feeding time...

[vicedretard]

i have come to find out my two redfoot torts arent fond of dandelion or kale...the eat romaine ok but they seem to eat carrots and tomatoes betters. so i have been putting in a chunk of tomato and a few shreds of carrot and a good size peice romaine ...and when i come home i can actually tell the have eaten the romaines got some nibbles in it the carrot shreds are even smaller, and the tomatoes are chewed up on the edges... so i am wondering if i can use tomatoes,carrots, and romaine as an ever day diet...cause with just romaine they dont seem to eat that well...let me know your input on using those as an everyday diet...

also i heard that one of the customers told a fellow employee that he feeds his 6-8inch red foots slugs as a treat...is that ok
and a guy told me (dont know if its the same customer as above) that when his were small he feed them crickets as a treat...is that ok...

thanks in advance...

 

[vicedretard]

oh ya and i putthem out in the yard for a minimum of an hour a day for natural sunlight and eating and roaming of the yard and grass...

 

[KenyanSandBoa]

Well the Geochelone carbonaria and G. denticulata are omnivorous tropical tortoises.

There was a study done on these two species, and in addition to flowers (preference for red and yellow), leaves and fruits, they were found eating carrion, live prey (snails, ants, beetles), and even mushrooms and bark.

The main component of the diet should be fruits (papaya, guava, plums, pineapple, cantaloupe, and watermellon). They have been found consuming anywhere from 40% to 70% of their total diet in fruit depending on the season. Higher consuption occurs in the wet season.

Flowers should consist of roughly 20%, and another 20% or so should consist of fungi, insects, and low-fat animal protein. There have been instances of protein and amino-acid deficiency in captive raised tortoises that have been fed an herbivorous diet.

These tortoises require a very high ratio of calcium to phosphorus...as well as other trace elements and D3. They get most of their D3 through the foods in their diet because they tend not to bask as much as arid-habitat species.

I hope this helps. These are fantastic tortoises...one of my favorites.

Post some pics...I would love to see them.

 

[vicedretard]

heres bongo...

and voodoo

it does help but they havent seemed to fond of crickets either im thinking i might try a meal worm but i know those are high in fat...i also put a D3 supplement on the food randomly so that they get some calcium that way...

 

[elevatethis]

Good info...I wasn't actually aware that any species of torts were omnivorous. Turtles, yes, but I was always under the impression that torts were exclusive vegetarians. Nice!

 

[Jessica Dring]

nope. my hermans enjoy the odd locust and dusted cricket

 

[Vicious_Fish]

I believe Red-foots have the most canivorus diet out of all the Tortoise species. They are kind of like N.A. Box turtles when you compare diets.

 

[vicedretard]

i have been giving either small peice of cooked chicken or rehydrated lowfat cat food once a week as protein...they like chicken