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star tortoise diet

22 16:07:38

Question
QUESTION: hi, i currently have a male star tortoise. I'm not too sure what to feed him, because i don't have a garden, i usually go around plucking grasses and weeds for him, but i've noticed that he only eats 2 types of such grasses and weeds. i can't find dandelion around here, only the dried ones which he isn't too fond of. he doesn't eat or even nibble on timothy hay at all and i'm at a lost on what else i can feed him with. he does eat some opuntia but the only variety i can provide him with is opuntia, the 2 types of grasses and some dried dandelion sometimes. is there anything else i can offer him? yes he gets his sunlight and calcium supplement. thanks!

ANSWER: Hi Dyllis,

Star tortoises eat grasses and leafy weeds (or greens).  Unfortunately I don't know what you might have in Singapore that you could offer, but here's a list of things you can look for:  dandelion of course, chicory, mustard greens, turnip greens, collards, kale, endive, mixed lettuces (not too much lettuce), grape leaves, mulberry leaves, etc.  Also weeds such as plantain, sow thistle, chickweed, clover, hawkbit (not sure what weeds you have there), and flowers such as violet, nasturtium, hibiscus, abutilon, and rose.  If you can get orchard grass hay there, it's softer and may be more appealing.  You can also chop hay up and mix small amounts with wet greens to get him to eat more hay.  Opuntia is very good for them, too.  Hope that helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks so much, could kale, endive and hibiscus leaves make up a bulk of his diet? as in are they safe to feed in large amounts? also he doesn't drink water, is that a cause for concern? i'll try orchard grass hay too.

ANSWER: That wouldn't be best--ideally you want to feed as much variety as you can.  If you can add in some of the other greens at least some of the time it would be better.  Romaine (cos) is something else you can feed, although don't overdo that because some tortoises get addicted to it and it can be difficult to switch them to better food.  Mixing in chopped hay and grasses will help, too.  If you want to give me a list of the greens you have available there, I can help you figure out which ones are good for tortoises.  It's a little hard to tell you what to get because we're in two different countries!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey, i'm able to get a salad mix that includes wild rocket, mizuna, red mig noiette, green frills, red mustard, landcress, watercress, frisse, red and green oak, red and green coral, radicchio, red chard and red veined sorrel. is it okay if this makes up around half of his diet, with the other half being opuntia and grasses?

Answer
Hi Dyllis,

If you can get grasses for half his diet, the greens you listed are fine for the other half.  Chard isn't ideal, but it's probably not too much of the overall mix, so don't worry about it (the leaves are pretty distinctive, so you can also pick them out of the mix if you want).  Sounds like you have things all set!  Good luck with your tortoise.