Winter Feeding

tignish99

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
110
My little Russian is less than a year old. In the summer I happily went into the backyard everyday and picked weeds (my neighbours already know I am a few segments short of a full shell and they are used to this behaviour:D), grass, added hibiscus, hay, hens and chicks, spider plans, and what ever else that was safe when the mood struck.

Now it is hypothetically fall which has morphed into an early winter. We have snow so my daily frolic in the backyard is no more. I read somewhere sometime ago that with torties one does not have to have a daily varied diet as for warm blooded critters as long as it is varied over several weeks. I cannot find that article/post and I cannot remember if that was tortoise-wide or just for one species of torts or if it is even a valid article/post. My tortoise is still a baby so buying several different bundles of greens (dandelions, kale, etc.) from the grocery store will cause huge waste because she will only eat a small amount before the greens go bad. I am wondering if I can just buy one bundle of, say, kale, give her that for a week or two, and then buy a bundle of dandelion, and change every week or two with a new type of green. She does get Mazuri tort diet once a week instead of greens. She also gets multivitamins sprinkled on her greens once a week and calcium with D two or three times a week (should I be doing more or less of the calcium?).

Please understand, I am not trying to be cheap and will do what ever it takes for her to be healthy, but I do not want to waste money or food either.

Thank you
 

oliviaTORTOISE

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Messages
111
Hi! My tortoise is a Russian tortoise and I will give her large servings of food and she will only eat at most half of the pile. I think during the winter they slack of on eating a little bit... :) I am not 100% sure but my tortoise does the same thing:) sorry I could not help you that much!!
-Olivia
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
It is quite ok to buy one or two heads/bunches this shopping trip, use them til they rot or are used up, then something different next time.
 

oliviaTORTOISE

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Messages
111
I also think giving her weeds is a GREAT idea and that you should keep doing it just remember that they cannot be fertilized or sprayed with any other chemical!!! :)
 

Saleama

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,501
Location (City and/or State)
Irving Texas
You can also buy spring mix and what your baby does not eat you can cover in salad dressing and feed it to your family! I do not recomend the larg 1 pound tubs. They get skunky fast. I buy it in bulk at specialty grocery stores (sprouts, Central market, Whole foods etc..,). You can buy as little or as much as you want and no waste! Of course, I have 12 tortoises and they go through a pound in two days. I usually do what you do but no more this season. It will be an expensive winter and all but three of mine are not hibernating species.
 

tignish99

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
110
oliviaTORTOISE said:
I also think giving her weeds is a GREAT idea and that you should keep doing it just remember that they cannot be fertilized or sprayed with any other chemical!!! :)

LOL! Trust me! If you saw my backyard, you would immediately come to the conclusion that no chemicals have ever touched the area.


Saleama said:
You can also buy spring mix and what your baby does not eat you can cover in salad dressing and feed it to your family! I do not recomend the larg 1 pound tubs. They get skunky fast. I buy it in bulk at specialty grocery stores (sprouts, Central market, Whole foods etc..,). You can buy as little or as much as you want and no waste! Of course, I have 12 tortoises and they go through a pound in two days. I usually do what you do but no more this season. It will be an expensive winter and all but three of mine are not hibernating species.

I am finding those tubs have really poor quality greens this year. Sometimes we open them and they already smell skunky. In addition, looking at the contents and the ingredients, the spring mix we get here is mostly lettuce and spinach. They do say it has a couple of other ingredients, but I have this feeling that the box was once near these ingredients and some molecules may have landed in the box, so they can get away with putting the ingredients in the ingredient list.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I agree that you can simply rotate through one "green" at a time. Favor endive and escarole. Don't forget cilantro, carrot tops, watercress, and spineless opuntia cactus pads. And the spring mix is a good option too.

I would go to twice a week with the Mazuri during this time, to make sure your baby is getting everything it needs. You can also mix the soaked Mazuri with chopped greens. And don't forget to sprinke some calcium twice a week and/or add a cuttlebone for him/her to munch on at will.

There are also other "toppers" you can use to improve the fiber and nutrient contents of grocery store greens. Here are a couple that I use and like:
http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay
http://www.tortoisesupply.com/salad-style-food-topper/
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
When buying packaged greens, look for the "sell by" date.
 

Saleama

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,501
Location (City and/or State)
Irving Texas
tignish99 said:
oliviaTORTOISE said:
I also think giving her weeds is a GREAT idea and that you should keep doing it just remember that they cannot be fertilized or sprayed with any other chemical!!! :)

LOL! Trust me! If you saw my backyard, you would immediately come to the conclusion that no chemicals have ever touched the area.


Saleama said:
You can also buy spring mix and what your baby does not eat you can cover in salad dressing and feed it to your family! I do not recomend the larg 1 pound tubs. They get skunky fast. I buy it in bulk at specialty grocery stores (sprouts, Central market, Whole foods etc..,). You can buy as little or as much as you want and no waste! Of course, I have 12 tortoises and they go through a pound in two days. I usually do what you do but no more this season. It will be an expensive winter and all but three of mine are not hibernating species.

I am finding those tubs have really poor quality greens this year. Sometimes we open them and they already smell skunky. In addition, looking at the contents and the ingredients, the spring mix we get here is mostly lettuce and spinach. They do say it has a couple of other ingredients, but I have this feeling that the box was once near these ingredients and some molecules may have landed in the box, so they can get away with putting the ingredients in the ingredient list.



They are and I only buy them as a last resort. The bulk option also allows you to pick out the spinach and get more of the escarole and other good stuff.
 

tignish99

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
110
Tom said:
I agree that you can simply rotate through one "green" at a time. Favor endive and escarole. Don't forget cilantro, carrot tops, watercress, and spineless opuntia cactus pads. And the spring mix is a good option too.

I would go to twice a week with the Mazuri during this time, to make sure your baby is getting everything it needs. You can also mix the soaked Mazuri with chopped greens. And don't forget to sprinke some calcium twice a week and/or add a cuttlebone for him/her to munch on at will.

There are also other "toppers" you can use to improve the fiber and nutrient contents of grocery store greens. Here are a couple that I use and like:
http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay
http://www.tortoisesupply.com/salad-style-food-topper/

Thank you for the advice. I do add timothy hay to her daily food. I chop it up in the blender and wet the greens so that the hay sticks. This way she has no choice but to eat it.

I never considered cilantro. Good to know.


Yvonne G said:
When buying packaged greens, look for the "sell by" date.

I do. It does not seem to make a difference. I think, in our area, it is just a bad year for certain greens.
 

New Posts

Top