Tortoises are herbivores that can eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers. You can supplement their diet with a tortoise pellet or mealworms to make sure they are getting all the nutrients they need.
Grassland tortoises, like sulcatas, are typical grazers and need to have at least some grass in their diet. You can also feed them a little hay and weeds, such as dandelions or prickly pear cactus.
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Hay Pellets
Hay pellets are a great way to add more variety to your tortoise’s diet. They are also useful as a tortoise bedding material.
They can be made from a variety of hays including alfalfa, timothy and grass hays. Generally, hays that are higher in protein such as alfalfa tend to be better for tortoises than lower-protein hays like timothy.
A natural diet should be the primary diet for most tortoises, but pelleted food can provide nutritional insurance for those times when a natural forage is in short supply or unavailable.
Timothy hay is a good choice for many species of herbivorous tortoise. It is naturally sweet and free from additives.
These hay pellets are made from sun cured timothy grass and do not contain fillers or other chemicals that can make them less digestible for your tortoise. They can be soaked or offered dry. They can also be mixed with sand and soil to make a tortoise bedding mix.
Calcium Powder
There are many ways to make sure your tortoise is getting the correct balance of calcium in its diet. One of the most common is by adding a light dusting of calcium powder to its food.
Tortoises naturally eat vegetation and this provides a great source of calcium. You should also ensure your tortoise has access to a substrate that is low in phosphorous and high in calcium.
Alternatively, if your tortoise is a vegetarian or vegan then a supplement such as Zoo Med’s Tortoise Calcium Block may be useful. This block is a great source of vitamin D3 which is vital to help your tortoise metabolise calcium in its diet.
A good rule of thumb is to give your tortoise a calcium supplement at least once a week. This will be a Reptavite or other calcium supplement that has a low Ca:P ratio of 2:1 and will also contain a range of vitamins and minerals.
Repti-cal
Repti-cal is a calcium supplement formulated for reptiles that contains vitamin D3. This supplement can be used alone or in combination with other vitamin and mineral powders.
This ultra-fine phosphorus-free powder is made from oyster shells and is a convenient, effective way to meet the calcium requirements of many reptiles. Its large surface area per gram results in increased bio-availability of calcium to your pet’s body.
The product also contains lutein and canthaxanthin, which are known for their ability to improve eyesight and boost color. It’s also a good source of beta-carotene, which is naturally occurring in certain vegetables and fruits.
Rep-Cal Tortoise Food is a veterinarian recommended, high-quality, complete diet that’s designed to meet the nutritional needs of your tortoise. It’s a high-protein, low-fat, vegetarian formula containing natural plant and fruit ingredients that tortoises love.
Cuttlebone
Cuttlebone is a great way to provide calcium for your tortoise, as it’s an excellent source of the mineral. It can be placed inside their enclosure to peck at, or you can grate it on their usual food for them to chew on.
Tortoises in the wild tend to wear down their beaks with use, so providing them with a cuttlebone is a great way to keep their beaks trimmed as they go about their daily activities. This also helps to prevent overgrown beaks from becoming a problem in the future and preventing your turtle from eating properly.
The cuttlebone is a unique, biomineralized shell produced by cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). It’s made of aragonite, an ultra-lightweight cellular material with a beautiful lattice structure that makes it highly damage tolerant and resilient. It can withstand water pressure of about 20 atmospheres.
