What should your tortoise be eating?
Tortoises would naturally roam for hours and feed on a variety of plants, thus providing exercise and natural absorption of vitamins and minerals. Food in the wild would become very sparce in the summer months and the tortoise would naturally aestivate to conserve energy. During springtime there would be more moisture in the food and higher protein levels than that available in the summer. This ensures a well balanced, natural healthy diet.
In captivity we tend to over feed and worse still, over feed on an incorrect diet.
Follow these simple guidelines on feeding your tortoise;
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Supermarket foods should be given sparingly
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Small portion size daily (never exceed shell size of tortoise)
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Follow a natural diet as often as possible
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Provide variety
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Clean, fresh water should be offered daily
When planning a diet for captive tortoises you should consider the following:
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Dandelion - leaves and flowers, Hawbits and Cat's-ears Hawks beards, Chicory, Sow thistle, Plantains, Bitter cress White Clover, Heartease, Honeysuckle flowers.
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Mulberry leaves and hibiscus are rich in calcium and fibre.
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Lettuce, cucumber and tomato can be fed to tortoises but they have very low nutritional value and shouldn't be made up as part of a complete diet.
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Always avoid iceberg lettuce due to the poor nutritional value.
You can purchase a variety of weeds in seed format from The Tortoise Lady Shop section of this website. This will ensure that your tortoise is being brought up on the best possible diet which closely resembles the diet in a wild habitat.
Mediterranean tortoises fed entirely on cat and dog food, crickets, processed commercial food and high protein foods such as peas, beans, cabbage, choy and spinach; frequently die from renal failure or from bladder stones. Fruit should be given sparingly due to high sugar content.
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