The Tortoise Table

Hi, I can't seem find out if my moroccan thigh spur is a fruit eater or not. I don't want to give him something that might hurt him.
Does anyone know if his species are ok with eating small amounts of fruit.
Thankyou.

Hi Letty,

Like other subspecies of Testudo graeca, your Moroccan tortoise (Testudo graeca marokkensis) would rarely ecounter fruit in the wild, and consequently his gut flora isn't equipped to deal with the natural sugars in fruit (and tomatoes count as a fruit). I know that for us fruit is healthy and beneficial for a balanced diet, but although a little fruit won't hurt him (and he would occasionally encounter fallen fruit on the ground in the wild), it isn't really great for him so I think I would avoid it and stick to nice green leaves, flowers, etc.

Nina
P.S. They do love fruit, but it's a bit like giving lots of chocolate to a young baby -- they would love it but it's not really good for them. Because tortoises do like the taste of fruit, it's good to use if you have to give them medicine (put the medicine on a bit of strawberry and they will wolf it down).

Thankyou, I searched all afternoon but everything I found just described what fruit could be eaten, not which species of tortoise could eat fruit.
That's fine he loves pansys and many things I have growing around the house. The plant information is fabulous.

Thankyou, I searched all afternoon but everything I found just described what fruit could be eaten, not which species of tortoise could eat fruit.
That's fine he loves pansys and many things I have growing around the house. The plant information is fabulous.

Hi Letty,

I think I never answered your last post, so really, really sorry! The species of tortoise that can have some fruit in their diet are Redfoots, Yellowfoots, Manouria, some Hingebacks, and Box Turtles. Most of the other species shouldn't have fruit, as their digestive systems aren't designed to cope with the natural sugars in fruit.

Best,
Nina

Nina, thank you for your exlanation. My friend has a Manouria in his Athens house and he was never feeding it fruits. He is a very responsible guy and has a lot of literature about his Manouria, takes really good care of it. I am still thinking of getting one, this is why I am here to learn more.

They are a really interesting species, and we don't often see them in the UK. Here is a link to a care sheet for Manouria. It's sort of aimed at people who are keeping them here in the UK, but the general principles of diet, husbandry should be the same for anywhere.
https://www.tortoise-protection-group.o ... ay2008.pdf
We'd love to see photos if you have any!

Best wishes,
Nina