Tortoise Food

[MichelleCarrigan78]

I have a container of Tortoise Food, my russian doesnt seem to want to eat it. I give him spring mix and bits of other fruits and veggies I have in the house. I have given him other weeds I find outside. My question is, does he need this extra food? Or is he getting enough from the plants? Thanks

 

[Laura]

a good variety of veggies and weeds should be enough. AS long as he is getting real sun and calcium as well..
Depending on the type of tort food.. a lot of it is not that great for them..

 

[chairman]

What kind of tortoise food is it? Mazuri? ZooMed Natural Tortoise Food? T-Rex colored pellets? Tortoise Bites? Something else?

Generally speaking, commercially produced diets are not necessary for your tortoise- fresh, natural foods are the best. The only prepackaged foods you're likely to get endorsements on are Mazuri and ZooMed's Natural, and many people keep them on hand for supplementation (fed once or twice a week) or emergency situations when the fresh stuff runs out and you just can't get to the store for a day or two.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Most tortoise foods are bad. Mazuri or Grassland are the only commercial foods I'd feed, and only small amounts every once in awhile (like 5% of the diet), like Mike said in case of emergencies and just for a bit of variety. If your tort didn't want to eat the colored bad pellets, good (lots of unnatural junk in there)! If you tort didn't want to eat Mazuri or Grassland, thats fine...some torts don't like it. You can try moistening it and mixing it in with spring mix, but if a tort doesn't like it that way, there isn't any ways I know of that make it any more appetizing than that. The ingredients in the pellet type foods are not as natural (even the good ones add vitamins which can be too much, and Mazuri has molasses) and they tend to be higher in calories (which can cause fast growth). Just be sure to feed a large variety of healthy greens, weeds, lettuces, flowers, and small amounts of cactus pads/fruit/flowers, pumpkin, and butternut squash (like 5% of the diet for those three). I feed about 20 items over the course of a couple months to give you an idea of how I define variety. Everything should be chemical free. Never feed fruit (except small amounts of cactus, which they would get in the wild). Most veggies are bad (except small amounts of squash or pumpkin for treats). Spring mix is a good start to a varied diet (make sure you take out any spinach), but I would try to add a couple other things a week, rotating through a list. Make sure any weeds you feed are chemical free and identified as safe to eat (plus you want to limit those high in oxalic acid, like clover and dandelion). Let us know if you have any specific questions and good luck!

 

[MichelleCarrigan78]

The dry food I have is Zilla fortified food land turtle and tortoise. He really doesnt eat it. So I can just keep it on hand and not worry about it. He eats his spring mix really well. I have gotten him to eat a bit of strawberry, tomato, and sweet potato. But that is an extremely rare thing. Mostly for treats. I put calium on his salad but he wont eat it then. He doesnt get natural light at all But he does have a uvb bulb. I bring stuff in from outside but he refuses most of the dandelions and plantain too. Will he be okay with just spring mix and a fruit or veggie from time to time?

 

[Yvonne G]

Try putting less...quite a bit less... calcium on the food. Spring mix is fine, however he WILL need to eat some of the calcium too. Just use a little pinch between thumb and forefinger, and moisten the spring mix so it sticks.

 

[MichelleCarrigan78]

Oh I was putting like 4 or 5 pinches on it, lol