start tortoise care plz help

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I have 2 start tortoises' of about 2 years..
i would like 2 no if i can feed them romaine lettuce everyday because that seems 2 b what they like. Also they like eating cucumber n apples, are these good for their health??

can u please help me out with these...
coz m really worried about their diet...
plz reply...

ANSWER: I understand that English is probably not your first language, but I'm an old man and it is hard for me to decipher all of the short-cuts, abbreviations, and so on you are using.

As for diet, Stars have pretty specific needs, unlike many other tortoises...

Romaine lettuce is very low in nutrition. It has very little calcium in it, and a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous- 1.1:1, when we would like to see 3 or 4:1. Without additional food items higher in calcium or good supplements, the tortoise will develop severe bone and shell problems. The high water and sugar content of Romaine is also bad for the tortoise.

Cucumbers are also low in calcium and have a poor ratio- theirs is 0.67:1- absolutely horrible. Cucumbers make a nice tasty snack, but should be treated like like a candy bar for the tortoises.

Fruit, ANY fruit, is high in water content and WAY to sugary for this species. A small slice of apple once a week is about the maximum they should get- far less would be better!

So, what SHOULD they eat?

Ideally- they should be allowed to graze grasses, hays, and wild plants in an outdoor habitat. They eat a wide number of leaves, stems, and flowers, including cactus pads (Opuntia species, etc.). Mulberry, hibiscus, grape, and dandelion leaves are favorites.

Besides this, they can have some grocery store greens- endive or escarole lettuces, turnip, beet, or mustard greens, spinach, etc.- but it should be a rather small part of the diet.

Stars have HIGH calcium needs. Add a pinch of calcium powder every couple days.



Please understand that this IS NOT considered an easy species to care for, unless you live in a place where the temps, humidity, and native plants are similar to their wild homes.

For more, try these links:
http://www.chelonia.org/articles/Geleganscare.htm
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/elegans.html

Or the Star forums at http://www.tortoiseforum.com

Good luck!

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

QUESTION: thanks for your advise..
it was of great use..
i have started feeding them hibiscus leaves..
also i would like to know is how can i identify which 1 is male o female???
Also 1 of my tortoise seems to be very lazy; is that natural??

Answer
Hibiscus: A good start, but only OK by itself. Variety, variety, variety!

Lazy: May be personality, may be that it feels crowded or bullied by the other one. These tortoises need a lot of space, or each needs its own habitat. 2m x 2m is the smallest suggest space for one tortoise.

Male/Female: http://www.chelonia.org/sexing/sexing_Geochelone_platynota.htm has good photos showing the differences in a closely related species.

Again, http://www.tortoiseforum.org is a great site- they have a whole forum of Star experts.