Beans are really high in protein, I wouldn't. : victory:

 

how about raw mushrooms?

 

Med and horsfield tortoises diet is weeds, weeds and more weeds. And flowers. Beans as has been said are high in proteins and a no no. Mushrooms are also not good.
Try www.tortoises.net for all good tortoise foods.

 

a tort wouldnt come across runner beans in the wild best to stick to the weeds hun x

 

Mushrooms are too high in phospherus, inhibiting their calcium uptake. Dandelion has a calcium/phospherus ratio of like 2:1 wheras nutrition websites have just told me normal mushroom is around 3:80 - so don't feed it!

 

No fruit and no veg - wont do the tortoises any good at all - weeds weeds and more weeds :2thumb:

 

So for the 40 years I have had my tort he's wandered around eating fruit and veg with no ill health. I think he knows what he should or shouldn't eat... and he knows how much to eat also. He doesn't wolf down as much of one thing as he can, he really does forage for variety.
Just my opinion :0)

Donna

 

Donna you dont need to be quite so abrupt if you want to disagree

Recommended diet for med tortoises doesn't include fruit and veg. If your tortoise eats it and your happy with that then its your decision which I respect. The original poster was asking advice and my advice would be that its not recommended. I try personally to feed my tortoises as close to their natural diet as possible

 

there are buttercups and daisy's in my torts garden and they never touch them so while I can appreciate those who wish to protect/not trust their torts instincts there are also those like myself who do trust them. I think they may taste new plants but obviously have good taste buds as they know what they like and don't always like everything on the edible list, anyway mine show know interest in the above. If they didn't have this ability they'd not survive very well in the wild and they've been around doing their own thing for many more years than us, I obviously won't plant anything that I know to be really toxic but equally aren't going to remove every daisy/buttercup from their garden, maybe they taste bitter or nasty to the torts. I also don't think that a couple of beans on a one off basis will do any harm and that the "bad " food has to fed over a period of time on a regular basis to cause problems obviously as long as its not poisonous, I'm not recomending feeding beans/peas/mushrooms but unless they are known to be poisonous a one of I don't think will do any long term harm.

 

I'm not being intentionally pedantic - but really, my tortoise would eat every daisy and buttercup in sight so it really can't be across the board that all tortoises will leave bad things alone.

 

my mum and me were in the queue at Homebase a few months back after buying spotlamps for the torts, the woman behind us was telling us about her tortoise that ate fruit and veg and she was proud that it lived to the ripe old age of 47! I told her we have an old tortoise (Ibera) who is about 70 to 90 years old. He has never had fruit or veg only weeds and flowers in the garden, apart from the odd blackberry that falls off the bush.

Just because a tortoise seems ok for eating the wrong diet, doesn't mean it is, that lady's tortoise was always fine she said, but it died at least 50 years too soon.

 

Just because a tortoise seems ok for eating the wrong diet, doesn't mean it is, that lady's tortoise was always fine she said, but it died at least 50 years too soon.

Yep exactly - none of us know whats going on in their insides - personally thats what would worry me

 

have you actually seen your tort eat daisy's or buttercups because when my hatchlings go on the lawn I can't advoid all of those with their run and they won't touch them, they knew to eat plaintains, dandes,clover etc but sniffed and advoided both the above and they are only around 6 weeks old.

 

Exactly, I for one want my tortoies to have as long a life as they would in the wild. So dont feed them things they wouldnt get there.
Once you start feeding an incorrect diet, where do you stop. Oh he eats runner beans and is ok, so I will give him cabbage etc etc. In the long run your tortoise will suffer and his life span will be much shorter.
But like most things we can only advise, its your choice if you want your tortoise to outlive you.

 

as very few of us have had torts outlive or live to the full possible life using the more modern ways then we still don't really know that we have it right. As far as I know feeding weeds etc has only been the way for what 20years max if that, I have a care sheet from the late 80's early 90's and all the foods on there are now a no no so as recent as then the diet included veg etc, plus aren't some of the oldest torts kept in gardens and have and still are fed what we now consider bad foods. While I'm certainly not saying that things haven't improved I don't think its been proven that its diet alone that causes the problems, maybe the torts that do have veg etc in their diet also have access to natural things in the garden and that plus natural light/heat and excersise can balance out things. What is the eldest tort that has been kept in the modern ways with a diet just of weeds etc? I doubt its as old as say the 100 year plus one we have on here, is it tortoise lady's ? and I'm sure I'm right in saying that tort does have the odd bit of fruit etc.

 

I do think maybe it depends whether the owners chucked the odd veg or fruit or whatever out to the tortoise as well as letting them forage themselves.

I dont know anyone from the 50's, 60's, 70's etc that still has a tortoise I have to say. A whole host of people have said to me ohhh I had a tortoise when I was younger or my parents had one when I was a child but where have all those tortoises gone now then? None of them are still alive so Im resuming they died at what 30-60 years old I'd say so we'd have to ask ourselves why they died at half their life span?

Is it simply cos of being in captivity? Is it bad luck? Is it diet?

To be honest we dont really know do we - maybe Ann you are right that things to equal themselves out in the garden if the tortoises diet isn't inteferred with my its owners. Maybe the ones that died are the ones whose owners chuck extra food out for them instead of leaving them alone to get on with it.

All I do know is that I'm trying to do my best for my guys. I gather as much information as possible and go with what I feel is right and what I feel is closest to their natural environment so I dont feed fruit and veg to mine.

 

like you said we just don't know and untill we have torts living longer on weeds etc with extra light/heat all the modern recomended ways than the torts that we know lived the old fashioned way then we have no way of telling whether the new methods are better or not. We like to think they are because we know more about torts in general but it still hasn't been proven simply because there aren't the cb torts that have been kept that way for long enough yet. I also think that the majority of the older torts were wild caught and may have had either a better start or better imune system than those who are bred in captivity, again I don't know the oldest cb tort and untill we have those figures we still can't say that we have it correct plus every so often along comes someone else with a new way or saying not to give or use what was recomended only a short while before. I do know my Tootsie has a lovely shell, was wild caught possibly back in the 60's or 70's her age is unknown, was fed all manner of things, hibernated far longer than the reccomended times and in a far warmer enviroment, had never had extra heat/light yet is still a lovely healthy tort. I've never had any tests on her as I'd not want to upset what seems ok so I suppose I don't know if she's as healthy inside as she looks but if I ever managed to raise one to look like her I'd be very pleased. Sid my male is uk cb also has a lovely shell and is about 14 he also was fed cooked veg. hibernated as long as he liked in a hutch with no extra protection but again lived outside with no heat/light, he has very little if any pyramidding yet none of the modern methods were followed, it does make me wonder.

 

The torts that were bought in ths 70's or even 80's were not hatchlings
or babies. You just couldn't buy a baby tort.
I was five when I came across mine while fishing with my dad.
The ones on sale in the pet market were at least 15-20 years old @ 50p
each (equiv) so if you'd had it for even 40 years it's old.They were all wild caught and packed one on top of the other. Like I said my Dad would
never have let me have one.
Jinx has always had free roam.He's never touched a daisy,buttercup or anything else that is considered harmful today.
Maybe that's because he was a wild caught animal who now according to my vet is at least 80.Having been wild he knows what he should or should not eat maybe ?
He spends time in his run but when I'm home he's out and about and foraging for the things that he really likes.
Just my opinion
Donna

 

:lol2: at the end of the day we'll never really know will we, which is very annoying!!

To be honest though Donna I think thats a good point that we dont really know the age of the 70's one when people had them - I was presuming that they were wild caught as babies but they could well have been older like you say.

Ummmmmm now me heads going round and round and round with what ifs and buts etc :lol2: I really must put the kettle on! Cuppa anyone! :2thumb:

 

when I talked about my Tootsie and Sid I was refering to their care with thier previous owners, they now have a heated shed and are fed what we say is a better diet but my point is that they also did equally well being fed cooked veg and having none of the luxury's we now recomend, so how am I to say they are now better cared for, Tootsie was definately wild caught age unknown and Sid uk bred. I just don't think how they turn out depends on diet alone and that giving the odd cooked veg etc isn't the only thing that can contribute to a tort dieing young, just for the record Sid had a sibling who had the same care as him yet died when only a few years old.

 

Jinx has never had any "cooked" food. If he was going to eat a green bean
it would have to be raw and within his reach on the plant.
Mrs M ..... I can't drink tea without sugar and as I can no longer have sugar
I'll have black coffee, with a dash of cold!
Donna

 

Mrs M ..... I can't drink tea without sugar and as I can no longer have sugar
I'll have black coffee, with a dash of cold!
Donna

Certainly madam!! Here you go! And have a tongue waggle too! :Na_Na_Na_Na:

 

Thank you all for the advice i have choose not to give them any runner beans, i will stick to thier favourite which is weeds and flowers and the occassional stawberry (they only have it once on monthly basis as a lil treat!)

 

stick to weeds. They like them so why change it. its natural and free :2thumb: