What makes a good diet?

[Timmy22653]

Hello all,

I am a newbie. I am inheriting a tortoise in a few weeks. I have been preparing for him over the last 3 months (getting enclosure, making sure the garden is secure etc). Now I have a greenhouse, I am going to try to grow him some food.

I have ordered a seed packet with these in:

• Red Clover,
• White Mustard,
• White Clover,
• Dandelion,
• Lambs lettuce,
• Crimson clover,
• Salad burnet,
• Sainfoin,
• Chicory,
• Ribwort Plantain.

Is this enough of a varied diet? Is there anything else I should add?

We believe he is a Greek Tortoise. I will be taking pictures for this group once he arrives. He is at least 47 years old. His diet has mostly been lettuce and dandelions - and peas (which I've found out they're not meant to have?)

I want to do everything right by him and get into good habits from the get go! Thank you in advance for your advice and tips!

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing your tortoise and having you both here!

 

[Tom]

Hello all,

I am a newbie. I am inheriting a tortoise in a few weeks. I have been preparing for him over the last 3 months (getting enclosure, making sure the garden is secure etc). Now I have a greenhouse, I am going to try to grow him some food.

I have ordered a seed packet with these in:

• Red Clover,
• White Mustard,
• White Clover,
• Dandelion,
• Lambs lettuce,
• Crimson clover,
• Salad burnet,
• Sainfoin,
• Chicory,
• Ribwort Plantain.

Is this enough of a varied diet? Is there anything else I should add?

We believe he is a Greek Tortoise. I will be taking pictures for this group once he arrives. He is at least 47 years old. His diet has mostly been lettuce and dandelions - and peas (which I've found out they're not meant to have?)

I want to do everything right by him and get into good habits from the get go! Thank you in advance for your advice and tips!

That diet sound like a good start, but add lots more variety. There are dozens of good foods that you can feed them.

Start here and look for the temperate species care sheet at the end. There is lots of diet info there:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

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[RosemaryDW]

Welcome!

For others reading this post, please note that OP lives in the UK and plants in North America may not be available. We may also not be familiar with the foods OP mentions.

That looks like a good mix to me. Plantain and burnet (which is in the rose family) have a fair amount of fiber, as does the mustard. You'll likely want to add a bit more fiber if you can. If you are interested in adding some other wild plants look at the weeds around you, as wild foods tend to be high in fiber. Thistles are a big part of the wild diet so it would be nice if you could track down some on occasion. The flower with the yellow plant that may remind you of a dandelion is a sow thistle. There are quite a few larger thistles in the UK as well, although I'm not sure how popular those might be. I'd use caution with anything with big thorns but smaller or younger leaves might be worth a try. Got some stinging nettle floating around? Great, feed as is, your tortoise won't be bothered by the stingy bits. The Tortoise Table database I mention below has suggestions on quite a few wild plants that might work for you. If he is going to roaming in a garden, or has been, he's been getting more than dandelions, perhaps that will help your peace of mind.

Some plant protein--like the peas--is okay for tortoises on occasion. All animals need protein, the concern people have with protein, especially in the UK, is a history of feeding tortoises too much plant protein or even animal protein from dog and cat food! Both the clover and sainfoin plants are legumes, the same plant family those peas come from. So some protein is both necessary and appropriate. You can still feed a couple of peas or a green bean on occasion, just not the heavy pea diet it sounds like he's used to.

You can look at the Tortoise Table, a food database from the UK to get some ideas about other foods of all kinds to introduce. The science in it is not great so don't get too hung up on what it says about "bad" foods but the suggestions for safe food are good ones. http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ Absolutely do not pay attention to the warning on buttercups, it's flat wrong, they are a common part of wild diets and UK tortoises have been grazing on them for years with no bad side effects. If he has been grazing in some in the yard it's fine.

Your tortoise has been eating the same foods for some years so you are not going to have any easy or quick change to other foods. I suggest mixing small amounts of one or two foods, chopped fine, with the dandelions he's used to. He'll get a taste for them over time and you can change the mix, adding in other plants or reducing the number of dandelions or both. Summer is here and the warmer he gets during the day the hungrier he'll be and more likely to try new things. He is still likely to go on a bit of a hunger strike. I know this is very hard for humans to watch but reptiles are not like humans or any other mammal. They can go for long periods of time without eating. Eventually he'll get hungry enough to take a bite, I promise he won't starve himself so stay strong!

Depending on what he gets used to, you might want to round his diet out with a pelleted food. You can add one, particularly over the winter, without feeling like you are doing something wrong. Pre-Alpen testudo is one food we can can't get in the U.S. and Nutrazu is another. (Nutrazu is just another name for the MazurI we often mention here.) Later on, when fresh foods have been introduced, you can try a little of one of them. The general advice is to thoroughly mix one pellet with water to soften it up, then mix a bit of it in with other foods. Again, this would be something to try over time. These products sometimes come in huge bags, which would take forever for one small tortoise would consume. I found a company called Tortoise Hut that sells smaller amounts of Nutrazu here: https://www.tortoisehut.co.uk/product-page/nutrazu-tortoise-diet#:~:text=Feed with good quality grass,is available at all times, and another that sells small amounts of Pre Alpin: https://buzzardreptile.co.uk/product/pre-alpin-testudo-original-tortoise-food-1kg/.

it is also okay to give him the occasional bit of courgette, marrow, capsicum, carrot, sweet potato, cucumber, any hard winter squash, or one mushroom. Things like that. Don't overdo it on carrot as it has more sugar in it than most vegetables. These all provide vitamins he may not get otherwise, especially the orange or red ones. I like to slice mine on the thin side, something he can hold down with his foot to get started.

No fruit, period; no tomato, which seems to be popularly suggested in the UK. Some flowers are fine and a normal part of the wild diet. They eat tons of dandelion relatives, including their flowers at certain times of year.

if something unfamilar floats down into the garden and your tortoise eats is, don't fuss, it's very unlikely to be problematic. If he occasionally eats a snail or slug, also fine.

Good luck and be patient! This is absolutely not going to be a fast transition and you will stress yourself out thinking you are going to switch him to an amazing, "perfect" diet in a couple of days.

 

[Timmy22653]

Welcome!

For others reading this post, please note that OP lives in the UK and plants in North America may not be available. We may also not be familiar with the foods OP mentions.

That looks like a good mix to me. Plantain and burnet (which is in the rose family) have a fair amount of fiber, as does the mustard. You'll likely want to add a bit more fiber if you can. If you are interested in adding some other wild plants look at the weeds around you, as wild foods tend to be high in fiber. Thistles are a big part of the wild diet so it would be nice if you could track down some on occasion. The flower with the yellow plant that may remind you of a dandelion is a sow thistle. There are quite a few larger thistles in the UK as well, although I'm not sure how popular those might be. I'd use caution with anything with big thorns but smaller or younger leaves might be worth a try. Got some stinging nettle floating around? Great, feed as is, your tortoise won't be bothered by the stingy bits. The Tortoise Table database I mention below has suggestions on quite a few wild plants that might work for you. If he is going to roaming in a garden, or has been, he's been getting more than dandelions, perhaps that will help your peace of mind.

Some plant protein--like the peas--is okay for tortoises on occasion. All animals need protein, the concern people have with protein, especially in the UK, is a history of feeding tortoises too much plant protein or even animal protein from dog and cat food! Both the clover and sainfoin plants are legumes, the same plant family those peas come from. So some protein is both necessary and appropriate. You can still feed a couple of peas or a green bean on occasion, just not the heavy pea diet it sounds like he's used to.

You can look at the Tortoise Table, a food database from the UK to get some ideas about other foods of all kinds to introduce. The science in it is not great so don't get too hung up on what it says about "bad" foods but the suggestions for safe food are good ones. http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ Absolutely do not pay attention to the warning on buttercups, it's flat wrong, they are a common part of wild diets and UK tortoises have been grazing on them for years with no bad side effects. If he has been grazing in some in the yard it's fine.

Your tortoise has been eating the same foods for some years so you are not going to have any easy or quick change to other foods. I suggest mixing small amounts of one or two foods, chopped fine, with the dandelions he's used to. He'll get a taste for them over time and you can change the mix, adding in other plants or reducing the number of dandelions or both. Summer is here and the warmer he gets during the day the hungrier he'll be and more likely to try new things. He is still likely to go on a bit of a hunger strike. I know this is very hard for humans to watch but reptiles are not like humans or any other mammal. They can go for long periods of time without eating. Eventually he'll get hungry enough to take a bite, I promise he won't starve himself so stay strong!

Depending on what he gets used to, you might want to round his diet out with a pelleted food. You can add one, particularly over the winter, without feeling like you are doing something wrong. Pre-Alpen testudo is one food we can can't get in the U.S. and Nutrazu is another. (Nutrazu is just another name for the MazurI we often mention here.) Later on, when fresh foods have been introduced, you can try a little of one of them. The general advice is to thoroughly mix one pellet with water to soften it up, then mix a bit of it in with other foods. Again, this would be something to try over time. These products sometimes come in huge bags, which would take forever for one small tortoise would consume. I found a company called Tortoise Hut that sells smaller amounts of Nutrazu here: https://www.tortoisehut.co.uk/product-page/nutrazu-tortoise-diet#:~:text=Feed with good quality grass,is available at all times, and another that sells small amounts of Pre Alpin: https://buzzardreptile.co.uk/product/pre-alpin-testudo-original-tortoise-food-1kg/.

it is also okay to give him the occasional bit of courgette, marrow, capsicum, carrot, sweet potato, cucumber, any hard winter squash, or one mushroom. Things like that. Don't overdo it on carrot as it has more sugar in it than most vegetables. These all provide vitamins he may not get otherwise, especially the orange or red ones. I like to slice mine on the thin side, something he can hold down with his foot to get started.

No fruit, period; no tomato, which seems to be popularly suggested in the UK. Some flowers are fine and a normal part of the wild diet. They eat tons of dandelion relatives, including their flowers at certain times of year.

if something unfamilar floats down into the garden and your tortoise eats is, don't fuss, it's very unlikely to be problematic. If he occasionally eats a snail or slug, also fine.

Good luck and be patient! This is absolutely not going to be a fast transition and you will stress yourself out thinking you are going to switch him to an amazing, "perfect" diet in a couple of days.

Wow - this is amazing! Thank you so much. I will make sure to monitor him on his new diet - I really hope he takes to it but expect him to be upset about all the changes happening to him!

I have noted down the foods I can give him - thank you! Are they not allowed strawberry? I have seen a few videos of tortoises eating them and the advice online is all over the place - some saying no as too much sugar and some says one every now and then is OK? So confused!

Thank you

 

[Timmy22653]

That diet sound like a good start, but add lots more variety. There are dozens of good foods that you can feed them.

Start here and look for the temperate species care sheet at the end. There is lots of diet info there:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you! This is great! I'll take a read

 

[RosemaryDW]

Are they not allowed strawberry? I have seen a few videos of tortoises eating them and the advice online is all over the place - some saying no as too much sugar and some says one every now and then is OK? So confused!

"Allowed" probably isn't the best word. Some people think an occasional bit of fruit is okay. To be honest I think many people feed them for a photo op.

There is a lot of old and bad diet info floating around; UK information seems particularly off, probably as you guys have been keeping pet tortoises longer. (Apple comes up often as well.) Your tortoise is from an area where there aren't a lot of lush foods and thus not much fruit. His stomach simply isn't designed to digest it; it's not like you or me having a candy bar.

We got into enough trouble at my house the single time our tortoise ever got too much (sugary) carrot, I don't need to push my luck by feeding fruit intentionally when there are so many other safe things. My tortoise is exclusively outdoors when she isn't hibernating and gets plenty of sugar from flowers. There is simply no need to feed fruit.

Is one strawberry going to harm your tortoise, probably not. Does is have any benefit to your tortoise? No. If you want a photo op, find a flower that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides.