Your tortoise needs a variety of dark leafy greens for optimal nutrition, avoiding iceberg lettuce which has minimal nutrition value. Offer romaine lettuce, endive, mustard greens, dandelion greens and collard greens instead – Mazuri LS or Zoo Med desert tortoise food may also be added for variety.
These should be supplemented with fruits, vegetables and animal-based foods for variety. It’s best to switch up the combinations of leaves and fruits regularly.
Contents
Herbivore
To best meet their calcium needs, tortoises like the leopard turtle and giant sulcata require access to grasses, weeds and flowers such as mulberry leaves and flowers, rose of Sharon leaves and flowers, hibiscus pads and dandelions – with Opuntia cactus pads also being enjoyed as feeding opportunities!
Provide plants in a bowl approximately the size of your tortoise’s shell every day along with Tortoise Library Nutrient Mix in rotation so your tortoise has something new to eat; avoid offering high protein foods like kale, collard greens or spinach as these may interfere with their ability to absorb calcium.
Some omnivores, like the kinixys and other box turtles, meet their protein requirements by eating wild snails, slugs and earthworms; however, vegetarianism remains the optimal way to meet their nutritional requirements.
Vegetarian
Testudo kleinmanni tortoises are herbivores in their natural environment, necessitating a diet rich in leafy greens, grasses, weeds and fibrous plants for survival. A spring mix should include dark lettuces (such as romaine and red leaf) dandelion greens collard greens turnip greens watercress tender greens as well as other safe vegetables like mallow leaves hibiscus flowers clovers grasses like Bermuda grass for optimal survival.
Mix these with other vegetable foods such as sweet potatoes, yams, squash and carrots for optimal tortoise nutrition. Limited fruits should also be offered if your tortoise tolerates them well.
Salad items like iceberg and arugula contain high concentrations of oxalic acid and goitrogens that bind calcium ions and prevent its absorption into the body, so their consumption should be limited to no more than 10% of one’s diet or as a supplementary source when overwintering or other sources are unavailable.
Fruits
Tortoises in the wild consume an assortment of food sources due to living in various natural environments and stages in their lives. For instance, giant sulcata tortoises that live in dry desert environments often rely on grasses, hibiscus leaves and prickly pear (Opuntia) cactuses as part of their diet.
Children may enjoy eating berries, however it’s wise to limit their consumption as these high in sugar foods should comprise no more than about five percent of their diet.
As it can be challenging to replicate the natural diet of a tortoise in captivity, it is crucial that commercial foods provide a well-rounded meal. Items such as salad (iceberg lettuce, spinach and kale) with very low nutritional values such as mustard collard greens should be avoided for best results; look instead for higher value foods like mustard collard greens, chard or arugula instead. Avoid root vegetables which have too many carbohydrates and only feed occasionally.
Grass
Diet is one of the most challenging topics for new tortoise owners to navigate, with numerous misinformation-laden sources spreading harmful ideas that could endanger their pets’ wellbeing. Unfortunately, beginners often make serious mistakes that end up costing their companions dearly.
Wild species tend to be browsers, eating small quantities of various leaves, flowers and fruits as they travel. Since grass and weeds can also be eaten regularly by tortoises as food sources, providing some additional nourishment such as hay or dried grass or even cacti may help add variety and supplement their diets.
Home diets for tortoises should include alfalfa sprouts, cabbage (outer leaf), broccoli, carrot, radish and various other vegetables like squash, leeks, dandelion greens, romaine lettuce Chinese cabbage and kale – chopped into bite size portions and mixed thoroughly before being top dressed with softened rabbit pellets for best results. Feeding frequency depends upon season as well as health considerations of each tortoise.
