Spring Mix

Status
Not open for further replies.

Seiryu

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 10, 2009
Messages
798
Location (City and/or State)
SE Michigan
Millerlite said:
Yeah i would try chopping it up and not chopping it up... I had a few tortoises that wouldnt eat anything if i chopped it up, then would eat anything if i kept it big leafy pieces, weird i know.. lol. But always offer them it.. i always say its pretty hard to starve a tortoise, so if you picked out a feeding day, and tried feeding it weeds, and grasses and they turn there nose and not eat.. they wont die of staving.. They just wont eat for an extra day. Also you can try little bit of lettuce and grasses on top of the lettuce.. that way when they are trying to pick out the lettuce they might get a bite of grass and like it... it can be tough to get them started and frustrating but eventually they will eat it.

Well I will try it tomorrow. I tried doing the slightly bigger pieces (they wern't small enough where if he got one he couldn't get it out). He could use his arms to get the piece out of his mouth. I also put it on top of a leaf of lettuce. But anytime he got a piece in his mouth, out it went :p (this was the hay).

He'll be in the new enclosure tomorrow. Going to add fake plants for now. Not going to add rocks until I see him not going for the walls. And i'll just put a big pile of finer chopped grass in a pile and see what happens. If he doesn't eat any of it tomorrow, should I go back to his spring mix + greens the next day and not trry *just* grass for a few days?
 

auerdoan

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
32
Location (City and/or State)
so cal
Thanks for addressing my comment, i like to question things.

ive heard of storys of torts and turtles being fed cat and dog food not too long ago very surprising..
and very unfortunate for the pet

If it wasnt for spring mix and roman greens my little tort my not be alive.
eventually with patience we will get him to eat other items

I do like how this topic is headed.
i dont think the spring mix should be the mains source of food, and a good mix with its natural habitat food should be encouraged (from were every your tort or turtle comes from)
 

Crazy1

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
6,068
Location (City and/or State)
Inland Empire, CA
auerdoan I really liked your comment "i dont think the spring mix should be the mains source of food, and a good mix with its natural habitat food should be encouraged (from were every your tort or turtle comes from)"
Lots of new keepers forget that spring mix is not the only thing fed to torts. It is mixed with many different things people grow or have access too. Endive, Escarole, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, squash blossoms, etc.
And lots of new keepers forget that grazers like Leos, DT and Sullys don't eat hay or dried grasses until they are a bit older. Hatchlings and young juveniles tend to stay with broad leaf weeds. So feeding a Leo green grass that has been snipped in small pieces and sprinkled on damp broad leaf greens (so they stick) is a way for them to get use to the taste of grass.

So Rob I would not worry much if your Leo is not eating hay at this stage or even grass. He has to grow a little yet then he will develope a taste for it. :)
 

Seiryu

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 10, 2009
Messages
798
Location (City and/or State)
SE Michigan
Madkins- On the website with nutritional stuff you linked, are those the GREENS or the vegetables of the certain plant? For instance, I don't see anything for Radish greens, but just radish itself.

Also, I wanted to ask. It isn't a big issue, as it's a pretty good variety but i'll ask anyways.

I have Turnip, Radish, Collard, Mustard and Dandelion greens I am growing. Well the dandelion is all over my yard, but i'm growing the others :p

Now that's 5 types of greens. Which two should I use 2 days of the week?

I know Mustard, Collard and Dandelion have more oxalic acid than the others. So I am thinking the Turnip and Radish. This is for a leopard tortoise of course. I tried finding the specifics on oxalic acid and other vitamins, but couldn't find everything on all 5. I don't worry too much about the Calcium to Phosphorous ratio because I add calcium carbonate and this is just part of what he gets daily anyways. And all of these have a Ca: P ration of at least 2.4:1.

Any recommendations would be great.
 

Madkins007

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
5,393
Location (City and/or State)
Nebraska
Seiryu said:
Madkins- On the website with nutritional stuff you linked, are those the GREENS or the vegetables of the certain plant? For instance, I don't see anything for Radish greens, but just radish itself.

Also, I wanted to ask. It isn't a big issue, as it's a pretty good variety but i'll ask anyways.

I have Turnip, Radish, Collard, Mustard and Dandelion greens I am growing. Well the dandelion is all over my yard, but i'm growing the others :p

Now that's 5 types of greens. Which two should I use 2 days of the week?

I know Mustard, Collard and Dandelion have more oxalic acid than the others. So I am thinking the Turnip and Radish. This is for a leopard tortoise of course. I tried finding the specifics on oxalic acid and other vitamins, but couldn't find everything on all 5. I don't worry too much about the Calcium to Phosphorous ratio because I add calcium carbonate and this is just part of what he gets daily anyways. And all of these have a Ca: P ration of at least 2.4:1.

Any recommendations would be great.

Why limit to 2 kinds twice a week? if you are growing them, can't you harvest a couple leaves at a time from several of the plants without hurting the plant? (I honestly don't know- I'm not a gardener.)

Radish greens are considered good for humans, and richer in vitamin C and calcium than the bulb. I can't seem to locate things like oxalic acid levels for them, though. I also have not looked at the diet for Leopards, so have no idea what to recommend for frequency, etc.
 

Seiryu

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 10, 2009
Messages
798
Location (City and/or State)
SE Michigan
Madkins007 said:
Why limit to 2 kinds twice a week? if you are growing them, can't you harvest a couple leaves at a time from several of the plants without hurting the plant? (I honestly don't know- I'm not a gardener.)

Radish greens are considered good for humans, and richer in vitamin C and calcium than the bulb. I can't seem to locate things like oxalic acid levels for them, though. I also have not looked at the diet for Leopards, so have no idea what to recommend for frequency, etc.

You misread my post. I asked What two greens should I feed 2 times a week. I guess I wasn't clear enough. I plan to do Mustard, Dandelion, Collard, Radish and Turnip each at least 1 time a week. That leaves 2 days.

Which out 2 out of the 5 should be fed twice a week instead of just 1.

http://www.geocities.com/kyryah/tort2.html Lists some oxalic levels, although not all of them. People here have said Dandelion and Mustard have higher levels, same with Collard.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,717
Location (City and/or State)
CA
For those of you worrying about stuff going bad I just tried out those green bags, and they work great I kept produce in them for over 4 weks as a test and it did not go bad, Now I am in no way affliated with those bags so I am unbiased here. Jist thought i would mention it as it is a great way for me to strech my tort food dollar even more when i do buy that which I do not grow.
 

Madkins007

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
5,393
Location (City and/or State)
Nebraska
Seiryu said:
Madkins007 said:
Why limit to 2 kinds twice a week? if you are growing them, can't you harvest a couple leaves at a time from several of the plants without hurting the plant? (I honestly don't know- I'm not a gardener.)

Radish greens are considered good for humans, and richer in vitamin C and calcium than the bulb. I can't seem to locate things like oxalic acid levels for them, though. I also have not looked at the diet for Leopards, so have no idea what to recommend for frequency, etc.

You misread my post. I asked What two greens should I feed 2 times a week. I guess I wasn't clear enough. I plan to do Mustard, Dandelion, Collard, Radish and Turnip each at least 1 time a week. That leaves 2 days.

Which out 2 out of the 5 should be fed twice a week instead of just 1.

http://www.geocities.com/kyryah/tort2.html Lists some oxalic levels, although not all of them. People here have said Dandelion and Mustard have higher levels, same with Collard.

Ah, sorry for the confusion! Well- my guys dislike mustard so in my case, i would skip it. Turnip has about the best overall nutrition, so I would definitely consider it. I might also add a 'wildcard' day of things like Spring Mix, mulberry leaves, etc.


Just FYI- you might enjoy the discussion about oxalic acid at http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml Some of the comments and research is really interesting!
 

Seiryu

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 10, 2009
Messages
798
Location (City and/or State)
SE Michigan
Madkins007 said:
Seiryu said:
Madkins007 said:
Why limit to 2 kinds twice a week? if you are growing them, can't you harvest a couple leaves at a time from several of the plants without hurting the plant? (I honestly don't know- I'm not a gardener.)

Radish greens are considered good for humans, and richer in vitamin C and calcium than the bulb. I can't seem to locate things like oxalic acid levels for them, though. I also have not looked at the diet for Leopards, so have no idea what to recommend for frequency, etc.

You misread my post. I asked What two greens should I feed 2 times a week. I guess I wasn't clear enough. I plan to do Mustard, Dandelion, Collard, Radish and Turnip each at least 1 time a week. That leaves 2 days.

Which out 2 out of the 5 should be fed twice a week instead of just 1.

http://www.geocities.com/kyryah/tort2.html Lists some oxalic levels, although not all of them. People here have said Dandelion and Mustard have higher levels, same with Collard.

Ah, sorry for the confusion! Well- my guys dislike mustard so in my case, i would skip it. Turnip has about the best overall nutrition, so I would definitely consider it. I might also add a 'wildcard' day of things like Spring Mix, mulberry leaves, etc.


Just FYI- you might enjoy the discussion about oxalic acid at http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml Some of the comments and research is really interesting!

Thanks. This is on top of spring mix. I usually give 2-4 varietes of spring mix + one of the Greens a day. He isn't eating grasses or hays yet. And the only weeds I have an abundance of are clover and dandelion (both high in oxalic acid), so I can't feed those too regularly. I have a few unknowns, but no one has responded to those.
 

Madkins007

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
5,393
Location (City and/or State)
Nebraska
Seiryu said:
Thanks. This is on top of spring mix. I usually give 2-4 varietes of spring mix + one of the Greens a day. He isn't eating grasses or hays yet. And the only weeds I have an abundance of are clover and dandelion (both high in oxalic acid), so I can't feed those too regularly. I have a few unknowns, but no one has responded to those.

Have you asked your local extension service about the unknowns? I find them really helpful.

The link about oxalic acid lists raw dandelion at 0.02g/100g of food, which would make it quite low (it appears on other lists as 'low' as well). The thing is, as the article points out, that there different ways to measure the oxalic acid content, and whether the food is cooked or uncooked. Boiled spinach rates about .97, uncooked is about .66 (still a bit high but not as bad), and one test showed parsley at 1.70(!!!) and another at 0.10- a HUGE difference. Another article discuses that plain tea's rating gets worse the longer it steeps.

Just FYI- I found a lettuce mix locally that was high in Escarole and Endive- two good Ca: P lettuces. it was labeled as 'Mediterranean Mix'. I would guess that its Ca: P ratio would be better than some of the other mixes.
 

Seiryu

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 10, 2009
Messages
798
Location (City and/or State)
SE Michigan
Madkins007 said:
Have you asked your local extension service about the unknowns? I find them really helpful.

The link about oxalic acid lists raw dandelion at 0.02g/100g of food, which would make it quite low (it appears on other lists as 'low' as well). The thing is, as the article points out, that there different ways to measure the oxalic acid content, and whether the food is cooked or uncooked. Boiled spinach rates about .97, uncooked is about .66 (still a bit high but not as bad), and one test showed parsley at 1.70(!!!) and another at 0.10- a HUGE difference. Another article discuses that plain tea's rating gets worse the longer it steeps.

Just FYI- I found a lettuce mix locally that was high in Escarole and Endive- two good Ca: P lettuces. it was labeled as 'Mediterranean Mix'. I would guess that its Ca: P ratio would be better than some of the other mixes.

Thanks, i'll take a look at the Medi-Mix. I googled a bit today too. And most websites that listed Oxalic Acid levels were all over the place. One had dandelion at 0.02 like you said, another at 0.47 (this is raw, not cooked).

But I suppose as long as I'm not feeding it in large quantities I shouldn't have to worry.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New Posts

Top