Hi everyone, new to this webpage and a new owner of a herman tortise. Im looking for some feedback on a question, My tortise was purchased on Wendeday (from pet store) and brouhgt home on saturday pet store cared for her till pick up? My question is will herman tortise keep eating as long as their is food in the dish, or will they stop when full? the reason for this question is,... i fed her 2x the day she came home, and today i mixed a nice portion of greens and tortise grassland food and the powder calcium,,,my tortise ate all of this like she was starving and now is l@@king for more food... Is this normail? Any comments and suggestions welcomed Thanks ts
[split] HI EVERYONE
- Thread starter tinas
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Hi Tina: I don't keep Hermann's tortoises, but I might be able to answer your question. I DO have Russian tortoises, and I THINK they are similar. My little Russians will eat until they pop. They are eating machines. How old is your new baby? If its full grown, then you should monitor the food quantity a bit and don't feed so much unless the tortoise is getting quite a bit of exercise. If they eat too much, they WILL get fat. If its just a baby, you can feed a little more because they are growing. If its full grown, I would only offer food once a day. If a baby, twice a day is fine. Only you can be the judge as to how much to feed. Just try to imagine what your little pile of food would look like inside the tortoise's stomach and try to feed the amount that seems like it would fit. I'd love to see a picture of your new baby.
Yvonne
Yvonne
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Hi Tina and congratulations on getting your Hermann. They can eat too much than is good for them especially if kept indoors where they dont have to search for food.
In time you will get to know your tortoise and the best way ultimately to know if he or she is eating too much is by making a note regularly of the weight. A gradual increase is good and slow growth is healthier than quick.
As a very very rough guide if your tortoise has been munching away for about 20 mintes then in my opinion that is enough for one day, especially if he is not having to go looking for it.
Generally speaking Horsefield (Russian) tortoises are worse at over-eating than Hermanns. In the wild they are only active for about 3 months of the year so they are hard-wired to eat any food they see.
I've found every single Hermann is different. Some are just meant to grow very slowly and others are more active and constantly searching for food and eat any they find.
Temperature is also important as constant warmth indoors means a faster metabolism and more hunger. My way of raising these tortoise is to feed only natural foods which I grow myself and sometimes some salad leaves which I buy. These foods are all very low in protein and have no fats. I've not had a problem with my tortoises gaining too much weight but not everyone has space to grow their own foods for them and some keepers just prefer to buy stuff instead.
I hope you enjoy your little one!!
In time you will get to know your tortoise and the best way ultimately to know if he or she is eating too much is by making a note regularly of the weight. A gradual increase is good and slow growth is healthier than quick.
As a very very rough guide if your tortoise has been munching away for about 20 mintes then in my opinion that is enough for one day, especially if he is not having to go looking for it.
Generally speaking Horsefield (Russian) tortoises are worse at over-eating than Hermanns. In the wild they are only active for about 3 months of the year so they are hard-wired to eat any food they see.
I've found every single Hermann is different. Some are just meant to grow very slowly and others are more active and constantly searching for food and eat any they find.
Temperature is also important as constant warmth indoors means a faster metabolism and more hunger. My way of raising these tortoise is to feed only natural foods which I grow myself and sometimes some salad leaves which I buy. These foods are all very low in protein and have no fats. I've not had a problem with my tortoises gaining too much weight but not everyone has space to grow their own foods for them and some keepers just prefer to buy stuff instead.
I hope you enjoy your little one!!
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