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If you feed your tortoises too much of the foods that should be fed in relatively small amounts or occasionally, you risk causing health problems, ranging from diarrhea to kidney disease. There apparently has been a problem with people not reading this entire page, so I have reorganized it to put the emphasis on the forage.
85% Grasses and weeds; dark, leafy greens; cactus...
Grasses and Weeds Foraging Mix Alfalfa hay or pellets Bermuda grass Fresh clover Clover hay Rye grass Rice grass Mallow Sowthistle
Dead Plants Don't be an overly fastidious groundskeeper. Tortoises enjoy munching on dried brown leaves and stalks as much as they do the fresh plant. Top off your edible greens and ornamentals and drop them in the tortoise pen; depending on their mood, the tortoises will eat them fresh or ignore them until they are nice and brittle.
Leafy Greens These should make up no more than half (and ideally much less) of your tortoise forage: Cabbage** Chard** Collards Dandelion greens and flowers Endive Grape leaves Kale** Mustard greens Parsley* Spinach* Turnip greens Watercress
* These are high in calcium oxalates that may bind calcium causing metabolic bone disease, and may cause visceral gout (mineralization/crystallization of the soft tissues and internal organs). Feed sparingly. ** These are high in goitrogens, which impair thyroid function when fed in excess. Feed sparingly.
Don't feed at all as they have little or no nutrition: Iceberg lettuce Boston lettuce Romaine lettuce Red- and Green-leaf lettuce
Cactus: Opuntia cactus pads and flowers (high in water content)
15% Vegetables... Acorn squash Bell Peppers, red and green Broccoli** Butternut squash Carrots Green beans Lentils Peas Potatoes (cooked, plain) Pumpkin and other winter squash Rice (cooked, plain) Snow peas Sweet potatoes Turnip
**These are high in goitrogens, which impair thyroid function when fed in excess. Feed sparingly.
Feed sparingly as these are low in nutrition Corn Cucumbers Radishes Sprouts (alfalfa, bean, and grain) Zucchini
Occasional foods Apples (no seeds) Apricots (no pits) Avocados (no pits or leaves) Bananas Berries Cantaloupe (with scrubbed rind) Figs Grapes Mangos (no pit) Oranges (not for hatchlings) Papayas (ripe, no seeds) Peaches (no pit) Pears (no seeds) Plums Tomatoes (not for hatchlings)
Mixed Veggie Salad The following, based on my green iguana salad, can be fed occasionally:
1/2 cup shredded raw green beans 1/2 cup shredded raw squash (acorn, butternut, banana, kabocha, pumpkin, summer) 1/2 cup shredded raw parsnip 3/4 cup alfalfa pellets or 1/8 cup alfalfa powder from the health food store 1/4 cup fruit
Mix thoroughly together. Add in or sprinkle on salad a multivitamin supplement and a calcium supplement as recommended. Store in a sealed food storage container. Stays fresh for 6-7 days. Additional quantities may be frozen. Add a pinch of thiamine to the defrosted salad to replace the thiamin lost through the defrosting process
...and flowers and houseplants for grazing treats. For more information on edible and harmful plants, please see the Plant Information & Identification page.
Ficus benjamina (note: the milky sap may be irritating to skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract). Geraniums Hibiscus flower and leaves Nasturtium flowers and leaves Pansies Petunias Pothos Rose petals and leaves Snail vine (Vigna caracalla) Violets
Sunlight... Sunlight is critical for proper growth. The UVA promotes normal behavior and appetite; the UVB is necessary to enable the animal to synthesize vitamin D3, a substance crucial to calcium metabolization. Be sure, however, to provide some shade. Being too hot is just as dangerous as being too cold. If regular direct sunlight cannot be provided for them, you must use UVB-producing fluorescent lights daily.
...and Water Always have fresh water available for drinking. A large shallow bowl is best, one they can access but not accidentally tip into and possibly drown. Leopards, radiated and all hatchlings are at risk for drowning or suffocating if they tip over onto their backs and are unable to right themselves.
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