What diet would be best for a three year old desert tortoise?

Question

my little baby turtle has been living of lettuce, then i recently discoverd that lettuce has no where near enough nutrients for my him!(or her i dont know yet =P) what would be the recomended diet instead?

Answer 1

Basically anything it woud come accross i the wild.  I feed mine on weeds, sedums, opuntia cactus (small amounts as it is full a calcium and vitamins but causes runny p**p and is only nibbled on in the wild).  There are lots of sites that give reccomended food advice and you can buy seeds to grow.  I am in the UK and the Urban Tortoise is great and full of advice, but it is illegal to post seeds to the US so I am guessing they won't be able to send to you.  But its great for looking up what is edible and it gives links to more detailed sites.

Root veggies are generally a big no no and fruit isn't great.  Dandelion, Plantain, sow thistle, hibiscus and mallow flowers are all great.  Ooh and lots of different grasses!

You are right to consider changing your tortoises diet though as lettuse is nutritionally unsound.

Good Luck

Jane

Answer 2

What kind of lettuce. Lettuce like collards, dandelion green, turnip, mustard, etc. Also give it other veggies like carrot, squash, really almost any veggies. The thing that most people don't feed is hay. Timothy and other hays (except alfalfa-high in fat). This is important for digestion. In the wild, they eat mainly wild grasses. If he hasn't ever eaten it, it may be hard to get it to start. You can get hay pellets and soak them in water or fruit juice to soften them and break them up. Most will eat that.

Answer 3

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.

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 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.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.