Winter time grocery runs for Egyptians?

[CyberianHusky]

Hello there;
Curious question for all you Egyptian owners out there. If you had to rely on the produce isle of the local grocer for your torts food what would you choose for them? I am really curious what everyone does for the winter. Finally got too cold here in Portland Oregon and wiped out all the dandelions and other greens. Got indoor planters with stuff growing but can foresee a trip to the supermarket.
Thank you for reading....

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, there have been quite a few "view," but no responses, so I'm gonna' give it a try.

I don't have Egyptian tortoises, and I don't know anything about them. But I have quite a few other kinds of tortoise (15 to be exact).

You can't go wrong with buying dark, leafy greens. You can find dandelion greens at the store, also, endive, escarole, turnip greens. There's always that old stand by Spring Mix.

Don't tell anyone, because it seems to be frowned upon, but I also buy zucchini, yellow crook-neck squash, banana squash, bell peppers, and, yes, even the dreaded cucumber, for my tortoises. I put down a bed of greens, then some cut veggies on top of that. Most of the time my tortoises can graze, but during the winter, the above mentioned groceries is what holds my tortoises over until spring.

 

[CyberianHusky]

There is a New Seasons organic grocer a block away from me. They usually carry Dandelions but I guess during the winter they are out of season. I was really curious about Arugula? Any experience feeding that to your torts?

 

[Yvonne G]

There's nothing wrong with feeding arugula as part of a varied diet. You shouldn't just feed it and it alone, but part of a nice variety of different things. Arugual is fairly high in Vit.a, but not very high in calcium. I did a quick 'net search and I think that arugula is also called Roquette in the U.K. So I'm thinking that THAT is what they call Rocket salad in the U.K.

 

[tortoises101]

Egyptian tortoises also eat a lot of salt marginal sea plants in the wild. Sea lavender is a good choice for indoor growers, and also the most readily available plant in the states that is also found in kleinmanni habitats. You can buy some seeds and learn how to grow them in a quick Google search, and follow Yvonne's feeding guidelines when the sea lavender runs short.

 

[CyberianHusky]

Egyptian tortoises also eat a lot of salt marginal sea plants in the wild. Sea lavender is a good choice for indoor growers, and also the most readily available plant in the states that is also found in kleinmanni habitats. You can buy some seeds and learn how to grow them in a quick Google search, and follow Yvonne's feeding guidelines when the sea lavender runs short.

I got Sea Lavendar, Desert Plantain, Astralgia, Sedum and lots of other stuff growing in indoor planters. The Torts consumption rate is quicker than the plants grow rate. So I got to use the grocery store occasionally during the winter season.

 

[Tim/Robin]

It is very cold and getting anything outside is not an option for us for a good part of the year. We have had great luck with endive, escarole, green and red leaf lettuce, as well as the usual spring mix. They also get Mazuri on top of their greens a few times a week along with other veggies several times a week as well. So far all are growing and doing well. They are great little tortoises. Keep them warm and they are happy.

 

[tortoises101]

Egyptian tortoises also eat a lot of salt marginal sea plants in the wild. Sea lavender is a good choice for indoor growers, and also the most readily available plant in the states that is also found in kleinmanni habitats. You can buy some seeds and learn how to grow them in a quick Google search, and follow Yvonne's feeding guidelines when the sea lavender runs short.

I got Sea Lavendar, Desert Plantain, Astralgia, Sedum and lots of other stuff growing in indoor planters. The Torts consumption rate is quicker than the plants grow rate. So I got to use the grocery store occasionally during the winter season.

Ohhhhhhhhh...

Then in that case I would just go with the guidelines given to you by Yvonne and Tim. You could also feed them some flowers such as hibiscus, nasturtiums, and gazania, which are also easy to grow indoors.
These flowers are real nutritious and are readily eaten by most (if not all) tortoise species.

 

[CyberianHusky]

It is very cold and getting anything outside is not an option for us for a good part of the year. We have had great luck with endive, escarole, green and red leaf lettuce, as well as the usual spring mix. They also get Mazuri on top of their greens a few times a week along with other veggies several times a week as well. So far all are growing and doing well. They are great little tortoises. Keep them warm and they are happy.

I saw your pics very healthy looking indeed you take good care of your Torts. Do you breed your Egyptians I would minds one of your hatchlings.

 

[tortoisenerd]

re-posted (edited) from a recent reply of mine

I only on grocery greens and have made a diet for my russian of about 50-50 lettuces and greens. Spring mix has 5-10 greens if you rotate the brands (I pick out the spinach & chard and can easily find organic). I can find greens in organic, especially at the specialty stores in my area (mustard, collard, watercress, turnip, kale, radish, etc), which I'll buy 1-2 heads and feed until they are gone, then rotate. I will feed 5% treats like pumpkin, butternut squash, organic edible flowers, cactus, and manufactured food on top of the greens/weeds/lettuces. For manufactured foods, the only brands I'd consider buying are Mazuri and Grassland. I'm not even a fan of he "good" ones as Mazuri has molasses, and they both have vitamins in them (and other bulk ingredients they wouldn't get in the wild like corn & soybean). I will however feed a bit for variety and so my tort has a taste for it in case of an emergency (can't get to store to buy fresh stuff). Many people successfully grow tort foods indoors in winter (such as a tortoise seed mix that you can find online, using trays and even grow lights if needed).

Visit several local stores to see what kind of variety you can find (remember this is over time, so if one store has one green and another has a different one, rotate the stores...I make it my mission when in parts of town I haven't been to before to check out the produce sections, and many times I find things not available at my corner store). Remember different types of grocery stores like ethnic, organic/local/farmers market, big box, chain, mom&pop, etc--they all likely have different selections, and some are more keen on ordering things if you ask (turnips greens for example at my favorite store...I kept asking and eventually they got enough requests from others like me to carry them sometimes). Just with supermarket greens I think I'm feeding a relatively diverse diet, maybe 25 items over the course of months.

 

[teq1]

I would get turnip greens, mustard greens occasionally, rhaddiccio (mine love it), kale, bok choy (rarely) and endive. For some reason my favorite store doesn't carry rhaddiccio anymore though. I'll have to find it elsewhere. I have to go find dandelion greens at an organic place on the other side of town. I'll occasionally also get watercress. I very rarely feed mazuri. My torts don't seem to like it much. I feed them cactus too. I just go to my back yard anytime and pick one out. They all love it

 

[ForestExotics]

I want some Egyptian tortoises.

 

[CyberianHusky]

I want some Egyptian tortoises.

Be careful they are addictive....

 

[Lohan]

Well, there have been quite a few "view," but no responses, so I'm gonna' give it a try.

I don't have Egyptian tortoises, and I don't know anything about them. But I have quite a few other kinds of tortoise (15 to be exact).

You can't go wrong with buying dark, leafy greens. You can find dandelion greens at the store, also, endive, escarole, turnip greens. There's always that old stand by Spring Mix.

Don't tell anyone, because it seems to be frowned upon, but I also buy zucchini, yellow crook-neck squash, banana squash, bell peppers, and, yes, even the dreaded cucumber, for my tortoises. I put down a bed of greens, then some cut veggies on top of that. Most of the time my tortoises can graze, but during the winter, the above mentioned groceries is what holds my tortoises over until spring.

Hello Yvone....just reading your reply about feeding torts in the winter months and see that you have said 'the dreaded cucumber'.....You know me as you have helped me out with my new 'Egyptian' tort that I have recently inherited. I have been feeding her Cucumber amongst a few other things...such as green pepper, broccoli leaves and toms. What is wrong with cucumber - should I stop giving it to her, why is it not so good? As you may remember, i live in a tiny village in Egypt with not a lot of options in terms of supplies. Thanks for your help. Lohan.

 

[cork_screw]

Arugala is actually very high in calcium. I went to trader joes and the bag of baby arugala contained 20% calcium, it's rich in calcium.

http://www.elook.org/nutrition/vegetables/2973.html

There's nothing wrong with feeding arugula as part of a varied diet. You shouldn't just feed it and it alone, but part of a nice variety of different things. Arugual is fairly high in Vit.a, but not very high in calcium. I did a quick 'net search and I think that arugula is also called Roquette in the U.K. So I'm thinking that THAT is what they call Rocket salad in the U.K.