New tortoise owner need advice on tortoise food

Sarahypp

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Pahang
Hi all, I just got a Leopard tortoise and I’m having some difficulty on what to feed him. I have read multiple articles on what to feed and saw that people recommend feeding a bulk of Timothy hay 70% plus 30% of other variety of plants. I tried feeding Timothy hay to him but he dislikes it and end up eating lettuce and cucumber.

I also soak some Mazuri for him but he almost never eat it. Getting fresh grass is difficult as I don’t have a lawn. So my question is, can I feed my tortoise Microgreens? I thought I’d plant these indoors and harvest it to feed him since it grows rather quickly. Can I give him wheatgrass as a staple? And what other variety of Microgreens can I plant for him that is safe for him to eat?

I also went through the list of safe plants and bought some from the local botanist. But I’m not 100% confident that she gave me the right plants as I only showed her the pictures. I attach photos of plants I bought, are these plants safe for my leopard tortoise?

Also is my set up ok? How can I improve it if it needs to be improved? I have a UVB lamp, 50w heating bulb that goes up to a max 38 degrees basking heat, organic soil, Timothy hay and alfalfa bedding.

thank you

463582F7-4509-416E-BB74-A44C2EAE96BA.jpegC696616B-3250-4B86-94A7-A773A48E4E80.jpegimage.jpg904DA119-790D-49B3-80EE-54AC4B43019F.jpeg
 

Sarahypp

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Pahang
I forgot to mention, I dust his food with multivitamin and calcium powder daily
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Well, leopard tortoises aren't big grass eaters, so I doubt you're going to convert him. You need edible weeds and plants. If you have to resort to grocery store foods, feed him the same type of leafy greens that you would buy for yourself to eat. If you can find rocket, escarole, endive, those are all good choices. Cactus, rose of sharon, hibiscus, etc. We have quite a list for you to go by in the leopard care sheet.

You don't need to supplement daily, three times a week is ok, but don't put too much. They don't like the taste.

My computer doesn't have the option of making pictures bigger, so I'm looking at a pretty small picture of your tortoise, and he doesn't look like a leopard to me. Can I see more pictures of him?

Your enclosure really isn't suitable for a baby tortoise, and you need to get rid of the hay substrate and use fir bark or coco coir instead. Please read the care sheet:

 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hello and welcome to the forum. :)

I second everything Yvonne said. There is a whole paragraph on feeding in the care sheet, and what to do if you don't have suitable weeds and plants around you.
 

Sarahypp

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Pahang
Hi thank you for your replies.

yes I want to change the bedding coz I noticed this tortoise absolutely just hates the hay. Just wanted to confirm it will be ok to use orchid bark in hot and humid climate?

My environment is naturally hot and humid with humidity at 70+% and that goes up if it rains (it’s rainy season now). I do provide him a slightly damp forests moss bedding in his hide, but I don’t mist it much coz I’m scared I would accidentally raise the humidity too much. I had a really tough time bringing the humidity down for my snakes so I’m just trying to be extra careful about humidity.

Im really having some issues with the food. I think maybe he is not getting enough fibre because when I soak him in the morning, he expel some loose droppings (not Diarrhea). I went through the grocery list and looks like I can only get about 3 varieties from there. I’ll go get a mulberry plant today and try to feed him some cactus today. How do you get your tortoise to eat the Mazuri? I soaked and mixed it up with fresh vegetables but he just picks out all the vegetables and leave the Mazuri. Can I mix it with a little bit of banana (maybe half a teaspoon worth of purée banana) to maybe make it smell and taste nicer?

I attached an up close picture of my tortoise. I’ve changed his hide to a larger and deeper one.

7C27F4B7-E588-40A8-8B52-1B79740234B9.jpeg
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Yes, that's a leopard. Thanks fr the bigger picture.
 

Sarahypp

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Pahang
Hi, I’ve been searching for orchid bark but the ones sold at my location are all pine bark and it’s pre-mixed with fertiliser.

Can I use zoomed repti bark instead? I read somewhere that it’s not a very good choice because it causes stains on the tortoise? Just want to confirm if its ok to use, or not.
 

Hamiltondood

Active Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
248
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, Texas
Hi, I’ve been searching for orchid bark but the ones sold at my location are all pine bark and it’s pre-mixed with fertiliser.

Can I use zoomed repti bark instead? I read somewhere that it’s not a very good choice because it causes stains on the tortoise? Just want to confirm if its ok to use, or not.
repti bark is fine, coco coir mixed with it is great too
 

New Posts

Top