I am feeding him a variety of greens such as kale, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens and broccoli. Should I be forcing the hay or hay pellets on him or is he fine to have a diet without it. I am unsure as to which percentage of his diet needs to be hay or hay pellets vs. fresh greens. I should also state that I am sprinkling calcium with D3 powder on his food once a week as was suggested.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello! Russian tortoises aren't hay eaters, so don't push him to eat these pellets. But just to be sure - what pellets are you giving? ZooMed Grassland or Mazuri LS, for example, are fine as fiber supplements.

If you can offer him variety of non-grocery greens, if possible - like dandelions, broadleaf plantain, mallow and others. If you don't mind some gardening - you can get tortoise seed mixes and grow your own.

High-fiber pellets (like two I mentioned) - can be given 3-4 times a week, mushed with greens. Classical Mazuri 5M21 - is not really rich in fiber and you can use it 1-3 times a week as an additional nutrients source. Any kind of pellets - are just supplements (more like sauce, than a side dish).

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Depends on what you are feeding, but with most grocery store diets some kind of fiber supplementation is needed. Hay is not the way to go since Russians aren't hay eaters but there are many good pellets to try. Especially wild caught Russians can be picky about new foods but there are some tips to introducing them, this article is a great starting point: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tortoise-diet/introducing-a-new-diet/

 

[Tom]

Hi I'm new to tortoises and my little guy (Russian) seems to despise any type of pellet or hay. I am feeding him a variety of greens such as kale, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens and broccoli. Should I be forcing the hay or hay pellets on him or is he fine to have a diet without it. I am unsure as to which percentage of his diet needs to be hay or hay pellets vs. fresh greens. I should also state that I am sprinkling calcium with D3 powder on his food once a week as was suggested.

Hello and welcome. Please read this material for the correct care and feeding info. There is also a link to a temperate species care sheet with even more feeding and care info specific to your species.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

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As the previous members mentioned, Russians are not grass or hay eaters, so you can stop the hay. What type of pellets are you offering? Are you soaking the pellets first?

All of the greens you are offering are oaky for once in a while feeding, but none of those should be fed as staples. If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Dandelion greens, arugula, cilantro and all the ones you are using are good for some variety. It would be better if you learned to ID your local weeds and fed those to him instead.

Questions are welcome.