Hi RosemaryYou will get different advice on this. Your tortoise is captive bred, I think?, and used to what she was raised on in the pet shop. I don't know how that will impact her sense of food. @Tom or others who raise and feed captive bred tortoises will have better advice.
My tortoise is wild caught and has four or five years of eating a native diet that was appropriate and safe. But does she eat it because it's safe or because she's used to it? I have never seen her eat anything that is "bad" for her, more than a small bite. But she also refuses some foods that are safe, if they are unfamiliar. Of the weeds and such that grow wild in the yard, she only is interested in the ones that come from the "old" world, not the "new." She does eat one weed that is considered unsafe by some but is found in her natural habitat (bindweed) and is part of the wild tortoise diet.
She does love nasturtiums, they must be too delicious to pass up! I would definitely plant some, they are so easy to grow.
Oh the spell check has really messed that up but I'm sure you can decipher it
Hi Tom. Good to hear from you love your tourtouse makes Freda look a bit rough and ready. You can probably see I have been busy planting today and will get a rotation of crops (forgot carrots). She didn't seem to like the peas. I'm going to try to get clover and dandelion seeds we only have them in the national park here and can't take them from the wild. I will try her again with some green beans so she gets as much variety as possible (unlike me who loves pizza and chocolate, not at the sane time ). Bye for now and I must stop looking at all the other tourtouses 1 is certainly enough for me!
RosemaryDW I gave her the gourmet salad (you said they tend to like the bitter selection) she has eaten 2 plate fulls today alone and NO BROCCOLI she was munching on a hibiscus flower the last time I saw her eating now she has retreated to her hide and is digging about in there. I may bath her later and keep her in tonight just to be sure se isn't dehydratedYou will get different advice on this. Your tortoise is captive bred, I think?, and used to what she was raised on in the pet shop. I don't know how that will impact her sense of food. @Tom or others who raise and feed captive bred tortoises will have better advice.
My tortoise is wild caught and has four or five years of eating a native diet that was appropriate and safe. But does she eat it because it's safe or because she's used to it? I have never seen her eat anything that is "bad" for her, more than a small bite. But she also refuses some foods that are safe, if they are unfamiliar. Of the weeds and such that grow wild in the yard, she only is interested in the ones that come from the "old" world, not the "new." She does eat one weed that is considered unsafe by some but is found in her natural habitat (bindweed) and is part of the wild tortoise diet.
She does love nasturtiums, they must be too delicious to pass up! I would definitely plant some, they are so easy to grow.
This is where things get confusing: some say "legumes are no good" and others that "they are good". The way I see it is: if it is a PLANT, and not containing some toxic stuff (i.e. alkaloids that will slow down heart rate or shut down the immune system, etc) and you are confident that your pet tort is getting WIDE VARIETY of foods, making the greens of legumes small part of this VERY DIVERSE DIET is not going to hurt anything, to contrary, it may fill in some nutritional gaps with adding little extra protein and such. That's the reason why I like adding a bit of commercial tort diet to my tortie feedings.
Mr Tom, thank you for that nugget of tort care wisdom. I love reading your informative posts and so appreciate you sharing your wealth of knowledge and expertise so freely with all of us on this forum. I also very much enjoy when you throw in the history behind the issues that are being discussed. I consider myself lucky to be able to learn from you Guys (you know who you are!) and thank you❤
It is very confusing for a complete novice but it's great to hear the discussions and people's personal experiences. Now Freda is eating the mixed Salad and hibiscus flower I am happier but there is no way she will touch the pellets. I tried with a little water but no way will she eat it. Soon I will have the mustard sprouts for her they are growing but not very well and they are a bit sparse but it will add to the variety
Haha, mine make lots of noise every night before going to bed in their hides. I call it "nesting", you know like a dog or cat walking around few times before he finally plops to sleep on a piece of clothing or something that they decide makes a perfect nesting material. I think it's a sign that Freda is very comfortable in her home, and not scared to do little "remodeling"
