Nutritional Considerations for Tortoises - The "Balanced" Diet Revealed (discussion)

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PeanutbuttER

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Wonderful article, we need more like them. Thank you :)

I do have one question/suggestion though. You wrote this"
Edible Weeds- Considering that most wild tortoises eat an abundance of weeds, it could be said to be obvious that weeds should make up a considerable amount of a captive tortoise's diet. Clovers, mallows, dandelions, broad leaf plantain, wild violets and strawberries, are all great and easy to find food items.

I was thinking that saying strawberries would be confusing for newer tortoise keepers especially. I'm assuming that since everything else listed in that list is a type of leafy weed that by strawberry you meant the greens and not the fruit. I can just see in my head some young tortoise keeper giving his tort strawberries the fruit because he/she misunderstood and thought that the fruit counted as a very healthy weed option that "should make up a consider amount of a captive tortoise's diet".

Maybe I'm the only one that thought this, and if I am feel free to ignore it.
 

Kristina

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I understand what you are saying. There are types of wild strawberry that yield very little or no fruit - and yes the leaves of these plants is what I had in mind. I can easily change that little tidbit to explain myself better. Thanks for pointing it out!
 

terryo

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Just thought I'd share this with you. Growing up my Dad always had boxies....a hundred years ago. They roamed free in our big enclosed yard that had fruit trees (peach and apricot) and vegetables all summer, and a strawberry patch too. He never picked up the over-ripe fruit or veggies that fell to the ground, because he left them for the boxies. He never put food out for them all summer, only had a little pond for them....big compost pile in the back of the yard, where he threw in leaf litter, dead weeds, and kitchen scraps (potato skins, carrot skins and tops...etc.) One turtle that I inherited from my Dad was Frank, an old Eastern Boxie. Frank would sit under the fig tree from the beginning of June until the middle of July...he even had a little hole that he would go into at night....he sat there until every June fig was gone, eating nothing else. The others would roam around and eat fallen veggies, and strawberries, and always could be found digging in the compost pile for worms and other buggie things, but not Frank. He never moved from the base of the fig tree until the middle of July when there wasn't a fig left, and then he would make his spot under the apricot tree or the peach tree.
I thought of those days when you mentioned how a tortoise most likely would finish off all the figs when they were available and then would move on to the next available food source.
Pio eats loads of figs in June, when they are hanging off my tree...he loves them.
Just thought I'd share this with you as your post brought back some memories for me.
as a side note......the Summer before last, was the first Summer that Frank didn't come up from hibernation. We had him over 60 years, before I was born, and he wasn't too young when my Dad brought him home, so my Mother told us. So Frank had to be over 70 years old. He hasn't come up now for two Summers, so we are assuming he has passed on........very sad for my family.:(
 

Edna

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Thanks for writing and posting your Balanced Diet guidelines, Kristina. My pocketbook will be happier, and the worms in my compost heap will be sadder!
 

lusciousdragon

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Wonderful article. I too was concerned about how I was going to keep that many differnet veggies in my fridge and if I would hurt my torti by feeding her one thing for a week at a time. Thanks so much!
 

Yvonne G

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kyryah said:
I understand what you are saying. There are types of wild strawberry that yield very little or no fruit - and yes the leaves of these plants is what I had in mind. I can easily change that little tidbit to explain myself better. Thanks for pointing it out!

I think if you just put "wild" in front of it it will be less confusing. "...wild violets and wild strawberries..."
 

Kristina

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Thanks again everyone for the positive comments. I am VERY glad that it was helpful to you!

(I made that little change also, Yvonne, and thanks ;) )
 
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