- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1
Has anyone ever used this food?
I've just copied and pasted the blurb.
PRE ALPIN® Testudo Fibre
offers a diet replicating the natural habitat of tortoises
ensures an optimum crude fibre supply and thus a healthy intestinal flora
contains no cereals or animal products
offers an ideal calcium/phosphorus ratio
can be freely offered at any time
is free of flavouring substances and conservation aids
is recommended by the Institute for Zoology in Munich
Tortoises are herbivores which depend on high quality food. The observation of wild tortoises as well as the examination of their anatomy and their digestive tract reveals what a diet is appropriate for these animals. The well-developed appendix enables tortoises to extract a sufficient amount of nutrients from grasses and herbs which are rich in crude fibre and, at the same time, have an extremely low protein content. Extensively used meadows which are usually strongly fertilised are to rich for tortoises and may cause a multitude of diseases. The food available for tortoises in their natural habitat resembles the plant variety of meagre Upper Bavarian meadows with a high degree of diversity.
Provided that their diet is natural and rich in herbs and that they are well kept tortoises may become very old.
PRE ALPIN® Testudo Herbs and PRE ALPIN® Testudo Fibre provide an appropriate food for these animals which is adjusted to their digestive apparatus.
PRE ALPIN® Testudo Herbs and Testudo Fibre are therefore a valuable main component of the daily rations. The combination of fresh plants from meagre meadows on which over 60 different grass and herb species grow offers a rich and balanced diet for the animals.
The Plants Contained in PRE ALPIN® Testudo FIBRE:
Cocksfoot, amaranth, meadow fescue, dandelion, false oat grass, Yorkshire fog, Lady's mantle, English plantain, bush vetch, cat's tail, crested dog's tail, perennial ryegrass, Alpine meadow grass, clover, common yarrow, Lady?s bedstraw, meadow fescue and many others, linseed oil
The Components of PRE ALPIN® Testudo FIBRE:
Dry substance 92.0 %
Phosphorus 0.26 %
Crude fibre 26.8 %
Iron 570 mg/kg
Crude protein 7.6 %
Manganese 81 mg/kg
Crude ashes 7.3 %
Carotene 51 mg/kg
Crude fat 2.4 %
Zinc 31 mg/kg
Calcium 0.58 %
Copper 4.7 mg/kg
Or....
PRE ALPIN Testudo - The Plant Variety of an Upper Bavarian Summer
PRE ALPIN Testudo HERBS and FIBRE contain the unique variety of the Upper Bavarian meadows. More than 60 different grasses and herbs make this roughage so valuable - a product of nature - directly from biological farming. The Institute for Zoology in Munich considers the PRE ALPIN Testudo products an appropriate forage for all tortoises.
Pure Nature for All Tortoises!
PRE ALPIN Testudo is a product of nature and free from additives for facilitating the pressing process or for protein reduction such as straw or bran. Breakage or a nutrient consuming further fermentation as experienced in hey production are omitted here. Therefore, almost all the nutrients, minerals, trace elements and vitamins contained in the green plants are preserved. The high digestibility of the contents has to be emphasised.
PRE ALPIN Testudo is a roughage with an extremely low protein content.
The proteins contained in PRE ALPIN Testudo are of a high quality and optimally fulfil the requirements of tortoises. Due to the reduced protein supply, particularly liver and kidneys are unburdened, and the purification of the body is promoted. This is particularly important during the winter season. The natural habitats of tortoises are often barren areas, and the animals obviously get along well with the poor nutrition available there. Captive tortoises, however, are often overfed and will yet suffer from deficiencies: Too much protein, excessively easily digestible energy, too many pollutants, not enough raw fibres and vital substances.
PRE ALPIN Testudo for a better nutrition: More bulkage and an optimised digestion, less protein and an unburdened metabolism. Depending to the size of the animal, a corresponding amount of PRE ALPIN Testudo is moistened with water and offered for free intake. Renew rations daily!
Feeding advice:
Feeding European Tortoises (M. Baur, Prof. Dr. R. Hoffmann)
European and Central Asian Tortoises are very popular as pets. In the wild, they are extremely well adjusted to their original habitats. Therefore, their feeding requirements are also to be regarded as an adjustment to environmental conditions.
In the original habitats of European tortoises, a mild, during summer (from May on) dry Mediterranean or continental climate is prevailing. The animals have access to sufficient green plants - comparable to the spring growth of a meagre central European meadow - only during spring time. From May on, the plants dry out increasingly and therefore contain distinctly less protein and easily digestible, highly energetic substances. The available nutrition is then partly comparable to hey. In the steppe areas of central Asia, similar, however, even more extreme conditions prevail. To exist in such habitats and to utilise the resources available there, these species have developed particular anatomical structures and physiological adjustments.
For example, they have a relatively small stomach with a low extensibility, so that they cannot consume large amounts of food at once, but have to take in many small rations distributed over the day. Caecum and colon are enlarged and form spatially highly extended fermentation chambers which fill a major part of the abdominal cavity. Within said chambers, raw fibre is decomposed by means of a controlled fermentation with the aid of an extremely efficient and diverse intestinal flora (various bacteria and protozoons) and made usable for the tortoise.
For this purpose, the food remains in the digestive system for up to two weeks and forms a three-dimensional grid of raw fibres therein, offering a large area of attack for nutrient absorption to the intestinal flora. However, if the structured raw fibres are missing or replaced by easily digestible substances (such as starch or saccharides), a faulty fermentation including an extreme decrease of the retention time of the fodder in the guts occur.
The intestinal flora is partly displaced or dies off. The tortoises will lose liquids and may develop incurable diarrhoea. Further, parasitic diseases are promoted. Since water may be very rare for months in the original habitats, tortoises discharge the end products of the protein metabolism in the form of uric acid crystals (urates) insoluble in water so that the organism will not lose water.
This adjustment is extremely efficient, unless too much protein is contained in the food. Too many urates in the organism due an excessive protein concentration in the forage can no longer be discharged. Renal failure and the extremely painful, lethal arthrolithiasis are the result. Therefore, an appropriate fodder for European and Asian tortoises should contain as little easily digestible substances, such as saccharides or carbohydrates, but a high percentage of structured raw fibre, and it should not contain more than 5 to 8 % of protein. By using a multitude of plants, the requirements of the animals in liposoluble vitamins (A and E) can be covered completely or at least to a major part.
Minerals and trace elements are also contained in a sufficient amount. The balanced ratio of calcium and phosphor essential for the animals is achieved by processing fully grown plants and, if required, by additives. Finally, it has to be mentioned that, for an adequate digestion of fibre-rich food, an optimum body temperature (of preferably 35 to 37°C) is indispensable.
This is obtainable by sun bathing which must be simulated by installing a light intensive lamp for locally heating the "sunny spot" up to a ground temperature of 35 to 40°C. (The animals, however, also need cool retreats!) Light and radiation warmth increase the activity and appetite of the animals.
Composition:
PRE ALPIN Testudo
Extremely low protein content
Optimised digestibility
Unburdening liver and kidneys
Purifying
Meadow grass pressed into 15 mm cobs
Free from artificial flavours and conservation agents
Plants contained in PRE ALPIN Testudo:
Grasses
Dandelion
Contents of PRE ALPIN Testudo:
Protein 6 %
Dry Substance 92 %
Digestible Raw Protein 5.0 %
Water 8.6 %
Raw Fibre 28 %
Raw Ash 5.2 %
Calcium 0.34 %
Phosphor 0,28 %
I've just copied and pasted the blurb.
PRE ALPIN® Testudo Fibre
offers a diet replicating the natural habitat of tortoises
ensures an optimum crude fibre supply and thus a healthy intestinal flora
contains no cereals or animal products
offers an ideal calcium/phosphorus ratio
can be freely offered at any time
is free of flavouring substances and conservation aids
is recommended by the Institute for Zoology in Munich
Tortoises are herbivores which depend on high quality food. The observation of wild tortoises as well as the examination of their anatomy and their digestive tract reveals what a diet is appropriate for these animals. The well-developed appendix enables tortoises to extract a sufficient amount of nutrients from grasses and herbs which are rich in crude fibre and, at the same time, have an extremely low protein content. Extensively used meadows which are usually strongly fertilised are to rich for tortoises and may cause a multitude of diseases. The food available for tortoises in their natural habitat resembles the plant variety of meagre Upper Bavarian meadows with a high degree of diversity.
Provided that their diet is natural and rich in herbs and that they are well kept tortoises may become very old.
PRE ALPIN® Testudo Herbs and PRE ALPIN® Testudo Fibre provide an appropriate food for these animals which is adjusted to their digestive apparatus.
PRE ALPIN® Testudo Herbs and Testudo Fibre are therefore a valuable main component of the daily rations. The combination of fresh plants from meagre meadows on which over 60 different grass and herb species grow offers a rich and balanced diet for the animals.
The Plants Contained in PRE ALPIN® Testudo FIBRE:
Cocksfoot, amaranth, meadow fescue, dandelion, false oat grass, Yorkshire fog, Lady's mantle, English plantain, bush vetch, cat's tail, crested dog's tail, perennial ryegrass, Alpine meadow grass, clover, common yarrow, Lady?s bedstraw, meadow fescue and many others, linseed oil
The Components of PRE ALPIN® Testudo FIBRE:
Dry substance 92.0 %
Phosphorus 0.26 %
Crude fibre 26.8 %
Iron 570 mg/kg
Crude protein 7.6 %
Manganese 81 mg/kg
Crude ashes 7.3 %
Carotene 51 mg/kg
Crude fat 2.4 %
Zinc 31 mg/kg
Calcium 0.58 %
Copper 4.7 mg/kg
Or....
PRE ALPIN Testudo - The Plant Variety of an Upper Bavarian Summer
PRE ALPIN Testudo HERBS and FIBRE contain the unique variety of the Upper Bavarian meadows. More than 60 different grasses and herbs make this roughage so valuable - a product of nature - directly from biological farming. The Institute for Zoology in Munich considers the PRE ALPIN Testudo products an appropriate forage for all tortoises.
Pure Nature for All Tortoises!
PRE ALPIN Testudo is a product of nature and free from additives for facilitating the pressing process or for protein reduction such as straw or bran. Breakage or a nutrient consuming further fermentation as experienced in hey production are omitted here. Therefore, almost all the nutrients, minerals, trace elements and vitamins contained in the green plants are preserved. The high digestibility of the contents has to be emphasised.
PRE ALPIN Testudo is a roughage with an extremely low protein content.
The proteins contained in PRE ALPIN Testudo are of a high quality and optimally fulfil the requirements of tortoises. Due to the reduced protein supply, particularly liver and kidneys are unburdened, and the purification of the body is promoted. This is particularly important during the winter season. The natural habitats of tortoises are often barren areas, and the animals obviously get along well with the poor nutrition available there. Captive tortoises, however, are often overfed and will yet suffer from deficiencies: Too much protein, excessively easily digestible energy, too many pollutants, not enough raw fibres and vital substances.
PRE ALPIN Testudo for a better nutrition: More bulkage and an optimised digestion, less protein and an unburdened metabolism. Depending to the size of the animal, a corresponding amount of PRE ALPIN Testudo is moistened with water and offered for free intake. Renew rations daily!
Feeding advice:
Feeding European Tortoises (M. Baur, Prof. Dr. R. Hoffmann)
European and Central Asian Tortoises are very popular as pets. In the wild, they are extremely well adjusted to their original habitats. Therefore, their feeding requirements are also to be regarded as an adjustment to environmental conditions.
In the original habitats of European tortoises, a mild, during summer (from May on) dry Mediterranean or continental climate is prevailing. The animals have access to sufficient green plants - comparable to the spring growth of a meagre central European meadow - only during spring time. From May on, the plants dry out increasingly and therefore contain distinctly less protein and easily digestible, highly energetic substances. The available nutrition is then partly comparable to hey. In the steppe areas of central Asia, similar, however, even more extreme conditions prevail. To exist in such habitats and to utilise the resources available there, these species have developed particular anatomical structures and physiological adjustments.
For example, they have a relatively small stomach with a low extensibility, so that they cannot consume large amounts of food at once, but have to take in many small rations distributed over the day. Caecum and colon are enlarged and form spatially highly extended fermentation chambers which fill a major part of the abdominal cavity. Within said chambers, raw fibre is decomposed by means of a controlled fermentation with the aid of an extremely efficient and diverse intestinal flora (various bacteria and protozoons) and made usable for the tortoise.
For this purpose, the food remains in the digestive system for up to two weeks and forms a three-dimensional grid of raw fibres therein, offering a large area of attack for nutrient absorption to the intestinal flora. However, if the structured raw fibres are missing or replaced by easily digestible substances (such as starch or saccharides), a faulty fermentation including an extreme decrease of the retention time of the fodder in the guts occur.
The intestinal flora is partly displaced or dies off. The tortoises will lose liquids and may develop incurable diarrhoea. Further, parasitic diseases are promoted. Since water may be very rare for months in the original habitats, tortoises discharge the end products of the protein metabolism in the form of uric acid crystals (urates) insoluble in water so that the organism will not lose water.
This adjustment is extremely efficient, unless too much protein is contained in the food. Too many urates in the organism due an excessive protein concentration in the forage can no longer be discharged. Renal failure and the extremely painful, lethal arthrolithiasis are the result. Therefore, an appropriate fodder for European and Asian tortoises should contain as little easily digestible substances, such as saccharides or carbohydrates, but a high percentage of structured raw fibre, and it should not contain more than 5 to 8 % of protein. By using a multitude of plants, the requirements of the animals in liposoluble vitamins (A and E) can be covered completely or at least to a major part.
Minerals and trace elements are also contained in a sufficient amount. The balanced ratio of calcium and phosphor essential for the animals is achieved by processing fully grown plants and, if required, by additives. Finally, it has to be mentioned that, for an adequate digestion of fibre-rich food, an optimum body temperature (of preferably 35 to 37°C) is indispensable.
This is obtainable by sun bathing which must be simulated by installing a light intensive lamp for locally heating the "sunny spot" up to a ground temperature of 35 to 40°C. (The animals, however, also need cool retreats!) Light and radiation warmth increase the activity and appetite of the animals.
Composition:
PRE ALPIN Testudo
Extremely low protein content
Optimised digestibility
Unburdening liver and kidneys
Purifying
Meadow grass pressed into 15 mm cobs
Free from artificial flavours and conservation agents
Plants contained in PRE ALPIN Testudo:
Grasses
Dandelion
Contents of PRE ALPIN Testudo:
Protein 6 %
Dry Substance 92 %
Digestible Raw Protein 5.0 %
Water 8.6 %
Raw Fibre 28 %
Raw Ash 5.2 %
Calcium 0.34 %
Phosphor 0,28 %
