Chenderson
Member
Hi all, looking at the ideal diet for my Redfooted Tortoise, I found a lot of people recommending different sources of protein; I've found that my tortoise enjoys both hard boiled eggs, and as of yesterday, pinkie mice.
I have two main questions. First of all, how much protein should my tortoise have in one sitting? Initially I gave my tortoise a whole boiled egg sliced up, she ate about half of it. However it looks to me like she gorged, as 30 minutes later there was a pile of half chewed egg in the corner. Now as I understand, redfoots generally dont tend to over eat, and this may have been a reaction to the first time being presented with protein(probably in her life). Also the pinkie mice I got from my local pet store (excuse my ignorance, this is my first reptilian pet)are about the size of a jelly baby, will one of these a week be enough? My tortoise weighs 82g.
Also, those of you who have fed your tortoise animal protein, I was under the impression she would nibble at it with her beak. As it happened, she ripped it in half and ate it similar to how a snake would, she looked to struggle while initially digesting, cramming it down her neck! Is this normal behaviour for tortoises, or was she simply excited/frustrated(she did try to chew/rip before just swallowing), should I chop it up in future? leave it partially frozen? Tips would be great, as she seemed to enjoy it.
I have two main questions. First of all, how much protein should my tortoise have in one sitting? Initially I gave my tortoise a whole boiled egg sliced up, she ate about half of it. However it looks to me like she gorged, as 30 minutes later there was a pile of half chewed egg in the corner. Now as I understand, redfoots generally dont tend to over eat, and this may have been a reaction to the first time being presented with protein(probably in her life). Also the pinkie mice I got from my local pet store (excuse my ignorance, this is my first reptilian pet)are about the size of a jelly baby, will one of these a week be enough? My tortoise weighs 82g.
Also, those of you who have fed your tortoise animal protein, I was under the impression she would nibble at it with her beak. As it happened, she ripped it in half and ate it similar to how a snake would, she looked to struggle while initially digesting, cramming it down her neck! Is this normal behaviour for tortoises, or was she simply excited/frustrated(she did try to chew/rip before just swallowing), should I chop it up in future? leave it partially frozen? Tips would be great, as she seemed to enjoy it.