Hi,
I have a flower list that has all the flowers my tortoise can eat but i would like a complete weed list and possible veg that would be ok for my tortoise to eat, i have looked on the tortoise sites but there does not seem to be one complete list covering flowers/weeds and veg.
I want to make sure that my tortoise has a varied diet and know only to feed small amounts so my tortoise does not grow too quickly apparantly I was told that to judge the amount needed to feed you use the shell size as a portion guide is this correct?.

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LEOPARD GECKO CRAZY
our website:


www.marksleopardgeckos.co.uk

Lin King's site is fantastic and you can print out the booklet to help you idenitfy the weeds.

Tortoises

HTH

Tamie

great thank you

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LEOPARD GECKO CRAZY
our website:


www.marksleopardgeckos.co.uk

You mentioned 'veg' - not too sure what you meant by that, but to help do not feed anything from the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, brocoli etc) as these block the tortoises from absorbing calcium from their foods and supplements. Carrots act as a wormer, tomatoes are a fruit and upset the gut flora in med tortoises, cucumber is 96% water and therefore of no nutritional value (except to re-hydrate). Most lettuces merely fill the torts stomach with pap, giving them the sensation of being full but not really getting any benefit - if you run out of weeds then you can feed romaine and little gem in moderation.

Hope this helps!

Tamie

There are also far more weeds and other plants on waste land or in the garden that you can pick. Even small amounts are valuable overall if a rare nutritional need is fulfilled.

So even if you have to feed supermarket foods then adding only a few weeds is better than even leaving this out.

It's mostly knowing at least those plants that are mentioned in the availbale lists of edilble plants.

At least Russian tortoises are eating also plants that are toxic to mammals but you cannot rely that toxic plants not from their natural habitat are recognised properly.

In the garden, potentially toxic plants get recognised by their smell and teaste, but indoors if you feed toxic plants they could be dried that much that the tortoise cannot smell and taste what's good or not and fails eventually to spit them out.

Similar to horses that recognise ragwort (toxic to them) on the field but are unable to do so when dried ragwort is within dry hay.

The more plants you know the more you can feed without risk.

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1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.0.1 Agrionemys horsfieldii kazakhstanica

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill

yes by veg i did mean supermarket buys such as romaine and little gem and yes all in moderation and a varied diet is better so thats why i am trying to compile a list so my tort has a very varied diet.
I heard pumkin is also a wormer but is squash also??? is it ok to give squash? please thanx everyone for the advice

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LEOPARD GECKO CRAZY
our website:


www.marksleopardgeckos.co.uk

If it'll be ok I don't dare to say but those Web pages mention the squash:

Care Sheet - Russian Tortoise

CTTC - Russian tortoise, Testudo horsfieldii by Mary Anderson Cohen

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1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.0.1 Agrionemys horsfieldii kazakhstanica

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill

Not all care sheets give out good advice........personally I would avoid squash, it could upset the gut flora and cause runny stools.

At this time of year, weeds are still plenty, there should be no need to add any variety from a supermarket. I would only rely on romaine/little gem etc if I was over wintering a tort and there were literally no weeds left.

Why buy when there are free weeds all over

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Phoebe

Keeping: Hermanns and Whitei's