How long should my baby tortoise eat?

[fergusaur]

I have a 2 month old Hermann’s tortoise named Hulu and I was wondering how long should I let him eat his food. I use to leave his food out the whole day, but his veggies dry up overtime in his enclosure. I also feed him Timothy and orchard grass/hay, but it hear that since I wet it for him, it will get moldy in his enclosure in a couple of hours? I start soon in a week so once I leave my house I won’t be home for hours at a time, so how long should I let him eat? Is 30 minutes enough time for a baby?

 

[wellington]

He should have food available all day and let him eat as long as he wants.

 

[fergusaur]

He should have food available all day and let him eat as long as he wants.

U don’t think the hay will get moldy after a couple hours when wet?

 

[wellington]

Not likely with the temps the enclosure has. It should dry out before mold.
You could either wait to feed him the wet hay until you are home and a give a good handful of weeds or greens for while you are gone. They dry out before they go bad. Some torts will eat them dried too.

 

[fergusaur]

Not likely with the temps the enclosure has. It should dry out before mold.
You could either wait to feed him the wet hay until you are home and a give a good handful of weeds or greens for while you are gone. They dry out before they go bad. Some torts will eat them dried too.

Ok, thank u so much

 

[Tom]

I have a 2 month old Hermann’s tortoise named Hulu and I was wondering how long should I let him eat his food. I use to leave his food out the whole day, but his veggies dry up overtime in his enclosure. I also feed him Timothy and orchard grass/hay, but it hear that since I wet it for him, it will get moldy in his enclosure in a couple of hours? I start soon in a week so once I leave my house I won’t be home for hours at a time, so how long should I let him eat? Is 30 minutes enough time for a baby?

Hermanni are not grass eaters. There is no point in feeding grass hay to a non-grass eater, and babies typically won't eat hay anyway. The only reason to feed soaked grass hay to a hermanni would be if it was soaked and mixed in as a coating on the greens to add some fiber.

A pile of weeds ad leaves will last all day. When I clip mulberry branches, grape vines or hibiscus branches, they will last for at least a couple of days if not eaten.

Tortoises are grazers. They should have the right foods available all day every day. You could do a smaller pile in the morning, and then another pile later in the day if need be.

 

[Sarah2020]

Hi as mentioned leave food in all day as they are grazers.

Best to provide washed fresh veg/weeds /flowers (I.e variety to get them familiar with flavours when young) in the morning and remove around 18.00. Ensure you also provide fresh water twice a day both in a dish similar to a plant pot bases that they can walk in and out of as they like to sit in and on the food.
Orchid bark is a great base as you must keep a humid environment for good shell growth along with regular soaks for hydration.
Please read this care sheet to check heat, light and enclosure etc....

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[fergusaur]

Hermanni are not grass eaters. There is no point in feeding grass hay to a non-grass eater, and babies typically won't eat hay anyway. The only reason to feed soaked grass hay to a hermanni would be if it was soaked and mixed in as a coating on the greens to add some fiber.

A pile of weeds ad leaves will last all day. When I clip mulberry branches, grape vines or hibiscus branches, they will last for at least a couple of days if not eaten.

Tortoises are grazers. They should have the right foods available all day every day. You could do a smaller pile in the morning, and then another pile later in the day if need be.

Thanks Tom and I’m not feeding him hay by itself because I know he doesn’t like it that much, I just mix it in with his food since I know it’s good for him. I’m going to the store today to buy him some Endive, Escarole, and Radicchio for more variety with his diet as well.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Tom and I’m not feeding him hay by itself because I know he doesn’t like it that much, I just mix it in with his food since I know it’s good for him. I’m going to the store today to buy him some Endive, Escarole, and Radicchio for more variety with his diet as well.

I mix in soaked horse hay pellets for my tortoises several times a week, and sometimes it sits all day and over night. It doesn't mold even in my high humidity indoor closed chambers.

 

[zolasmum]

Thanks Tom and I’m not feeding him hay by itself because I know he doesn’t like it that much, I just mix it in with his food since I know it’s good for him. I’m going to the store today to buy him some Endive, Escarole, and Radicchio for more variety with his diet as well.

I feed our 21year old Hermanns tortoise at intervals during the day - first thing, then around lunchtime, then in the afternoon and early evening - obviously, if he hasn't eaten much, I just top it up - but I always rinse everything with bottled spring water first, as our tap water has chlorine in it .The water keeps it from wilting a bit - also, if he is hungry, he tells me very clearly by opening his mouth in a dramatic sort of way ! He does love radicchio, by the way, and will never turn that down, even if he isn't hungry.
Angie

 

[Prize007]

I sometimes put the stem of a leaf in the water tray, with the bulk of the leaf on the slate. That keeps it from drying up quickly and actually brings back limp greens.

 

[William Lee Kohler]

I have a 2 month old Hermann’s tortoise named Hulu and I was wondering how long should I let him eat his food. I use to leave his food out the whole day, but his veggies dry up overtime in his enclosure. I also feed him Timothy and orchard grass/hay, but it hear that since I wet it for him, it will get moldy in his enclosure in a couple of hours? I start soon in a week so once I leave my house I won’t be home for hours at a time, so how long should I let him eat? Is 30 minutes enough time for a baby?

Until he's all grown up and for as long as he lives☺️.