Could any of it be enviromental? As it takes a year or so to notice any changes in a tort with pyramiding.

The way I see it... with enough evidence to support your point it can lead to proof...

I've been taking some of my tortoises that I feed a good amount of Mazuri in for blood workups to see if there is anything off kilter.

There is speckulation that hell might freeze over... how do you prove that let alone provide evidence that such a thing might happen.

I can only offer what is in hand and the evidence I currently have.

Offering a fantasy as evidence... let alone proof... doesn't seem quite reasonable.

I can't seem to find where I said a formulated diet is good. What I usually say is that many, many people including myself have had fantastic results with the use of this diet. It seems to be a solution to a problem that has plagued tortoise keepers forever.

Unfortunately... I'll have my evidence that a weed based diet is not as easy to provide as you proclaim... Monitor the forums... you'll see... and failure to thrive... is total BS... These are a small minority of tortoises that make it beyond a month or two.

Lin is one of the few peoples advice I'd pass along but even he formulas are based on he supposition (which is better than most). It is still based on what she thinks the tortoise needs.

The formulated diets are based on biological models... what it is believed at the time what the reptile needs to live, grow and reproduce... by animal nutritionists.

Back to the point... over feeding... show me some evidence... List the foods given, for how long and the environmental conditions including heat and hydration.



The way I see it with enough evidence to support your point it can lead to proof...

If you key onto what pryamiding is you can see it as soon as you see growth.

Look at the growth rings in a wild chelonian... deep and narrow in the winter... wide and smooth in the warmer months... that has to tell you something.

My personal belief is that it is mostly environmental with a small part being nutritional.

You say pellet diets are great but for how long exactly have they been monitored???

Yes people need to learn about diets and provide a mixed weed diet.

A weed diet is easy you just need to learn about your weeds?

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Well......I have been without electric on and off for a week or more.....and its going back off in an hour...."cant find the fault"...technical or what........
Anyway I find the same old thread popping up again...which tells me one thing...people really want the best for their tortoises...and they wont just roll over...good.
Sarah...I do see your point...but I have done similiar rants in the past about......stupid owners...overfeeding etc etc....until I sat down and remembered what a very dear friend said to me.."nothing is as it seems nor is it a simple as it seems"
So...I set about really looking at these tortoises...all meds by the way...and looking at some that I have had for some time...and guess what I laughed at myself.....how can it possibly be just food...their enviroment has to play a large part and more importantly does hydration.
As for those outside as opposed to inside...not just excercise but a bigger variation of temps too...as for those inside as opposed to outside|(especially in the UK) more damp wet days......... As for excercise...mine are more looney inside than out...much more sedate in their outside enclosures. So in my opinion....it isnt just food.
I have a friend...she has bred hermanns and ibera for many many years...she advises restricting food by not feeding two days per week.....the ones she has grown on are bumpy........they only get weeds...so in my opinion something else is factoring on in there.
30 mins and power is off...see you all sometime soon!!!!!!

130 years old!!! - awesome. Can you post a picture. I love the old timer tortoises. They have real character.

Back to the topic in hand - I feed my tortoises a total weed diet at moment. I collect once a week and ensure I gather at least 5/6 different types - I think variety is very important as I understand that different weeds have different nutritional qualities.

One of my newer hatchlings is'nt gaining weight at the moment although he seems to be eating. I hav'nt worked out out why this is. It may be he is just settling in - I have had him for 3 weeks or his companion is 'dominating' and is eating most of the food offered. If there is no weight in the next month or so I will isolate him and will contemplate using artificial food if there is no improvement after that.

My oldest Hermann is always hungry as well. I feed my torts every day, but restrict the amount they have. My oldest one has a slightly bumpy shell, which I put down to not being hibernated the first year, being fed too many weeds and being given tortoise pellets to eat. My little ones have lovely smooth shells, they are fed weeds only, every day, but a restricted amount.... Especially until they are outside all the time. Then they get more exercise so I let them have a bit more to eat.

I had this problem when I bought a hatchling, because my older tort would scoff his food and then pinch the hatchlings! So I fed them separately, and all was well. I still feed them separately now, nearly three years on.

Thanks for all the info everyone!! I'll try feeding my lil fatty a bit everyday!!