Dietry advice for a mediterranean tortoise in the U.K.?

Question

I live in the U.K. and own a Testudo Marginata - 'Margined Tortoise' . i.e. a Mediterranean Tortoise, who is 2 years and 8 months old. Like fellow tortoise enthusiasts i am strugling to find the appropriate foods for my ickle one!
There are so many different dietry lists on the web and in books! Now am very confused!
So, here is what I know NOT to feed him lettuce and or any water based fruit or veg, along with any kind of meats as they are high in protein, which'l cause disformation in his shell.
I would like to be able to get my hands on some balanced foods, which'l be easy to find in the U.K.
Dandilions, butter cups and clover are what i can get my hands on at the present, but can any one think of any thing else?
The T-Rex pretty coloured food has got quite high levels of protein so am trying to find an alternative dried food too?
Can any one shed some light on my dilema!?

Answer 1

you can not feed your tortoise buttercups they will eat them but they are on the toxic plant list, you can get a full list of what to feed them from the tortoise trust web site, i have found this the most useful, a natural green weed and flower diet is the best diet and you can buy weed seed for tortoises from thetortoiseshop.com. A recommended basic food list is dandelion, hawk bits,sow thistles,clovers,honeysuckle flowers bind weeds, white dead nettles, i also feed my tortoises cucumber tomato, lettuce (not ice burg) cauliflower, broccoli, grated carrot as a treat, kale, greens, nasturtiums flowers, they also enjoy rose petals occasionally, some fruits as a treat, include strawberry, melon, apple, pear,t-Rex is OK but only as a treat, the diet of a Mediterranean tortoise should be varied and it is complected at times, a good web site for edible plants is www.empireoftheturtle.com/plant/edibleplants, i find i use this to cross reference when i am planting my tortoise enclosure with edible plants for them the other site is the tortoise trust one, you could take a look at www.thebritishcheloniagroup.org.uk they have food lists as well and what i tend to do is look at the tortoise trust and the british chelonia group food lists and pick the ones that appear on both, you can cross reference and find the common plants that your tortoise will eat as for the dry food you really do not need to feed it, get a good calcium powder and suppliment at least once a week and with the list of foods you should be able to find a good diet to feed your tortoise, best of luck honey,

Answer 2

Mediterranean Tortoise

Answer 3

It is rubbish that you can't feed him lettuce, he should be fed on leafy green lettuce and vegetables, I also use a supplimentary peleted food by Trex but my tortoise will only eat the dried food if it is soaked in boiling water and left to cool first. Good luck, Abbie x =) x

Answer 4

Fruits are the immediate method to obtain vitamins, proteins, and electrolytes, so over body may easily absorb them. Found in the case of plant some of the immediately eatable but some need to cooked well for enhance their taste.

Answer 5

Fruits have seeds; "vegetable" is a non-scientific word for produced edibles

Answer 6

I don't own one. I know you said you've done a lot of searching on the web, but this website seems very knowledgeable.



http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/webdiet.htm



They have a discussions list at

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/maillist.html



And if you want, what appears to be expert information, go to this page about contacting them directly.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/ttinfo/help.html

Answer 7

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/aygOq



Hello :) Well I certainly think by choosing a Tortoise you have made a lovely choice. I have had a Tortoise for about 7 years now, and they are such interesting yet easy reptiles to look after. By the way, I hope by Tortoise you mean dry land ones that live in the garden? Not Terrapins or Turtles which live in tanks and water? Well if you mean a dry land Tortoise then these are the important things you need to understand on owning a Tortoise are: Homing - Tortoises should live in your back garden. Living in a human house is not very good for them because it is bad for their stability and they are semi-wild so it does not give them the sense of freedom they require. For our Tortoise, we have a little low level hutch for him (A bit like a rabbit hutch - but it is not high up because it is dangerous in case he falls) that has a door we keep open throughout the day, and has a run inside it too. At night time he goes in to the hutch which is full of hay. He loves to snuggle under it at night. But would actually quite happily sleep under a hedge at night time. We also have a tray of sand for him to go in, which is underneath a glass box which absorbs the heat. So when he lays in the sand pit under the glass, he gets lots of heat which Tortoises love. I laugh a lot saying he is solar powered lol. Because for some reason the hotter the weather, the faster he seems to be. Hibernation - Tortoises should ideally hibernate every winter. He goes in to hibernation at the end of October/beginning of September (When ever it starts to get cold he slows down a lot) until about April/May time (Whenever the weather gets warm enough). We know when to put him in when he starts to be asleep almost 24/7. And so we get a cardboard box ready full of hay, snuggle him in to it, and then put this in to another cardboard box with a blanket around it (leaving ventilation at the top of course). We put this box in the shed (or in our case a large unused dog kennel lol). And then he will eventually fall in to deep hibernation. And amazingly, he lasts the whole winter without food or water. It is critical you do not disturb the Tortoise during this time of hibernation because their sleep gets so deep that it can kill them if they are suddenly awoken. And so this is why it is good to put the Tortoise in a safe, secure place. You know when hibernation is over because during the time when the weather starts to warm up, you can keep checking them. And then you will hear a sudden rustling, which means the Tortoise is now up for the Summer :) or sometimes (this has happened with ours) you may come home one day and just find it laying on the lawn lol. Some how they can get out themselves (it is a mystery to how ours got out). Food: Tortoises are obviously Vegeterians. And so they eat typical Salad foods such as Cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes and also flowers (So be careful what you plant because they can eat your new flower beds ;p). Our tortoise ate a whole bed of pansies one time. They also like Dandelions and bread. It is also good to get Tortoise vitimins to put on to their food (It can come in pellets or powder form). Generally though, feeding them is very easy. Water: Tortoises need water just like any other animal. And so you need a short, yet big enough container for the tortoise to fit in and climb in to. They only really need cold water, and when they get in they will just dip their heads in and drink it. So have a container out all the time for it. You can also put out warm water in a dish from the kettle, so it can also drink that and bathe in it aswell (They can still get a little dirty so this is nice for them). And just change this water when ever you see it needs to/every day maybe. I think that is the main information is there for you :) I hope I didn't drag it on too much lol. Re-homing Tortoises are just the same, aswell as buying 2. But if they did not hibernate in previous homes, I would see whether hibernation is neccessary. It us usually healthier for them though. They are nice and simple creatures, as long as you get hibernation right you are ready to go :) I hope I could help! (P.s, I did just realise that after writing all that you may be American and so refering to what we know as Terrapins or Turtles over here in England :/ Here Tortoises live on dry land, Turtles in water, and Terrapins are half and half)

Answer 8

Tortoises are "grazers", - they do best when allowed to chomp naturally on wild growing weeds and flowers, and should only be offered extra food items sparingly ( I feed mine three times a week)

They should be allowed controlled inactivity periods , and discouraged from a 365 day feeding program.

Never offer any foods which contain high amounts of protein (peas & beans in particular) or have an extremely negative calcium to phospherous balance.

Rarely, if ever, offer any fruit as this can lead to flagellate proliferation and colic

Always ensure an adequate water supply is available.

Regularly supplement food items with a good calcium and vitamin powder, and "D3" if housed indoors for long periods of time.

Vary the diet as much as possible.



The following list of wild plants, cultivated plants and salad items can be used to form the basis of a good balanced diet, in addition to natural grazing, for all Mediterranean species. Plants with a " # " marked alongside (too much oxalic / phytic acid, poor fibre content, or slightly high protein content) should only be offered occasionally, however they're perfectly fine in very moderate proportions, as part of an overall mixed and balanced diet. It is worth noting that when collecting wild foods, try to stay clear of any areas which may have been sprayed with pesticides or suffered heavy pollution from traffic fumes etc, as tortoises are intolerable of these.





Basic recommended food items



Dandelion , Trefoils , Honeysuckle , Cat's ears , Vetches , Sowthistle ,

Hawkbits , Hawkweeds , Plantains , Clover (red and white) , Pansies ,

Rose leaves and petals , Hibiscus , Mallows , Grape vine leaves , Agave plant , Mulberry leaves , Bindweeds , Opuntia cacti pads and fruit , Romain or red leaf lettuce , Watercress , Endive , Escarole , Chicory , #Cabbage , #Beet greens , #Kale , #Alfala hays , #Finely choppped carrot.





Most tortoises instinctively seem to know what foods may be poisonous to them and generally tend to leave them alone. Also, due to their incredibly slow digestive system, tortoises are sometimes able to de-toxify certain poisonous plants. the following list (compiled by the Tortoise trust) are plants which could cause harm. The ones marked with a "#" have been known to cause death, so should be completely avoided.





Poison plant list

#Any ornamental bulbs , Acokanthera , Aconite (monks hood) , Amaryllis , Amsinckia (tarwwed) , Anemone , Avocado (leaves) , Azalea , #Baneberry , Beach pea , #Betal nut palm , #Bellaonna , Bittersweet , Bird of paradise , Black locust , Bleeding heat , Bloodroot , Bluebonnet , Bottlebrush , #Boxwood

Buckeye horse chestnut , Buttercup , Caladium , Call lily , Cardinal Flower , Carolina jessamine , Casava , Castor bean , Chalice or trumpet vine , cherry - (seeds only) , Cherry laurel , China berry tree , Christmas berry , Columbine ,

Christmas cactus (Euphorbia) , Christmas rose , Common privet , #Crocus ,

Coral plant , Croton , Cyclamen , #Daffodil , Daphne , #Death camus ,

#Deadly nightshade , Delphinium , #Destroying angel (death cap) , Dogwwod ,

Elderberry , Elephant ear (taro) , English Ivy , False Hellebore , Fiddle neck ,

#Fly agaric (amanita,deathcap) , Four o'clock , #Foxglove , Gelsemium , Golden - chain , #Hemlock , #Henbane , Holly , Horse chestnut , Horsetail reed ,

Hyacinth , #Hydrangea , Impatiens , Iris , Ivy , Jack-in-the-puplit , Jasmine ,

Jatropha , Jerusalemcherry , Jessamine , #Jimson weed (thorn apple) , Johhnson- grass,wilted , #Lambkill (sheep laurel) , Lantana camara , Larkspur , Laurel ,

#Lily of the valley , Lobelia , #Locoweed , Locust , #Lupin , Machineel , May apple , #Mescal , Milk Weed , #Misletoe , Moccasin flower , #Monkshood , Moonseed , Morning glory , Mountain laurel , Narcissus , Natal cherry , Nectarine (seed only) , #Nicotine tree/bush -flowering , nightshades , Oak , Oleander , Pear seeds , Pennyroyal , Peony , Periwinkle , Philodendrons , Pinks , Plum seeds , Poinsettia , #Poison hemlock , #Poison ivy , #Poison oak ,

#poison sumac , Pokewood or Pokeberry , poppy , #Potato (leaves) , Privet , Redwood , #Rhubarb (leaves) , #Rhododendron , Rosemary , Russian thistle ,

Sage , Salmonberry , Scarlet pimpernel , Scotch broom , Senecio , Skunk cabbage , Snapdragon , Spanish bayonet , Sqirrel corn , Sudan grass , Star of Bethlehem , Sundew , Sweetpea , Tansy , Tarweed , Tiger Lily , Toad flax ,

Tomato (leaves and plant) , Toyon berry , Tree of Heaven , Trillium , Trumpet vine , Venus flytrap , Verbena , Virginia creeper , #Water hemlock , Wild parsnip , Wisteria , Yellow star thistle , #Yew.

you can also find all sorts of seeds for the above non poisonouse plants avaliable on e-bay and from tortoise specialists that you can grow yourself in a specific garden plot or in seed trays for your tortoise to feed on.I would stay well clear of any dried pellet type food.You are also right not to feed him green lettuce .



Just read abbey e's reply and if she doesn't change his diet asap she will have a very ill if not dying tortoise on her hands in the near future.