How to Feed a Pet Tortoise

There are several kinds of tortoises commonly kept as pets. You need to know exactly what kind of tortoise you have in order to feed it properly. All tortoises need to eat a variety of fresh vegetation so no matter what kind of tortoise you have, make sure you have access to plenty of fresh greens year round.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Leafy greens
• Vegetables
• Grass, clover, and dandelions from your yard
• Edible flowers
• Fruits (only for some kinds of tortoises)
• Dog or cat food (only for some kinds of tortoises)
• Worms and bugs (only for some kinds of tortoises)
• Optional: extra vitamin and mineral supplement

1. Determine what kind of tortoise is to be fed. This is very important, as different types of tortoises east different types of diets, and malnutrition can cause serious deformity or even death.

2. Do some research on your tortoise, learning about its native habitat and what it eats in the wild. This will help you decide what foods are appropriate. If it would not eat it in the wild, it should not eat it in captivity.

3. Feed red-footed, yellow-footed and African hingeback tortoises a wide variety of fruits and vegetables supplemented by a small amount of protein once a week. Provide dark leafy greens which are high in calcium. Do not use iceberg lettuce. The protein can be a few kibbles of dog or cat food pre-soaked in water, or you can provide a fresh worm or snail. These types of tortoises are notoriously fond of fruit, which they do eat in their native habitats.

4. Feed Mediterranean tortoises a low-fruit, low-protein, high-calcium diet. Do not feed them root vegetables and avoid peas, beans and iceberg lettuce. Offer lots of different kinds of greens, especially Opuntia cactus pads, and hibiscus and mulberry leaves.

5. Feed Leopard and Sulcata tortoises a diet that is 70 percent grass and hay. In addition, feed them lots of edible flowers such as hibiscus, clover, petunia, violet, and dandelion. Do not feed them sweet fruits or animal kibbles. Provide as many kinds of grasses as possible. To see a list of recommended grasses, use the link listed below as a resource.

6. Feed box tortoises a wide variety of foods including leafy vegetables, mealy worms, beetles, earthworms, edible mushrooms, grasses and a few fruits. If you do not have fresh bugs available you may substitute dog or cat food pre-soaked in water. Do not feed protein more than once a week. Avoid the kinds of lettuce used in salads, which have the least amount of nutrition of any leafy greens.

7. For any tortoise, provide a cuttlefish bone (the kind you put in bird cages) somewhere in its enclosure. If the tortoise senses that it is low on calcium, it will gnaw on the cuttlefish bone to supplement its diet. If it does not need extra calcium it will probably ignore the bone.

8. Provide your tortoise with a purchased vitamin and mineral supplement if you are unable to provide enough fresh greens. A good vitamin and mineral supplement will be high in calcium and vitamin D3 and contain no phosphorus.

9. Ask the advice of a tortoise specialist (not just someone at a pet shop) if you have any reason to suspect your tortoise is not getting adequate nutrition (such as shell growth abnormality or strange behavior). If you don't know anyone you can ask personally, find one on-line or use the link below to get connected to a tortoise keepers' network.

Tips & Warnings

• An outdoor enclosure during warm weather can allow your tortoise to browse your garden or lawn for plants or bugs it likes to eat.

• Avoid using "turtle food" purchased at a pet shop. These diets are rarely sufficient and do not take into account the varying needs of different types of tortoises.

• Never feed a tortoise anything but its natural food. Tortoises are not like mammals who can tolerate bad snacks once in a while. Tortoises can get very sick from being fed human snack food.

• Never put your tortoise outside to graze in an area that has been sprayed with herbicides or insecticides.

• Don't rely on a veterinarian's advice unless they specialize in exotic pets including tortoises.

Resources

• Advice from tortoise experts at the "Tortoise Trust"