New desert tortoise owner with a couple questions...

[raelin31]

Hello! I am a new tortoise "mom" who just adopted two female desert tortoises and have a few questions. Although I don't know how old they are, my guess is at least 30. The previous owner (who is moving to a colder climate) had them for 15 years and the owner before her had them for 10. I hope to be their last owner (hey, I'm still young enough...!).

My first question is on their diet and how much to feed them. The only thing I have been able to find in my research is that tortoises have very healthy appetites, but I can't find how much to feed them. I have been giving them Spring Mix (which seems to be popular) and Zoo Med Grassland Tortoise Diet (which seems to be less popular but not hated - by owners, I mean). My torts gobble both right up and don't seem to be very picky. I bought some California native grasses and plants at The Living Desert nursery in Palm Springs, but what I have is not nearly enough to give them an all natural diet - hence the Spring Mix and Grassland stuff. I also plan on adding calcium one or twice a week. But any advice on how much to feed them would be greatly appreciated!

My second question is on the dreaded pyramiding. Does this only occur when the tortoises are growing to their full size? Or does it continue to happen when they are full grown adults? My tortoises have evidence of pyramiding, so I'm just curious if it was probably when they were younger or could still be happening now. I obviously want to provide them with a good diet and would hope that it would stop.

I think that's it for now! Thanks for any advice you can offer to a new tortoise mom! By the way, they are Mabel and Clementine, and I am Rachel.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[colatoise]

I don't really know anything about desert tortoises but fired my Greek the grassland food on occasion. It has low protein and high fiber. Usually I give him a mid of mustard greens, turnip greens, spring mix, and weeds. Mine gets sun regularly and I have a UVB bulb in his indoor enclosure. I keep a zoo med tortoise bone which is basically a cuttlebone with a higher calcium level. Hope this helps and welcome!

 

[Laura]

do they have a yard to graze in? are they outside?
oh,, and WELCOME!!!

 

[raelin31]

I don't really know anything about desert tortoises but fired my Greek the grassland food on occasion. It has low protein and high fiber. Usually I give him a mid of mustard greens, turnip greens, spring mix, and weeds. Mine gets sun regularly and I have a UVB bulb in his indoor enclosure. I keep a zoo med tortoise bone which is basically a cuttlebone with a higher calcium level. Hope this helps and welcome!

Thank you! I'll look for the tortoise bone... I just have the regular cuttlebones right now.

 

[raelin31]

do they have a yard to graze in? are they outside?
oh,, and WELCOME!!!

Yes, they are outside in our backyard. Well, a yard of hard packed dirt... so no grazing yet. I bought several seed pouches of "Desert Tortoise Mixture" from a nursery in California that specializes in CA native plants (Theodore Payne Nursery). I plan on trying to get the stuff to grow during the harsh Southern California "winter" when the girls aren't out walking around. So hopefully when they come back out they will be met with a nice grazing area! The grasses and plants that I bought from The Living Desert for them are in pots right now, so I have to pick the stuff for them, which I do daily.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome, Raelin.

Best diet for desert tortoises is to be allowed to graze on weeds and grasses. In the meantime, you can offer dark, leafy greens like endive, escarole, mustard, dandelion, kale, etc. The spring mix is ok, but sometimes it has an awful lot of spinach in it. Too much spinach every day is not good, as it binds the calcium and doesn't allow the tortoise to absorb it.

You don't have to worry about pyramiding. That's only in very young tortoises.

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum and we LOVE PICS

http://www.donsdeserttortoises.com/1.html

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/diet.shtml

Just some fun reading and such....

 

[raelin31]

Welcome, Raelin.

Best diet for desert tortoises is to be allowed to graze on weeds and grasses. In the meantime, you can offer dark, leafy greens like endive, escarole, mustard, dandelion, kale, etc. The spring mix is ok, but sometimes it has an awful lot of spinach in it. Too much spinach every day is not good, as it binds the calcium and doesn't allow the tortoise to absorb it.

You don't have to worry about pyramiding. That's only in very young tortoises.

Thank you! I had read that about spinach and worried about that too... The Spring Mix I bought at Costco doesn't seem to have a whole lot of it, but I will definitely watch out for that and try and pick some of it out. I guess I just need to get my weeds a growin'! Thanks again!

 

[raelin31]

Welcome to the Forum and we LOVE PICS

http://www.donsdeserttortoises.com/1.html

http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/tortoise/diet.shtml

Just some fun reading and such....

Thank you... I'll definitely take a look at these site!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. If they are outside grazing on their own you can just let them eat as much as they want. This is the ideal situation. You can get pasture mixes from Peaceful Valley Farms and Tyler at tortoisesupply.com has a great Testudo seed mix that grows very well for me here n CA just a little north of you. I don't want to discourage you from trying, but I tried that same seed mix and didn't get much out of it. Just wanted to let you know so you didn't spend months waiting around for it.

Also make sure you have water available all the time for them to drink. I like to use big terra cotta plant saucers that are sunk into the ground a little bit in a shady area.

You might also look into constructing a nice artificial burrow or two for them. A google search should turn up some ideas for you.

 

[Angi]

Welcome . Living in S. Cali you will be able to grow lots of food for your torts. Just make sure there are no pesticides on them. I love hibisus flowers and so do torts, so that is a big win win. You also probably know someone with a fruitless mulberry tree ( they are every where) the leaves are great and the trees produce a lot. Cape cod honey suckle grows fast with little water and makes for a nice shade spot in the yard. And plant a cactus pad too. They are easy. Good luck. It is a lot of fun feeding CDTs Oh ya....start collecting wish balls from dandilions when ever you see them and scatter in your yard

 

[raelin31]

...Peaceful Valley Farms and Tyler at tortoisesupply.com has a great Testudo seed mix that grows very well for me here n CA just a little north of you. I don't want to discourage you from trying, but I tried that same seed mix and didn't get much out of it. Just wanted to let you know so you didn't spend months waiting around for it.

Also make sure you have water available all the time for them to drink. I like to use big terra cotta plant saucers that are sunk into the ground a little bit in a shady area.

You might also look into constructing a nice artificial burrow or two for them. A google search should turn up some ideas for you.

Thanks Tom! I'll check out Peaceful and Tyler. Yes, water out (shaded) 24/7 and a soaking tub available too.

---

...You also probably know someone with a fruitless mulberry tree ( they are every where) the leaves are great and the trees produce a lot. Cape cod honey suckle grows fast with little water and makes for a nice shade spot in the yard. And plant a cactus pad too. They are easy. Good luck. It is a lot of fun feeding CDTs Oh ya....start collecting wish balls from dandilions when ever you see them and scatter in your yard

Yes, I definitely should look into the mulberry tree. I hadn't heard of Cape Cod honeysuckle, so I'll look that up too! Lots of great ideas. Thank you!

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Welcome!