Bermuda grass
Fresh clover
Clover hay
Rye grass
Rice grass
Mallow
Sowthistle
Dead Plants
Don't be an overly fastidious groundskeeper. Tortoises enjoy munching on dried brown leaves and stalks as much as they do the fresh plant. Top off your edible greens and ornamentals and drop them in the tortoise pen; depending on their mood, the tortoises will eat them fresh or ignore them until they are nice and brittle.
Leafy GreensThese should make up no more than half (and ideally much less) of your tortoise forage:
Cabbage**
Chard**
Collards
Dandelion greens and flowers
Endive
Grape leaves
Kale**
Mustard greens
Parsley*
Spinach*
Turnip greens
Watercress
* These are high in calcium oxalates that may bind calcium causing metabolic bone disease, and may cause visceral gout (mineralization/crystallization of the soft tissues and internal organs). Feed sparingly. ** These are high in goitrogens, which impair thyroid function when fed in excess. Feed sparingly.
feed sparingly if at all:
Iceberg lettuce
Boston lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Red- and Green-leaf lettuce
Cactus:
Opuntia cactus pads and flowers (high in water content)
Acorn squash
Bell Peppers, red and green
Broccoli**
Butternut squash
Carrots
Green beans
Lentils
Peas
Potatoes (cooked, plain)
Pumpkin and other winter squash
Rice (cooked, plain)
Snow peas
Sweet potatoes
Turnip
**These are high in goitrogens, which impair thyroid function when fed in excess. Feed sparingly.
Feed sparingly as these are low in nutrition
Corn
Cucumbers
Radishes
Sprouts (alfalfa, bean, and grain)
Zucchini
Occasional foods
Apples (no seeds)
Apricots (no pits)
Avocados (no pits or leaves)
Bananas
Berries
Cantaloupe (with scrubbed rind)
Figs
Grapes
Mangos (no pit)
Oranges (not for hatchlings)
Papayas (ripe, no seeds)
Peaches (no pit)
Pears (no seeds)
Plums
Tomatoes (not for hatchlings)
Ficus benjamina (note: the milky sap may be irritating to skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract).
Geraniums
Hibiscus flower and leaves
Nasturtium flowers and leaves
Pansies
Petunias
Pothos
Rose petals and leaves
Snail vine (Vigna caracalla)
Violets
Sunlight...
Sunlight is critical for proper growth. The UVA promotes normal behavior and appetite; the UVB is necessary to enable the animal to synthesize vitamin D3, a substance crucial to calcium metabolization. Be sure, however, to provide some shade. Being too hot is just as dangerous as being too cold. If regular direct sunlight cannot be provided for them, you must use UVB-producing lights daily.
...and WaterAlways have fresh water available for drinking. A large shallow bowl is best, one they can access but not accidentally tip into and possibly drown. Leopards, radiated and all hatchlings are at risk for drowning or suffocating if they tip over onto their backs and are unable to right themselves.
Fresh clover
Clover hay
Rye grass
Rice grass
Mallow
Sowthistle
Dead Plants
Don't be an overly fastidious groundskeeper. Tortoises enjoy munching on dried brown leaves and stalks as much as they do the fresh plant. Top off your edible greens and ornamentals and drop them in the tortoise pen; depending on their mood, the tortoises will eat them fresh or ignore them until they are nice and brittle.
Leafy GreensThese should make up no more than half (and ideally much less) of your tortoise forage:
Cabbage**
Chard**
Collards
Dandelion greens and flowers
Endive
Grape leaves
Kale**
Mustard greens
Parsley*
Spinach*
Turnip greens
Watercress
* These are high in calcium oxalates that may bind calcium causing metabolic bone disease, and may cause visceral gout (mineralization/crystallization of the soft tissues and internal organs). Feed sparingly. ** These are high in goitrogens, which impair thyroid function when fed in excess. Feed sparingly.
feed sparingly if at all:
Iceberg lettuce
Boston lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Red- and Green-leaf lettuce
Cactus:
Opuntia cactus pads and flowers (high in water content)
Acorn squash
Bell Peppers, red and green
Broccoli**
Butternut squash
Carrots
Green beans
Lentils
Peas
Potatoes (cooked, plain)
Pumpkin and other winter squash
Rice (cooked, plain)
Snow peas
Sweet potatoes
Turnip
**These are high in goitrogens, which impair thyroid function when fed in excess. Feed sparingly.
Feed sparingly as these are low in nutrition
Corn
Cucumbers
Radishes
Sprouts (alfalfa, bean, and grain)
Zucchini
Occasional foods
Apples (no seeds)
Apricots (no pits)
Avocados (no pits or leaves)
Bananas
Berries
Cantaloupe (with scrubbed rind)
Figs
Grapes
Mangos (no pit)
Oranges (not for hatchlings)
Papayas (ripe, no seeds)
Peaches (no pit)
Pears (no seeds)
Plums
Tomatoes (not for hatchlings)
Ficus benjamina (note: the milky sap may be irritating to skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract).
Geraniums
Hibiscus flower and leaves
Nasturtium flowers and leaves
Pansies
Petunias
Pothos
Rose petals and leaves
Snail vine (Vigna caracalla)
Violets
Sunlight...
Sunlight is critical for proper growth. The UVA promotes normal behavior and appetite; the UVB is necessary to enable the animal to synthesize vitamin D3, a substance crucial to calcium metabolization. Be sure, however, to provide some shade. Being too hot is just as dangerous as being too cold. If regular direct sunlight cannot be provided for them, you must use UVB-producing lights daily.
...and WaterAlways have fresh water available for drinking. A large shallow bowl is best, one they can access but not accidentally tip into and possibly drown. Leopards, radiated and all hatchlings are at risk for drowning or suffocating if they tip over onto their backs and are unable to right themselves.