Understanding Diets

Please note that the material on this website is simply a guide to helping you go some way towards understanding which foods are suitable and which are unsuitable for your tortoise.

Feeding tortoises in captivity with an appropriate diet is not very easy to achieve, and the exact nutritional requirements are probably unknown, as there is very little published scientific material on tortoises available; so most keepers rely on what is published in books or on the Internet and this may, in many cases, be inaccurate.  It is speculated that most of this material is based on what tortoises have been observed to consume in the wild.  However, despite all attempts by keepers to provide a nutritious diet, and to replicate what a tortoise eats in its natural environment, there are still many accounts of captive tortoises with nutritional-related problems. 

In addition, it is important for the tortoise keeper to have a general understanding of the nutritional requirements of the individual species being kept; so as the TTT site develops this is an area that will be included. 

Another factor to consider when aiming to provide a good diet for your tortoise is that plants which are grown in different soil types and climates will have different levels of nutrients and toxicity.  Plants growing wild in a tortoise's natural habitat are often struggling to survive in the poor climatic conditions, and grow in soils of little nutrient value which have no added fertiliser. 

Good digestion and adequate absorption of food is dependent on the tortoise being allowed to bask at the correct temperatures.  In addition, the skin of the tortoise needs to be exposed to natural sunlight or artificial lighting which emits UVB.  This is to ensure that the tortoise is able to synthesise the vitamin D3 contained in the UV component of the sunlight, as this will enable it to absorb the calcium in its diet.

It is important to try and provide your tortoise with the right food, complete with the right minerals and vitamins.