# Tortoise eating scheduele



## Covey1701

hello guys. I'm here for advice on how many times a week to feed my baby greek tortoise.
Some sites say everyday, some say 5 days, some say 4 and some say 3. I'm confused on which feeding scheduele to choose, any help is appreciated and thank you!


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## LiasisUK

Babies need food daily

Adults every 2/3 days.


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## SueBoyle

Think of the wild. Tortoises can walk a long way to find a morsel of food, but they don’t ration themselves to every so many days. The key is small amounts combined with the opportunity to exercise, therefore using up the energy gained. Keep the diet natural and don’t use pellets. Weigh your tortoise and look for a gain of 2-4 grams a month and a tiny hardly visible growth line. More than this and you are overfeeding. This is how I feed mine www.tortsmad.com/diet.htm


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## SueBoyle

LiasisUK said:


> Babies need food daily
> 
> Adults every 2/3 days.


All have the same requirements whatever the age. Baby tortoises are independent on hatching, so same requirements/regimes as adults.


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> Think of the wild. Tortoises can walk a long way to find a morsel of food, but they don’t ration themselves to every so many days. The key is small amounts combined with the opportunity to exercise, therefore using up the energy gained. Keep the diet natural and don’t use pellets. Weigh your tortoise and look for a gain of 2-4 grams a month and a tiny hardly visible growth line. More than this and you are overfeeding. This is how I feed mine www.tortsmad.com/diet.htm


Thanks for the advice! I will weigh him tommorow (i've had him for a month) and i feed him a mix of opuntia pads, mustard leaves, hibiscus leaves, and red lettuce.
I'm going to change his diet soon (i've found better foods) and it will be:

Pot/field marigolds
Hibiscus leaves + flower
Opuntia pads
Mustard leaves
Kangkong (asian version of spinach and a little diffrent as well)
Komatsuna (japanese mustard spinach)
Artichoke
Will the following above suffice? Thanks for all answers and advice!


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## LiasisUK

SueBoyle said:


> All have the same requirements whatever the age. Baby tortoises are independent on hatching, so same requirements/regimes as adults.


I disagree.


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## Covey1701

LiasisUK said:


> I disagree.


I agree with you. I'm pretty afraid of over feeding my baby so i usually serve 1/4th of the dish worth of food or 3/4 of his shell size


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## purplepixie

Covey1701 said:


> hello guys. I'm here for advice on how many times a week to feed my baby greek tortoise.
> Some sites say everyday, some say 5 days, some say 4 and some say 3. I'm confused on which feeding scheduele to choose, any help is appreciated and thank you!
> View attachment 360549


If you get a seed tray (or three) and some weed seeds, sow them in one, let it get growing, outside is best. Then do the same with the other two at different times. Once you have one seed tray growing put it in with the tort, and let them graze naturally. Then rotate the others so you have one sown, one growing and one feeding. Then your tort will eat when needed, and use muscles pulling at the weeds:0) Seeds grow better outside than in, as inside they tend to grow straggly or go moldy when over watered:0)


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## SueBoyle

Covey1701 said:


> Thanks for the advice! I will weigh him tommorow (i've had him for a month) and i feed him a mix of opuntia pads, mustard leaves, hibiscus leaves, and red lettuce.
> I'm going to change his diet soon (i've found better foods) and it will be:
> 
> Pot/field marigolds
> Hibiscus leaves + flower
> Opuntia pads
> Mustard leaves
> Kangkong (asian version of spinach and a little diffrent as well)
> Komatsuna (japanese mustard spinach)
> Artichoke
> Will the following above suffice? Thanks for all answers and advice!


Your original diet wasn’t bad. None of my Med torts will eat calendula marigolds. I’d avoid anything from the spinach family as very high in oxalates which inhibit the uptake of calcium….very necessary for tiny growing torts. Get him outside asap so he can convert the calcium to D3 depending on weather where you are.


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## SueBoyle

LiasisUK said:


> I disagree.


Could you say why as I found when studying wild torts that little ones spend most of the day hiding whereas the adults were out foraging more. Fast growth in tinies leads to deformities that cannot be rectified, it also can be a cause of MBD.


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## SueBoyle

purplepixie said:


> If you get a seed tray (or three) and some weed seeds, sow them in one, let it get growing, outside is best. Then do the same with the other two at different times. Once you have one seed tray growing put it in with the tort, and let them graze naturally. Then rotate the others so you have one sown, one growing and one feeding. Then your tort will eat when needed, and use muscles pulling at the weeds:0) Seeds grow better outside than in, as inside they tend to grow straggly or go moldy when over watered:0)


Also when grown indoors they are less fibrous so not as good for digestion. I always grow them outdoors.


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> Your original diet wasn’t bad. None of my Med torts will eat calendula marigolds. I’d avoid anything from the spinach family as very high in oxalates which inhibit the uptake of calcium….very necessary for tiny growing torts. Get him outside asap so he can convert the calcium to D3 depending on weather where you are.


When i read up it said that komatsuna (japanese mustard spinach) is safe for tortoises


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## SueBoyle

It’s a brassica, so a member of the cabbage family and therefore high in oxalates, so I’d not feed deliberately. As with most edible plants, it won’t kill your tortoise if it was to find some growing etc, but as a regular part of the diet, not really a good idea, same with artichoke, not really a good feed, not a good calcium to phosphorous ratio either. Remember there are still books out there stating that dog food, fruit and veg is ok ……… it’s really not. Always think what they would find in nature and try to emulate that as much as possible. Good luck 🤞🏻


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> It’s a brassica, so a member of the cabbage family and therefore high in oxalates, so I’d not feed deliberately. As with most edible plants, it won’t kill your tortoise if it was to find some growing etc, but as a regular part of the diet, not really a good idea, same with artichoke, not really a good feed, not a good calcium to phosphorous ratio either. Remember there are still books out there stating that dog food, fruit and veg is ok ……… it’s really not. Always think what they would find in nature and try to emulate that as much as possible. Good luck 🤞🏻


Taking your advice i'll feed the komatsuna, artichoke, and kangkong only 1 to 2 times a week. I also heard dandelion is very good for greek tortoises and that they love them (it's recommended in almost every greek tortoise care sheet) but i also heard its a bit high in oxalates, what do i do? I was going to get dandelion seeds online but when i saw that i thought maybe i wont get dandelion. Any advice is very much appreciated and thank you!


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## purplepixie

Covey1701 said:


> When i read up it said that komatsuna (japanese mustard spinach) is safe for tortoises





Covey1701 said:


> Taking your advice i'll feed the komatsuna, artichoke, and kangkong only 1 to 2 times a week. I also heard dandelion is very good for greek tortoises and that they love them (it's recommended in almost every greek tortoise care sheet) but i also heard its a bit high in oxalates, what do i do? I was going to get dandelion seeds online but when i saw that i thought maybe i wont get dandelion. Any advice is very much appreciated and thank you!



Just like us, tortoises need variety of what's good for them, not what they can eat:0)
And they can get addicted to soft junk foods just like us:0)


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## SueBoyle

Covey1701 said:


> Taking your advice i'll feed the komatsuna, artichoke, and kangkong only 1 to 2 times a week. I also heard dandelion is very good for greek tortoises and that they love them (it's recommended in almost every greek tortoise care sheet) but i also heard its a bit high in oxalates, what do i do? I was going to get dandelion seeds online but when i saw that i thought maybe i wont get dandelion. Any advice is very much appreciated and thank you!


Dandelion has an excellent calcium to phosphorous ratio. The reason some think it’s bad is because it can be a diuretic, but so long as they have access to water this can only be a good thing as tortoises are not like mammals. They hang onto urine to prevent dehydration rather than just emptying the bladder when full. When water is available they will give their systems a good flush through, so anything that helps this process can only be an advantage. My torts clear their large area of young dandelions each spring with no ill effects whatsoever. They also clear the young buttercups, which some think are dangerous. Remember their digestive systems are unlike ours and what can hurt a mammal will not necessarily affect Chelonia.


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## Plug

LiasisUK said:


> Babies need food daily
> 
> Adults every 2/3 days.


Would you like to go without fir five days, im sure i wouldnt.


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## Covey1701

Plug said:


> Would you like to go without fir five days, im sure i wouldnt.


Reptiles (especially adult ones) have slow metabolisms. They dont need to eat everyday, but im sure 3-4 days a week is okay for adults


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## LiasisUK

Plug said:


> Would you like to go without fir five days, im sure i wouldnt.


It's not 5 days at a time. I said every 2 to 3 days. 
So here's a week.
Food
No food
Food
No Food
No Food
Food
No Food
Repeat.

The days in between any remaining old Food isn't removed so often there's some left. My adult tortoises breed and grow so I don't think they're suffering. In fact Ive noticed increased growth rates with some species (eg Indotestudo elongata) when feeding them in this way.


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## SueBoyle

Covey1701 said:


> Reptiles (especially adult ones) have slow metabolisms. They dont need to eat everyday, but im sure 3-4 days a week is okay for adults


How ‘sure’ are you? Where did you get these stats, can you point us to this info please.


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## SueBoyle

LiasisUK said:


> It's not 5 days at a time. I said every 2 to 3 days.
> So here's a week.
> Food
> No food
> Food
> No Food
> No Food
> Food
> No Food
> Repeat.
> 
> The days in between any remaining old Food isn't removed so often there's some left. My adult tortoises breed and grow so I don't think they're suffering. In fact Ive noticed increased growth rates with some species (eg Indotestudo elongata) when feeding them in this way.


Who made up this regime, is it guess work? Please note that breeding is not a sign of good husbandry, one of my younger rescues was kept in a viv with a male and regularly produced eggs, obviously without nesting. This must have been incredibly stressful for her. They will lay whether conditions are good or not, although often egg retention can result sadly. In the wild, although food isn’t always available they are always on the lookout and will take the odd leaf etc Their instincts are very strong and to deny food where they obviously find it regularly, seems a little counterproductive. Why not just feed less food daily I’m wondering!


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## LiasisUK

OK. It seems we won't agree so I will stop replying. Regards


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> How ‘sure’ are you? Where did you get these stats, can you point us to this info please.


Sorry, i mean most reptiles have slower metabolisms than humans, and i was talking about tortoise feeding schedueles, and not general reptile feeding schedules. Btw sorry for jot responding very well, that info i got from people on tortoise forum. I will answer next time with trustable sources and proof


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## SueBoyle

Covey1701 said:


> Sorry, i mean most reptiles have slower metabolisms than humans, and i was talking about tortoise feeding schedueles, and not general reptile feeding schedules. Btw sorry for jot responding very well, that info i got from people on tortoise forum. I will answer next time with trustable sources and proof


Not a problem, we never stop learning and I’m always interested in the source of info. There are lots of really weird ideas going around though on various forums, like the one about suitable temps for torts outdoors having something to do with people wearing t-shirts..........bizarre 😳 and the one stating you feed as much as covers a tortoises shell, very odd 😂


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> Not a problem, we never stop learning and I’m always interested in the source of info. There are lots of really weird ideas going around though on various forums, like the one about suitable temps for torts outdoors having something to do with people wearing t-shirts..........bizarre 😳 and the one stating you feed as much as covers a tortoises shell, very odd 😂


Yes those forums are very bizzare! I even saw people making sweaters for their torts so they aren't cold in the night, and yes the part i feed him 50 or 70% of his body in food is odd XD


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## SueBoyle

The reason I stopped breeding my tortoises was because of people like that 😢


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