Russian tortoise diet

[Eva C]

Hi! I am having trouble developing a balanced diet for my Russian tortoise Otis. I have been giving him a variety of greens since I got him in June, but now it seems that he only wants to eat lettuce and broccoli. I know that both of these are not ideal. I just looked up broccoli on the database, and it is on the "Do not feed" list! Otis LOVES broccoli. I have ground up Repashy superfood and put it on the lettuce - he won't eat it. He does not eat cuddlefish bone either. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the form, @Eva C .

Don't worry: torts do not like change, therefore they take time to adapt to it. New place, enclosure, owner, weather and so on. I had your exact same problem with Oli, believe me! He would not eat anything but Roman lettuce. I had to mix the mazuri and the lettuce. A tort might not eat if it's too cold. Torts tend to lose appetite during Winter.

Please post pics of your tort and his enclosure. Read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread, and keep us updated, please.

God luck!

 

[JoesMum]

Tortoises are very stubborn:; they knkw what they like and they like what they know.

You have to treat your tort like a child who only wants to eat chips and chocolate! You are in control of the food supply and a hungry tortoise will eat!

To wean your tort back onto a healthy diet:
1. Chop the foods your tort will eat very small and wet them
2. Chop a tiny amount of good food rally small and mix it with the wet food. The water will stick it together so your tort cannot pick out only what it likes.
3. If your tort eats everything then, at the next feed, increase the quantity of new food very slightly and decrease the undesirable food by the same amount.
4. If your tort refuses, leave the food in place for 24 hours then replace with fresh in exactly the same proportions.

Gradually, over time, your tort will eat the new foods. Son try to hurry it or get stressed on hunger strike days. Your tort can go a long time without food, but not without water. It is essential that your tort is soaked for at least 20 minutes on day when food is refused.

Good luck. We are here to support you on the bad days. There are few of us that haven't had to do this at some stage!

 

[Jbrez]

My Russian likes different things at different times one day he eats all of his weeds, the next day he may eat all collards. So just keep giving your tort a variety. It will eat when it gets hungry.

 

[Eva C]

Tortoises are very stubborn:; they knkw what they like and they like what they know.

You have to treat your tort like a child who only wants to eat chips and chocolate! You are in control of the food supply and a hungry tortoise will eat!

To wean your tort back onto a healthy diet:
1. Chop the foods your tort will eat very small and wet them
2. Chop a tiny amount of good food rally small and mix it with the wet food. The water will stick it together so your tort cannot pick out only what it likes.
3. If your tort eats everything then, at the next feed, increase the quantity of new food very slightly and decrease the undesirable food by the same amount.
4. If your tort refuses, leave the food in place for 24 hours then replace with fresh in exactly the same proportions.

Gradually, over time, your tort will eat the new foods. Son try to hurry it or get stressed on hunger strike days. Your tort can go a long time without food, but not without water. It is essential that your tort is soaked for at least 20 minutes on day when food is refused.

Good luck. We are here to support you on the bad days. There are few of us that haven't had to do this at some stage!

Great advice, thanks! Do you have any suggestions on the best foods?

 

[Eva C]

A very warm welcome to the form, @Eva C .

Don't worry: torts do not like change, therefore they take time to adapt to it. New place, enclosure, owner, weather and so on. I had your exact same problem with Oli, believe me! He would not eat anything but Roman lettuce. I had to mix the mazuri and the lettuce. A tort might not eat if it's too cold. Torts tend to lose appetite during Winter.

Please post pics of your tort and his enclosure. Read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread, and keep us updated, please.

God luck!

 

[Eva C]

Here is my most recent photo of Otis. He just got a new "pond."

 

[JoesMum]

Great advice, thanks! Do you have any suggestions on the best foods?

The easiest way is for you to write a list of what grows around you and what you an buy and then look them up for suitability on The Tortoise Table Plant Database here http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

If you are struggling with plant identification, take a photo and post it in our plant identification forum

 

[RosemaryDW]

Like JoesMum said, there are no “best” foods, you need to feed a variety of foods. Kale is good for humans but it wouldn’t be good if it was all we ate!

You want food lists, here they are. Most of this was put together by very experienced members of this forum. It's a ton of reading, for now you will probably want to focus on the section about grocery store foods that is under the first two links; I bolded the part that mentions spring mix, and the greens that go into it.

If you haven't already read it, check the Russian care sheet, it has a section on food near the bottom: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/.

There is another great list for foods that was written for another type of tortoise but if you skip the first bit about grass, all the foods below it are great for your Russian: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/.

You may need to rely on grocery store foods for now. Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as “dandelions.” You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. If your store sells the ReadyPac brand, their Santa Barbara mix contains only chicories.

The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. An occasional—small—piece of okra is okay. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales."

You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.

Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. If you are in any kind of residential area, you may have luck finding a neighbor with unsprayed mulberry or grapes leaves, along with leaves and vines from squash or watermelon. These are three plants that are very high in fiber.

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle

Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:

Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

 

[Eva C]

Like JoesMum said, there are no “best” foods, you need to feed a variety of foods. Kale is good for humans but it wouldn’t be good if it was all we ate!

You want food lists, here they are. Most of this was put together by very experienced members of this forum. It's a ton of reading, for now you will probably want to focus on the section about grocery store foods that is under the first two links; I bolded the part that mentions spring mix, and the greens that go into it.

If you haven't already read it, check the Russian care sheet, it has a section on food near the bottom: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/.

There is another great list for foods that was written for another type of tortoise but if you skip the first bit about grass, all the foods below it are great for your Russian: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/.

You may need to rely on grocery store foods for now. Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as “dandelions.” You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. If your store sells the ReadyPac brand, their Santa Barbara mix contains only chicories.

The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. An occasional—small—piece of okra is okay. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales."

You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets.

Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. If you are in any kind of residential area, you may have luck finding a neighbor with unsprayed mulberry or grapes leaves, along with leaves and vines from squash or watermelon. These are three plants that are very high in fiber.

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Nasturtium
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle

Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:

Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

 

[Eva C]

This is very helpful, thanks so much!!

 

[Merilyn (Tortoise lover)]

Thank you so much! My Russian tort, Joe doesn't really eat anything except Romaine Lettuce and flowers! But now he's a lot better!