If your thinking about a desert tortoise you need to know this. Copied from the tortoise club website. Feeding Healthy tortoises have enormous appetites! Growing native grasses, wildflowers, grass, weeds, dandelions, alfalfa (in moderation), nopales (Opuntia cactus), mulberry tree leaves, grape leaves, common cheese mallow and other mallows, chickweed, nut grass, and (for treats) rose petals, nasturtium and hibiscus flowers are excellent food sources. If limited in growing foods, supplement this diet with occasional foods such as endive, escarole, squash such as zucchini, chopped carrots, small amounts of kale, romaine and other dark-green leafy vegetables. Sprinkling the food with ground-up rabbit or guinea pig pellets or mixing with Bermuda or Orchard grass hay is a good way to add extra fiber to the diet. See Feeding in the Care of Hatchling Desert Tortoises section for sources from which to purchase Desert Tortoise Seed mixes and edible native wildflower seeds. Tortoises have a high calcium requirement: occasionally sprinkle the food with calcium carbonate (WITHOUT phosphorus as this binds calcium making it unavailable for bone/shell growth), or offer an always available calcium-rich source such as boiled chicken eggshells or cuttlefish bone (preferred - always remove hard, thin outer layer to prevent choking) for them to eat. DO NOT use calcium with added vitamin D3 if tortoise is kept outdoors. Occasionally sprinkle the food with a suitable vitamin preparation if you are unable to provide a large variety of natural foods to graze upon. All foods should be fertilizer free and MUST be pesticide free. Provide a shallow dish of water for drinking and soaking - KEEP CLEAN daily and ALWAYS IN SHADE. Avoid excessive use of foods that are high in oxalic acid (which binds calcium) such as parsley, purslane, amaranth, spinach, beet leaves, collards, Brussels sprouts. Also avoid excessive foods in the Brassica family such as broccoli, cauliflower and mustard greens as they suppress iodine uptake and may be implicated in health issues, i.e., goiter. Excessive fruits (other than the cactus apple from Opuntia cactus in season) should not be fed as they may upset digestive flora and can result in overgrowth of intestinal parasites. NO banana at all, especially to hatchlings as they can choke. DO NOT feed soy, tofu nor ANY animal protein such as cat or dog food. Commercial pellet tortoise food products from pet stores are not a good choice for the major part of a desert tortoise diet.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:40:50 +0000
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