Vitamins and diet HELP

[Miswlynn]

Hi everyone! I have a 4 month old red footed tortoise. I'm trying to get a better understanding of calcium and vitamin intake as well as food and diet.

For calcium, I sprinkle a little bit on his food daily. Is this correct or too much? Are there any other vitamins I should incorporate?

With his diet, I tend to mix a bit of greens (dandelion leaves, collards, and green kale) with carrots, eggs, peppers, cucumber, other fruits, once worms but he tends to avoid the worms and iv also given him roses once.

Is this a good diet for him or am I missing anything?

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone! I have a 4 month old red footed tortoise. I'm trying to get a better understanding of calcium and vitamin intake as well as food and diet.

For calcium, I sprinkle a little bit on his food daily. Is this correct or too much? Are there any other vitamins I should incorporate?

With his diet, I tend to mix a bit of greens (dandelion leaves, collards, and green kale) with carrots, eggs, peppers, cucumber, other fruits, once worms but he tends to avoid the worms and iv also given him roses once.

Is this a good diet for him or am I missing anything?

Overall you are doing great. Here are some tips for improvement.
1. Too much calcium is not good. With a good diet of "natural" foods, very little calcium is needed. With a bunch of grocery store foods, a tiny pinch of calcium powder twice a week is enough for most cases. Adult males tend to need less, while egg laying females and growing babies tend to need more supplementation. I would not give calcium supplementation more tan three times a week as calcium interferes with the absorption of of important minerals and trace elements. We need to give enough for our tortoise, but not too much too often.
2. Most keepers of RFs seem to agree that some protein a couple of times a week is a good benchmark. Look for more variety than just eggs. Earthworms, canned cat of dog food, chicken, snails, ground turkey, roaches or crickets, etc...
3. I would try to avoid the grocery store entirely when possible and feed mulberry leaves, hibiscus leaves and flowers, grape vine leaves, lavatera leaves and flowers, a huge assortment of weeds, clover, fresh grown alfalfa, squash leaves, spineless opuntia pads, gazania, flowers, nasturtiums, untreated rose leaves and flowers, hollyhock leaves and flowers, etc... If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive, escarole, and arugula as staples and add in cilantro, collards, kale, turnip greens and more for variety.
4. Herptivite is my vitamin of choice. Its safe for our tortoises. A pinch once or twice a week is plenty, and with a good diet, like what I described above, it isn't "necessary" at all.

 

[Miswlynn]

Overall you are doing great. Here are some tips for improvement.
1. Too much calcium is not good. With a good diet of "natural" foods, very little calcium is needed. With a bunch of grocery store foods, a tiny pinch of calcium powder twice a week is enough for most cases. Adult males tend to need less, while egg laying females and growing babies tend to need more supplementation. I would not give calcium supplementation more tan three times a week as calcium interferes with the absorption of of important minerals and trace elements. We need to give enough for our tortoise, but not too much too often.
2. Most keepers of RFs seem to agree that some protein a couple of times a week is a good benchmark. Look for more variety than just eggs. Earthworms, canned cat of dog food, chicken, snails, ground turkey, roaches or crickets, etc...
3. I would try to avoid the grocery store entirely when possible and feed mulberry leaves, hibiscus leaves and flowers, grape vine leaves, lavatera leaves and flowers, a huge assortment of weeds, clover, fresh grown alfalfa, squash leaves, spineless opuntia pads, gazania, flowers, nasturtiums, untreated rose leaves and flowers, hollyhock leaves and flowers, etc... If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive, escarole, and arugula as staples and add in cilantro, collards, kale, turnip greens and more for variety.
4. Herptivite is my vitamin of choice. Its safe for our tortoises. A pinch once or twice a week is plenty, and with a good diet, like what I described above, it isn't "necessary" at all.

This is so wonderful! Thank you do so much!