Carrot

purplelynn · 15-02-2010, 01:07 PM

Have seen pics on here and read posts about feeding carrot - just wanted to check as am sure read somewhere root veg were not a good idea.

I have a horsfield tortoise fed a weed based diet but being topped up with bagged salad and nutrobal until the weather is better!!!

So would carrot be ok to feed?

swad1000 · 15-02-2010, 01:09 PM

Will depend on who you ask. Some lists say root veg is ok others say no.

Personally I don't feed root veg as torts wouldn't have root veg naturally.

Box girl · 15-02-2010, 01:44 PM

Carrot is high in Vit A and If my memory serves me correct not bad in the calcium phosopahorous bit which is 2:1 so I feed as part of the diet. Mine have it grated or frozen then fed to make it softer.
Box torts get it all the time they need lots of vit A.

Box girl · 15-02-2010, 05:35 PM

Have just checked on internet very little oxalic acid in carrots.Also study suggests that added calcium helps the oxalic acid salts to be passed out of the body and the ingestion of potassium also helps to stop the absorption of these salts.
It is good to look further into this. My belief is the same as when a vegetarian eats protein foods such as bread and baked beans together they provide all the essential amino acids on their own they don't. There is no perfect food but a variety and a balnce will ensure all nutrients are given.

dugy · 15-02-2010, 05:54 PM

stells is very much correct... its an occasional food... i mix it in with the regular foods now and again just to give some variation to diet... but only ever give a small amount.

Box girl · 15-02-2010, 07:37 PM

That's what I have been saying PART of a balanced and variety of foods.

Ozric Jonathan · 22-02-2010, 11:57 PM

I think the idea that vegetarians have to mix grains and pulses in meals to get a whole protein has now been discarded. There are many parts of the world where nobody does this and the vegetarian human beings are in good shape.

I do feed a bit of carrot occasionally during times when foods are in short supply. So I don't feed carrot at all during the growing seasons for weeds.

I've had a very hard and long winter here and its really unusual to have virtually no weeds in the garden to feed this late in February.

**Alan1** · 23-02-2010, 06:32 AM

I don't feed carrot but not for any particular reason other than I've just not tried it. They get Nutrobal so will be getting Vit A from that.

The thing is, if you are going to feed all these different foods that are not available to them in the wild, then why not just give them a pellet diet which amounts to the same thing? I am not suggesting giving a pellet diet BTW, just pointing out that it is just as unnatural as foods they wouldn't normally see in their lifetime in the wild

15-02-2010, 01:07 PM	#1
purplelynn Senior Member Sub Adult Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Surrey Posts: 1,403	Carrot Have seen pics on here and read posts about feeding carrot - just wanted to check as am sure read somewhere root veg were not a good idea. I have a horsfield tortoise fed a weed based diet but being topped up with bagged salad and nutrobal until the weather is better!!! So would carrot be ok to feed?

15-02-2010, 01:44 PM	#3
Box girl Senior Member Sub Adult Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Glos Posts: 1,326	Carrot is high in Vit A and If my memory serves me correct not bad in the calcium phosopahorous bit which is 2:1 so I feed as part of the diet. Mine have it grated or frozen then fed to make it softer. Box torts get it all the time they need lots of vit A. __________________ www.ukchelonia.info Money raised to Allwetter Zoo Muenster e6000 sent so far. Have bred-red foots, yellow foots, eastern box, 3 toed box, ornate box, gulf coast box, common musk, elongated tortoise, red eared terrapin, cuora flavomarginata, cuora amboinensis, hermanns tortoise, horsfield tortoise, rhinoclemys.p. manni, european pond turtle, reeves and spurs

15-02-2010, 05:35 PM	#4
Box girl Senior Member Sub Adult Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Glos Posts: 1,326	Have just checked on internet very little oxalic acid in carrots.Also study suggests that added calcium helps the oxalic acid salts to be passed out of the body and the ingestion of potassium also helps to stop the absorption of these salts. It is good to look further into this. My belief is the same as when a vegetarian eats protein foods such as bread and baked beans together they provide all the essential amino acids on their own they don't. There is no perfect food but a variety and a balnce will ensure all nutrients are given. __________________ www.ukchelonia.info Money raised to Allwetter Zoo Muenster e6000 sent so far. Have bred-red foots, yellow foots, eastern box, 3 toed box, ornate box, gulf coast box, common musk, elongated tortoise, red eared terrapin, cuora flavomarginata, cuora amboinensis, hermanns tortoise, horsfield tortoise, rhinoclemys.p. manni, european pond turtle, reeves and spurs

15-02-2010, 07:37 PM	#6
Box girl Senior Member Sub Adult Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Glos Posts: 1,326	That's what I have been saying PART of a balanced and variety of foods. __________________ www.ukchelonia.info Money raised to Allwetter Zoo Muenster e6000 sent so far. Have bred-red foots, yellow foots, eastern box, 3 toed box, ornate box, gulf coast box, common musk, elongated tortoise, red eared terrapin, cuora flavomarginata, cuora amboinensis, hermanns tortoise, horsfield tortoise, rhinoclemys.p. manni, european pond turtle, reeves and spurs

22-02-2010, 11:57 PM	#7
Ozric Jonathan Senior Member Adult Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: West of Scotland Posts: 4,226	I think the idea that vegetarians have to mix grains and pulses in meals to get a whole protein has now been discarded. There are many parts of the world where nobody does this and the vegetarian human beings are in good shape. I do feed a bit of carrot occasionally during times when foods are in short supply. So I don't feed carrot at all during the growing seasons for weeds. I've had a very hard and long winter here and its really unusual to have virtually no weeds in the garden to feed this late in February. __________________ Testudo Hermanni Hermanni (Corse) tortoises

15-02-2010, 01:09 PM	#2
swad1000 Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,702	Will depend on who you ask. Some lists say root veg is ok others say no. Personally I don't feed root veg as torts wouldn't have root veg naturally.

15-02-2010, 05:54 PM	#5
dugy Member Juvenile Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne Posts: 958	stells is very much correct... its an occasional food... i mix it in with the regular foods now and again just to give some variation to diet... but only ever give a small amount.

23-02-2010, 06:32 AM	#8
Alan1 Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sunny Scotland Posts: 21,512	I don't feed carrot but not for any particular reason other than I've just not tried it. They get Nutrobal so will be getting Vit A from that. The thing is, if you are going to feed all these different foods that are not available to them in the wild, then why not just give them a pellet diet which amounts to the same thing? I am not suggesting giving a pellet diet BTW, just pointing out that it is just as unnatural as foods they wouldn't normally see in their lifetime in the wild

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