Russian Tortoise diet questions

[GeoTerraTestudo]

haha did they eat any? Troubles is eating broccoli RIGHT now he is so cuteee!

Looks like they did eat it. They weren't particularly enthused about it in the morning, but by the time I came home, some of the broccoli in the male's pen was gone, and most of it in the female's pen was gone (she's less picky than he is). I won't be giving it to them very often, but it's nice to know they will eat it from time to time.

 

[Paradon]

Moderation is the key. I would never feed broccoli and kale alone; I usually mix it with some other staple greens. Broccoli and kale contain goitrogen which hinders the thyroid gland from absorbing iodine... If fed to much and too often, it could lead to iodine deficiency, a condition known as hypothyroidism. Other goitrogenic plants and fruits are mango, brussel sprout, cabbage, bok choy, mango, strawberry and peach. There may be more, but that's the only ones I can think of right now.

 

[lynnedit]

That's interesting!

Another good list:
http://russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

Plants:
http://russiantortoise.org/edible_plants.htm

I like the Tortoise Table too; they are cautious, of course.

 

[Paradon]

They do have a good list of food at russiantortoise forum...

 

[Paradon]

Adding Mauzri to diet helps round and boost the overall nutritional value of the captive diet. In captivity it is hard to do variety and give them everything they need; that's why it's great to include them as part of the diet.