Veggies

[Speedy_Tortoise]

Are you supposed to feed non-leafy veggies to russian tortoises? I have been feeding mine different types of lettuces, like romaine, escarole, green leaf, etc., (pretty much what's listed on russiantortoise.org) but non-leafy veggies arent listed on that site. Can you tell me which vegetables are good/bad for Russian tortoises?

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, this goes against what they all tell you, but...When the graze in my Russian pen gets down to almost nothing, later in the summer, I feed my Russians almost everything that is sold in the produce section. That includes zucchini, bell pepper, rappini, broccoli, cucumber, carrots, etc. I first put down a bed of greens, then I put a variety of vegetables cut in quarters on the greens.

I didn't write the book on Russians, and I don't consider myself an expert on them. But I have had Russians for appx. 20 years and have not seen any ill effects of feeding them vegetables.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

I've always heard no veggies except the occasional squash, so I've stuck to that. Opinions vary though.

See if you can find different variety greens such as mustard greens, collards, small quantities of kale (mine likes this as a treat; too much is bad and can cause goiter), edible flowers, weeds, etc. There are a lot of things you can do for variety that are still very healthy. You can even grow pots or trays of seeds and get a lot right in your own kitchen or yard (mine grew pretty well inside and actually did better in my kitchen then when I put them out for summer).

 

[Speedy_Tortoise]

Thank you! Is it ok to just pick dandelions from your yard?

 

[Seiryu]

Thank you! Is it ok to just pick dandelions from your yard?

Sure as long as you don't use ferilizier or pesticides or any other chemicles. If your neighbors are right next door to you. I probably would pick things furthest away from a neighbors house in case they do.

Only pesticides from them COULD get to your stuff and even then very minimal and would go away fast.

For instance my next door neighbor uses ferilizer on his grass. Where our property line is, part of my yards grass is technically his. You can definitely see the line of his lucious green grass compared to my normal grass and this is like right in a line. Fertilizer doesnt stray far from where its put down, otherwise a bit of my lawn would be greener, but it isnt.