Ideal diet for a turtle/tortoise?

Question

I have an eastern box turtle and a red foot tortoise. I feed them tomatos, corn, cucumbers, lettuce and t-rex tortoise chow (dry pellets then wetted) I want to add some more to their diet, what are some good things?

Answer 1

Your box turtle needs some animal protein in his diet and a small amount  should  be given to your redfoot  as well. Earthworms,  large mealworms or silkworms can be used as well as small amounts of lean cooked turkey or chicken.  For the redfoot I would suggest a broader variety of greens like collard, dandelion, mustard greens and escarole.  You can also offer a small amount of sweet, colourful fruit like berries, melon or bananna to both.

Answer 2

Both should be getting some invertebrate prey in their diet--earthworms are especially appreciated, and they will enjoy crickets as well.

Here is a link about feeding tortoises; scroll down to the redfoot section, as their diet is different from other tortoises.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/we...

  Redfoots require more animal protein and less grass.  My redfoot enjoys homegrown dandelion greens, nasturtium flowers, and plantain greens (the weed, not the banana) in addition to the fruits and flowers we feed him.

Your Eastern box turtle needs more protein in its diet than he is getting.  You can feed him crickets, earthworms, slugs, snails, and superworms.  Here is a page about feeding box turtles:

http://www.anapsid.org/box.html

Tomatoes can sometimes upset their stomachs, so feed only a little bit of those; I would also replace the lettuce you are feeding with dandelion greens, which have more calcium.  You can grow your own (as long as you aren't using pesticides), or you can get them at most grocery stores.

Answer 3

Red leaf lettuce , green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, strawberries, berries..you can grow your own bermuda grass...my red foot eats crickets...umm mustard greens, collard greens...corn..fresh off the cobb of course...green beans...try all of these and youll find out what they like best.....if you are feeding them iceberg lettuce..like the head..dont it has no nutritional value and can actually cause alot of damage.

Answer 4

Let's do the bad news first. The food you are using now is not good overall.

Tomatoes should be a rare snack as they can upset their stomachs if given too often. Corn is not a recommended food for any reptile- reptiles do not handle grains well, and corn is a grain regardless of where it is in the grocery store. Cucumbers are low in nutrients, as is most lettuce. Finally, tortoise pellets are not used by most keepers for two main reasons- 1. lots of grain in the mix, and 2. it costs more per pound than healthy fresh food!

RED-FOOT-

This tropical rainforest species eats mostly tropical fruits, melons, and strawberry-like foods, then quite a bit of greenery- leaves, stems, cacti, etc. Finally, it eats about 15% protein in the form of bugs, worms, carrion, etc.

In captivity, I use a plan that takes a little getting used to, but works for me.

I have divided common foods into four categories- greens, fruits, vegetables, and proteins. In each category, I rank food items as great, OK, or avoid. Over the course of a week, I feed about 40% fruit, 40% greens, 15% protein, and 5% other vegetables.

In each meal, I aim for at least 50% of it being 'good' foods- but I usually include OK stuff for variety. Variety is very helpful!

Some examples of each category:

GREENS:

- Good- endive and escarole lettuces; dandelion and turnip greens, spinach, hibiscus or other edible plant leaves

- OK- other lettuces (except ball-style head lettuce) and greens

- Avoid- Iceberg and other ball-style head lettuce, parsley

VEGETABLES:

- Good- cactus pads or flowers, mushrooms

- OK- orange or yellow orange veggies (chopped or shredded), sprouts, cauliflower/broccoli, bell peppers

- Avoid- celery, hot peppers, corn, potatoes, grains, soybeans

FRUIT:

- Good- strawberry, melons, pineapple, tropical fruits

- OK- banana and grapes (very sugary, use as snacks), apples, oranges

- Avoid- most citrus, too many bananas or grapes

PROTEIN:

- Good- pinkie or fuzzie mice or rats, worms, cooked chicken, caterpillars (silkworms, goliath worms, etc), sardines or salmon, insects in general

- OK- Superworms, hard-boiled egg and shell, other fish, other organ meats, other poultry, well-soaked weight control cat kibble

- Avoid- most cat or dog food, mealworms, fatty or processed meats

EASTERN BOX TURTLE:

Wild Easterns eat 75% bugs in the wild. In captivity, replace that with the foods from the 'proteins' list above. In practice, I use about 50% live bugs, worms, etc., and 50% 'other' kinds of meats from the list.

The 25% plant stuff is a blend of things- mostly mushrooms, strawberries (occasionally), plants and flowers, etc. Most of the foods from the Greens and Vegetables list will work fine.

Try http://www.tortoisetrust.org or http:www.tortoise.org for good info.

Answer 5

MadkinsO has given great info.

Here are some more sites

http://tortoiseyard.com/

http://redfoottortoise.com/

http://www.boxturtlesite.info/bxbook.htm...