The Tortoise Table

Evening guys!

I have a small Spur Thighed tortoise (about 10 months old) she has an indoor enclosure and seems to be enjoying herself! However... she doesn’t stop eating I feed her every morning a mixture of lettuce, cabbage, dandelion etc (always veg and the odd bit of fruit) and within a few hours it’s gone and if I was to put more down that goes as well.

Can anyone give me some advice on how much is to much? I don’t want to under or over feed her.

Many thanks.

Hiya.
Food is determine more by weight than the amount to give. We usually say to weigh a tortoise regularly and log the weight he is gaining or loosing. if its too much either way then we would adjust accordingly so that they only put on a few grams a month.
If you look under the Care menu at the weighing and measuring article it will tell you how and what to do and give a few tips to follow.
If you need anything else then do get back to us.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tort ... measuring/

Lin

Hi SpurTort10 (sorry, I don't know your name),

That's great that your tortoise is happy and enjoying herself, but tortoises can be greedy and if they put on too much weight too quickly then it can cause serious problems with shell development. There are lots of guidelines on how much to feed a tortoise -- as much as they can eat in 20 minutes once a day; enough leaves and flowers to make a little jacket to cover their shell once a day, etc., but the best thing to do is to keep a record of their weight gain, and if they are gaining too quickly then cut down on food and if they are not gaining enough then increase it.

As a general guide tortoises should gain on average between 1g - 3g per month -- but this is only an average and some months they will gain more and some less -- but it is a guide. You can download our observation booklet that helps you with record keeping here http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tort ... measuring/ or we will have printed copies available soon

Regarding the diet you are giving her -- do you have a good care sheet for Hermanns? Here is one: http://www.tortoise-protection-group.or ... 014New.pdf Hermanns are a Mediterranean tortoise, and those species don't cope will with natural sugars present in fruit (and tomatoes count as a fruit too), and it can upset their gut flora. Fruit won't damage them or kill them, but I wouldn't feed it deliberately. Also, cabbage is in the brassica family of plants and they contain goitrogens that can interfere with thyroid activity, and in large amounts can cause some kidney damage (small amounts of cabbage won't hurt at all, but it's probably best avoided).

You can always type the name of any plant you are feeding into the search box on our website, and see what the advice is for that plant (we have a traffic light system of coding to make it easier -- green, amber-green, and red for feed freely, feed sparingly, and don't feed). Any questions you have, just ask.

Hope that helps, and please don't hesitate to get in touch with any more questions.

Cheers,
Nina

Evening all, thank you for your replies. Really appreciate the advice, I will continue feeding her as I have been, as she has been putting on between 2-5grams in weight each month. I will keep weighing and see how we go thank you.

Adam

Your welcome Adam.
Please get back if there's anything else we can do for you.

Lin

Three or four times a week, serve 1 to 2 teaspoons of dark, leafy greens such as kale, collards or mustard greens...

What species of tortoise do you have, Henry?

Nina