organic baby food

[j156ghs]

My little tort (year old) eats vegetable-based organic baby foods, such as sweet potato, spinach/carrot, squash and a few others supplemented by greens -- endive, escarole, dandelion, sedum and other items like grated yams. I find it easy to mix in calcium supplements and ReptiVite, etc., which he's able to ingest readily. What do the more experienced tort-keepers think of this? My reasoning is that because he is so small, a limitd amount of baby food makes it easier for him to ingest more nutrients than spending a lot of his energy tearing at leaves. I like this aspect, and, it seems to whet his appetite for greens and other fresh vegetable items that are important for fiber.

 

[Missy]

What kind of tortoise are we talking about?

 

[j156ghs]

What kind of tortoise are we talking about?

It's a Hermann's tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

In my opinion, the tortoise should be fed the type of food it would encounter in the wild. If his species eats weeds and grasses, then that's what you should try to offer him. In the absence of weeds and grasses, he can be fed dark, leafy greens from the grocery store.

Human baby food products are manufactured with human babies and human nutrition in mind. In my opinion, they would contain too much of the nutrients, much more than a baby tortoise would require.

I use human baby food, but only with sick tortoises.

 

[HarleyK]

If you are looking for something tat is nutrient-packed why not try mazuri and mix that in with vegetables? you can do more research on this forum on that. i'd be worried about the high sugar content in baby foods though

 

[Madkins007]

Not only the sugar content, but baby food is designed to be easily digested by human babies- most of the cell walls are destroyed in the process, but that is where the fiber, etc. comes from. Tortoises fed overly soft foods can get diarrhea and other intestinal issues.

 

[Kristina]

I only use baby food for sick tortoises or to entice picky eaters to start eating, and then I usually only use butternut squash baby food.

In the wild, a lot of what tortoises eat is packed with fiber but not a lot of nutrition. There is nothing suggesting that supplementing heavily helps a tortoises in any sort of way. They are MADE to "expend energy tearing leaves." It is what nature intended, and it is our duty as keepers to replicate a natural environment as much as possible, in my opinion. I would up the spring mix and weeds in the diet, and feed real squash softened in the microwave, and sweet potatoes shredded on a cheese grater. Cut down on the spinach and totally quit the carrots. Spinach is high in oxalic acid, which blocks calcium absorption, and carrots are very high in sugar. For Vitamin A, feed instead broad leaf plantain, a weed that is common all over the world and blows the Vit. A content of carrots out of the water. It is also a natural food item.

Tortoises that are heavily fed supplements often grow too fast, and this could lead to bone and joint problems later. It also causes the shell growth to not be as smooth as it could, with large gaps in between the scutes. It isn't exactly pyramiding, but it is some what of the same look.

 

[j156ghs]

Not only the sugar content, but baby food is designed to be easily digested by human babies- most of the cell walls are destroyed in the process, but that is where the fiber, etc. comes from. Tortoises fed overly soft foods can get diarrhea and other intestinal issues.

Thanks for all the input. The label ingredients do not list sugar, just the vegetables; having tasted them, I doubt sugar is in them. (It's a health food store brand). However, it is blended, pureed or whatever and your point is well taken about the lack of roughage. And, as one person mentioned, whatever they find to eat in the wild is best to offer.

It's interesting to note that as the tortoise has gotten older, he eats less baby food and has begun to shred his own greens vigorously and now eats a greater variety as well. Maybe he is weaning himself "off the sauce", so to speak!

 

[Kristina]

The sugar we are talking about is not an additive, but rather the natural sugar that is found in such veggies. Tortoises don't usually raid gardens in the wild, lol!

 

[tortoisenerd]

I would only feed the squash baby food to a healthy baby Hermanns, and only as a small part of the diet (one food item for example should be less than 5% of the diet--that much variety is what you are aiming for). Is has high water content which is good for a dehydrated tort. Hermanns shouldn't have spinach, carrot, yams, or sweet potatoes. I agree to focus on a natural diet like the tort would get in the wild. Weeds, grasses, and greens are ideal where dark leafy lettuces are a good second choice. Spring mix is a great start to a diet if you can't grow food in your back yard. I buy that (rotating brands for variety and not feeding any spinach which might be in it), and then mix in a couple other greens a week, rotating those as well. Foods like squash, pumpkin, Mazuri Tortoise Diet, Grassland Tortoise Food, and cactus pads are all treats for my tort (less than 5% of the diet). Edible flowers and leaves from veggies and fruits (but no fruit, veggies except squash/pumpkin, and tomato leaves) are great too. Everything should be chemical free. Most lawns use chemicals on the weeds, so you can't just go pick them without knowing what was used on them. I go further and buy organic at the grocery store too. Torts need to use their beak and arms to develop properly, not eat a liquid diet. Torts in the wild actually eat very little amount of nutrients since they eat weeds and hibernate much of the year (don't ingest anything). In captivity over feeding is more of an issue than under nutrition. I would give a pure calcium supplement (no D3 is your tort has UVB because that can be overdosed and your tort makes its own from UVB) daily but no vitamins. If you really feel the need to supplement, use one that is only natural ground up weeds and yummies like Total Nutrition for Tortoises from Carolina Pet Supply, no vitamins. You can't overdo that one, so use as little or as much as you want. Its tough to know how much is too much. With good food variety, you don't need vitamins. Good luck! It sounds like you really care about giving this tort the best.