Tortoise care--meat eating??!! and claw advice

Question

i have a horsefeld tortoise named henry, he is supposed to be a vegatarian, but i have to make a giant effort to keep him away from meat he trys to eat my dogs meat /biscuits, he tried to eat a dead bird in our garden, he will purposly go to my dogs bone and gnaw at it, and he goes crazy if u put meat near him why is this??

Also his claws are getting a little long and i dnt want to hurt him where/how/cost of getting them trimmed

Answer 1

i have a tortoise had him for 38 years now and he eats cat food or dog food,they are scavengers in the wild,in Greece they eat anything

Answer 2

I also have 2 horsfield tortoises (soon to be more when the eggs hatch). They are completely vegetarian so you shouldn't allow him to eat any meat whatsoever. Its far too high in protein and will lead to him developing a lumpy shell and other more serious problems.

What do you feed him? As you should be feeding him a diet comprising of weeds with no fruit or vegetables except romaine lettuce. You can purchase seeds off ebay to grow him such weeds. Here's a link to a site for russians which will tell you everything about them.

http://www.russiantortoise.org/

His claws can be worn down by walking in hard surfaces such as concrete or slate. Do you allow him outside to dig? What indoor accomodation does he have? He should be in a tortoise table and not a viv if that is the case. He should have a deep sustrate of playsand and loam for him to dig in. His claws should be a little long which is natural for them as they are diggers. You'd be best taking him to a specialised tort vet if you want them trimming I hope this helps.

Answer 3

In the wild, Horsefields eat anything they can find. Only indoor tortoises shouldn't eat meat. Don't worry if he chews a bone, thats his way of getting calcium in the wild. You should leave his claws, as he will wear them down himself with all the digging he'll do.

Answer 4

This website has some info on these guys

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilest...

Answer 5

Do NOT ever let your tortoise eat protein!  No matter how excited he gets over seeing meat, it is not meant for Henry. It can make him very sick. Do NOT ever let your tortoise eat dog/cat food. It can make him very sick.

Feeding

Essentially as for T. graeca and T. hermanni. A high fiber, low protein and calcium rich diet will ensure good digestive tract function and smooth growth. Horsfield's tortoises fed on cat or dog food frequently die from renal failure or from impacted bladder stones of solidified urates. Avoid over reliance upon 'supermarket' greens and fruits which typically contain inadequate fiber levels, excessive pesticide residues and are too rich in sugar. Fruits should be given very sparingly to this species as they frequently lead to diarrhea and colic. (http://www.anapsid.org/russian2.html)

Good luck!

Answer 6

Please please please do not feed ur Tortoise dog meat or any kind of meat!! The protein they need they get from plants and weeds! They are strictly vegetarian! If your Tortoise continues to eat dog meat he will develop serious deformities!! Please see http://www.tortoisetrust.org/backidx.htm... for advise on how to provide your Tortoise with an appropriate diet. If you do this then his need to eat dog meat should fade away!

Answer 7

Go to a website like the RSPCA who have online advice on caring for most pets or type in "tortoise care" or something like that and it will give you guides on how to care for Henry.  They are supposed to be veggie but as long as it's not harming him I don't see why not but that's one thing you do need to make sure of - that meat isn't harmful for him or you could end up with a poorly tortoise and an expensive vet bill!    

Answer 8

ok you really need to keep your tortoise away from the dog food  it is so bad for him and will eventually end up causing a deformed shell or even worse  causing kidney or bladder stones which will kill it, yes tortoises will got made for the dog and cat foods but they are processed and too high in protein for a tortoise, tortoises can also get addicted to dog food so you really need to make sure your tortoise can not get access to it, as for the trying to eat a dead bird tortoises in the wild will eat a dead bird if they come across it but not often, the dogs bone he will go for not for the meat but for the calcium in the bone, it sounds like your tortoise is not in secure pen  and you really need to make sure your tortoise can not get access to the dogs food, it should be fed on a natural weed diet with a supplement of dark greens and other foods as a treat here is a site where you can see what to feed your tortoise  http://russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.ht...  you also need to be feeding your tortoise a calcium supplement you can get them from a pet store or get a cuttle fish bone and either put it whole in the enclosure for your tortoise to chew on or grate it over its food. as for the claws if you think they are too long then take henry to your vet and they will trim the claws for you it will only cost a few pounds, best of luck honey hope all goes weel for you and henry