How often should I be feeding my Horsefield?

[ap123ap]

He seems to be waiting for food every morning and tends to dart over to it when I place it in his enclosure.

We have been feeding him a variety of food ranging from weeds, spinach, curly Kale and Romaine lettuce which he loves. He doesn't like rocket, broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage.

I have been trying to introduce calcidust every other feed and Nutrabol once a week but he seems to know its on the food and doesn't touch it. He also has cuttlefish in his enclosure but doesn't go near it.


...so, should i feed him every day and how can i introduce calcuim and other needed nutrients into his diet?

 

[wellington]

Every day and enough so there is some left over for munching on later in the day.

---

Cabbage should not be fed, it's on the do not feed list. I'm not sure broccoli is suppose to be fed either. As for calcium, only a pinch once a week, too much is as bad as too little. Put a pinch on his favorite food that has been chopped up and spritz with water. If you don't put too much, he probably won't know its there.

 

[ap123ap]

Every day and enough so there is some left over for munching on later in the day.

---

Cabbage should not be fed, it's on the do not feed list. I'm not sure broccoli is suppose to be fed either. As for calcium, only a pinch once a week, too much is as bad as too little. Put a pinch on his favorite food that has been chopped up and spritz with water. If you don't put too much, he probably won't know its there.

---

Thanks a lot. I will avoid cabbage and broccoli. Great idea about the spritz of water.

 

[LLLReptile]

It's all okay in moderation - broccoli isn't bad if you're offering it a bit once every couple weeks, same with spinach etc. The key is moderation; if you're feeding the same 4 items every day, then yes, that'll cause an issue. If you mix it up, it's not that bad. You'd get sick too if you ate nothing but broccoli and spinach every day, but if you have a little with your meal once a week or every other week...not a problem. Just keep it varied!

If your tort is getting finicky, that's a sign that it's getting enough to eat. It feels full enough to skip over foods it doesn't like as much.

I often like to cheese grate veggies into a mix, and with that, I'll cheesegrate some banana or apple onto the greens to entice them. Chopping things up finely and mixing them together also helps to hide things the tortoises might not like as much as other items.

-Jen

 

[Yvonne G]

A mistake some beginners make is trying to give too much calcium and supplements. Just a pinch over the food is plenty. Not a whole teaspoon, but a small pinch between your thumb and forefinger.