Red Foot tortoises exhibit gender, regional, and individual variations in terms of coloration, shell shape, and minor anatomical features. Their carapaces typically are oval in shape with slightly domed ends.
Tortoises are generally herbivores but can consume animal protein in one-ounce doses each week. Feed your tortoise a natural diet of fruits, vegetables and flowers as well as commercial tortoise pellets to meet their dietary needs.
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Vegetables
Red foot tortoises are adept feeders in their native habitat, feeding on leaves, flowers and vegetables as opportunities arise. Though predominantly herbivorous in diet, they will consume small animal matter if available.
Your tortoise’s diet should include an assortment of dark leafy greens such as collard, mustard, turnip and dandelion greens; endive, escarole, kale and watercress are great choices. Iceberg lettuce or any other pale greens do not provide adequate nutrition to support its wellbeing.
Your tortoise needs high calcium graze and forages as part of its diet, along with tropical fruits like bananas, papayas and mangos to thrive and stay happy and healthy. Provide shelter between 60deg F to 70deg F temperatures while keeping the substrate moist for maximum enjoyment.
Fruit
Red foot tortoises are tropical species found living in dense forests and grasslands. Their diet consists of food sources like fungi, leaves, stems, flowers and even carrion.
Though tortoises can be fed a vegetarian diet, it’s wise to provide animal protein every once in awhile in the form of specially formulated tortoise diet, canned snails, hard boiled eggs or meal worms for variety and diet diversity. Mealworms should only be offered every other week so as to maintain proper balance in their diets.
Fruit should only comprise no more than 15% of their diet and it is important that watery fruits be avoided. Also avoid offering foods high in citric acid or phosphorus content like citrate acid as this could irritate their stomach while blocking calcium absorption for healthy shell growth.
Mealworms
Red foot tortoises require high doses of Vitamin D3 and a balanced diet consisting of vegetables, fruit and leafy greens; these should comprise 40% of their diet in an ideal situation.
Turnip greens, dandelion leaves and collard greens are excellent choices of high calcium/low phosphorous greens to include at each feeding. Other nutritious options may include mulberry/hibiscus flowers/spring mixes/dark-colored lettuces; even nontoxic cactus pads could potentially be included!
Red foot tortoises are herbivorous in their natural environments, though they will consume animal protein if available. When kept as pets in captivity, small amounts of protein supplement should be offered periodically; morio worms rather than “superworms” should be given as these may cause digestive issues in reptiles.
Natural Cuttlebone
Red foot tortoises require more than just vegetables in their diet – they require an occasional source of animal protein as well. This can be provided through specially formulated food, canned snails, meal worms or pre-killed rodents; cuttlefish bones provide safe and natural source of animal protein to your pet while simultaneously wearing down their beaks!
Real cuttlefish bones come in chunks (up to 6 inches long). Before providing these to your reptile, they should be boiled and sterilized before use. Zoo Med turtle bones can be more expensive but these offer more value and less brittleness compared to real cuttlebones.
Water
Red foot tortoises require regular changes of water in their dish and should have access to damp soil or sand substrate, in order to keep their feet healthy.
Grating on greens should be part of any healthy diet as these contain key vitamins like A and D which are vital for growth, bone development and shell health. Furthermore, greens and vegetables offer great sources of calcium although certain varieties may have high phosphorus contents that prevent its absorption.
Red Foot Tortoises should consume 60 percent dark leafy greens and grasses, 15 percent vegetables and fruit, and 10 percent animal protein in their diet. You should feed enough food that it will be consumed within 30 minutes and place it on a slate or plate so they can chew at their leisure.
