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Old 16-05-2015, 10:11 AM   #21
Ozric Jonathan
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I understand what you'e saying Hanako. But I wouldn't let my torts starve or even loose any weight. By feeding weeds and plants on some days I'm quite sure they are getting enough to eat. I just offer only pre alpin on certain days and if they don't eat it they don't get anything else. It wasn't long before they ate at least some pre alpin on those days when nothing else was offered.

But I agree we don't want to get into unhealthy battles with them over food!

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Old 18-05-2015, 06:57 PM   #22
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My experiences with this foo was pretty much the same as others have experienced. The tortes turn their nose up at it and just walk away. I done an experiment with it a while back, I found mixing it in with other weeds well they had no option but to eat it but this still didnt work getting them to eat it on its own. I stopped feeding them anything but pre alpin, it took about 5/6 days if I remember then they started chopping into it. Its good for them and the only way to do it is to give them nothing else. Tortes wont starve.

My advice is if you want them to eat it, give them nothing else but the pre-alpin they will soon start munching
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Old 27-05-2015, 07:07 PM   #23
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I'm not sure what to make of it really. As Med torts in the wild have access to fresh plants as soon as they come out of hibernation they will be eating those in March/April/May/June and there won't be dried stuff at that time, it will become scorched in July and August but many torts are much less active in the hottest months and eat very little. The Pre Alpin is grown on the Alpine meadows so not the torts' native region and I'm not sure if the plants actually come from their native region or not. It is probably very good for fibre but I also got some dried mix plants, plantain, dandelion etc from the pet shop but my torts didn't eat that either
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Old 28-05-2015, 10:53 AM   #24
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It is hard to know whats best as I always try to replicate the wild as much as possible
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Old 01-06-2015, 12:09 AM   #25
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Took me a long time to get Lily to like it, have to say. Now I just shake it on his food, then shake it all up so all is lightly coated. He still eats. It does help with fibre though as Al says. And a must during winter months (if overwintering) when not many weeds about. xx
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Old 02-06-2015, 01:40 AM   #26
Ozric Jonathan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan1 View Post
I'm not sure what to make of it really. As Med torts in the wild have access to fresh plants as soon as they come out of hibernation they will be eating those in March/April/May/June and there won't be dried stuff at that time, it will become scorched in July and August but many torts are much less active in the hottest months and eat very little. The Pre Alpin is grown on the Alpine meadows so not the torts' native region and I'm not sure if the plants actually come from their native region or not. It is probably very good for fibre but I also got some dried mix plants, plantain, dandelion etc from the pet shop but my torts didn't eat that either
Of course tortoise habitats do vary but some of them only have fresh green growth until the end of May. Alan is right the plants contained in pre alpin are not the same ones you get in a Mediterranean tortoise habitat. A product like that doesn't seem to be available anywhere though.

Some of the species in pre alpin are from the same plant families and some are not. Dandellions and clovers don't feature much at all in tortoise habitats but most of us feed quite a lot of them and similar plants which are not Mediterranean species either.

In terms of the what the wild ones eat there are three things we definitely know - it is a high fibre low protein diet with quite low levels of most nutrients. This is what Pre Alpin is like. Almost all commercial tortoise foods are the opposite of high fibre, low protein and low nutrient.

I'm feeding fresh stuff from my garden most days at the moment because there is a lot of it and the torts like it. Also I have fun growing different things for them. I believe that if we 're feeding anything man made then pre alpin is a better option that any of the others.

IMO Mazuri etc is good for poorly or weak tortoises that need a much higher nutrient diet for a period of time to gain weight.
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Old 03-06-2015, 06:13 PM   #27
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I got dried plantain from pets at home but the torts didn't eat it. I can't remember if it was plantain on it's own or with something else mixed in
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Old 03-06-2015, 09:13 PM   #28
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I think it's normal for them to turn their wee noses up at first. When the fresh and juicy stuff doesn't appear, common sense sets in. I found that being persistent was the key to getting them to eat it, and once they started eating it there wasn't a problem after that. Even if they get fresh stuff on other days.
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Old 04-06-2015, 10:20 PM   #29
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I used to have to hand feed Lily when I first got him used to pre alpen. It took weeks. But perseverance is all it takes. Some foods though despite everything you try...they just won't eat it. xx
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