July
17
Where can I buy all these plants for my tortoise (if I ever get one)?
I’ve been wanting a tortoise for almost a year now, and I’m doing lots of research, planning a lot, telling my parents, and trying to provide it with the best care possible. But I can’t provide it with a varied diet. Now I’m on the brink of giving up tortoise keeping forever. Here’s what I saw http://redfoottortoise.com/redfoot_tortoise_diet.htm
Romaine lettuce
Red and green leaf lettuce
Endive
Escarole
Chicory
Radicchio
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Kale
Collards
Spring Mix (mixed salad greens)
cabbage (on occasion)
VEGETABLES
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Winter squash
Pumpkin
Carrots (on occasion)
Green Beans (on occasion)
FRUIT
Papaya
Mangos
Apples (be sure there are no seeds)
Strawberries
Blackberries
Cactus fruit
Tomatoes
OTHER GOOD CHOICES
Some other favorites of my tortoises that are available:
Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Opuntia cactus pads
Hosta
Sedum
Mulberry leaves
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Dandelion
Plantain (not the banana type fruit….the weed plantago major)
Mallow (flowers and leaves)
Henbit
Rose (flowers and leaves….make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
Californian Poppy escholzia
I can only provide romaine, red and green leaf lettuce, endive, radicchio, kale, collards, spring mix, cabbage, zucchini, carrots, pumpkin, green beans, papaya, mango, apple, strawberries, blackberries, tomato, hosta, mulberry leaves on occasion, dandelion, and rose. It’s not a varied diet and I can’t provide the more important plants.
I live in Toronto and is there an area which has these plants? I don’t want you to say I don’t need all of these. I need lots of these. At least give me a place to buy all the basic foods and at least half of the other favourite foods.
Ah… that is the list of possible plants, they do not need every plant every day, or even every week.
For my Red-foots, here is what I do when they are indoors, based on info from several trusted breeders and authors:
Buy 2 heads of different greens, at least one of them will be endive, escarole, arugula (rocket), dandelion leaves, turnip greems or collard greens. The other head will be something else from your list of greens usually. I feed them one of the greens every day or so, misting the food well. (Next week, I’ll use two different greens.)
Once a week, I add some fruits, or some veggies with seeds- tropical fruit (not banana), melon, squash, bell pepper, apple, pineapple, dark plums, etc. I have a salad bar at my local store, so I often just get a selection there. I also feed whole mushrooms every week.
Once a month or so, I toss in some meat protein- preferably worms or pinkies, but also cooked chicken, hard boiled eggs, or even low-calorie cat kibble (well-soaked).
I sprinkle a pinch of calcium powder on one meal a week, and I sprinkle some cut up rabbit hay or ground up hay cubes on the food a couple times a week for more fiber.
Either feed very small meals, or skip days so your guys grow SLOWLY.
From your list of what you can provide, you are doing OK- it IS a veried diet. Go light on: plain lettuces and spring mix, carrots, beans, blackberries, and tomato. You are not missing a lot of ‘important’ plants’.
Remember- these guys live in places with very limited access to healthy food (most of the plants around them are not safe to eat) and they are experts at living on very little.
Come on, dude- you are supposed to eat a varied diet as well and you don’t eat that much stuff!
July 18th, 2010 at 1:44 am
That list is telling you EVERYTHING safe to feed a tortoise….
As long as you give a variety of these things you are good to go it doesn’t have to be the entire list.
My redfoots get mainly mango’s, melons, grapes, along with alfalfa, berries, grasses and dark green vegetables and tortoise feed. When I can find something different I buy it and feed it to them so that they have a variety.
You can also find seeds online of any of these things and grow your own. I grow alfalfa hay and hosta inside my redfoots habitats along with a few flowers like dandelions (a favorite)
The list you have that you have access to is more than what most people have access to. It is a great mix! Don’t give up just because you can’t find everything on that list. There is also another user on here I talk to she has many many tortoises who have basically the same diet as me and you and her oldest redfoot just turned 38 years old (he was born 13 years before her)
That is a very varied diet.
References :
July 18th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Ah… that is the list of possible plants, they do not need every plant every day, or even every week.
For my Red-foots, here is what I do when they are indoors, based on info from several trusted breeders and authors:
Buy 2 heads of different greens, at least one of them will be endive, escarole, arugula (rocket), dandelion leaves, turnip greems or collard greens. The other head will be something else from your list of greens usually. I feed them one of the greens every day or so, misting the food well. (Next week, I’ll use two different greens.)
Once a week, I add some fruits, or some veggies with seeds- tropical fruit (not banana), melon, squash, bell pepper, apple, pineapple, dark plums, etc. I have a salad bar at my local store, so I often just get a selection there. I also feed whole mushrooms every week.
Once a month or so, I toss in some meat protein- preferably worms or pinkies, but also cooked chicken, hard boiled eggs, or even low-calorie cat kibble (well-soaked).
I sprinkle a pinch of calcium powder on one meal a week, and I sprinkle some cut up rabbit hay or ground up hay cubes on the food a couple times a week for more fiber.
Either feed very small meals, or skip days so your guys grow SLOWLY.
From your list of what you can provide, you are doing OK- it IS a veried diet. Go light on: plain lettuces and spring mix, carrots, beans, blackberries, and tomato. You are not missing a lot of ‘important’ plants’.
Remember- these guys live in places with very limited access to healthy food (most of the plants around them are not safe to eat) and they are experts at living on very little.
Come on, dude- you are supposed to eat a varied diet as well and you don’t eat that much stuff!
References :
Vinke and Vetter "South American Tortoises"
Mike Pingleton "Red-foot Manual"
http://www.tortoisetrust.org
http://www.turtletary.com
Try http://www.tortoiseforum.org for general discussions