Right portions of food and how often?

[desiree]

Hey guys,

I feed my Kinixys once a day, a quarter of an apple (cause anyway, that's all he seems to eat in a row, if that much) or that much of veggies and a finger sized sardine or another bigger fish but in a finger sized slice to my sideneck Pelusius turtle.

I curious though, how often a day should I offer them these portions, or if i should offer a bigger portion of each. I heard of twice a day, the size of their head... But i feed once a day the double of their heads, generally at lunch time... They always have water acess. I wonder if I have been giving them less food than I should.

So... What do you think?

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know anything about the hingeback tortoises, but I do have 15 different species of turtles and tortoises, and I generally feed all of them the same amount and the same time of day.

I put down a big pile of food. If it's for only one animal, the pile is usually about the size of the animal. He goes back to the food throughout the day and it is usually gone by the end of the day. But if there is any left, I pick it up and toss it. I put the food down in the morning when I turn on the lights. The pile of food consists of about 6 or 7 different food items. For some of the animals I cut the food up, and for others I just feed it whole, peel, seeds and all.

When I first started taking care of turtles and tortoises, I, too, heard that you were supposed to offer them the amount of food that was the size of their head. I don't know what uneducated person came up with that amount of food, but I soon learned that a head-size amount of food isn't nearly enough to fill the tortoise up. I imagine that if you were to take a big pile of food and put it through a blender until it was mush, it might look the same size as a tortoise's head, but bear in mind that tortoises don't have teeth, so they don't grind up their food. You can be the judge of how much to feed your hingeback by how he acts. If he gobbles up the food and looks for more, you didn't feed him enough. If he eats then walks away, leaving some food there, then that was enough. Because he's going to come back to it and eat more later.

 

[desiree]

Seems like I should give them a bit more then, thanks for your advice!

 

[Saleama]

I always read that they should get a pile as big as they are but that would mean a whole lot of food for some of the big guys. I can't imagine a full grown Aldabra eating a pile of food 40 plus inches around, lol. I feed like Yvonne, only I also put more food in the evening if they have eaten the morning offering.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: Right portions of food and how often?

I can't imagine a full grown Aldabra eating a pile of food 40 plus inches around, lol..

You have got to see some of ALDABRAMANS feeding photos! Lol. Creates full of foods!

I also feed in large piles. If they eat it all, I offer more. Whatever is left at the end of the day, I toss.