Asian Leaf Turtles

[Torterra]

Great photos, lots of colours! I see you have a lot of plums this year, good for torts! Very leafy turtle.

[justmeandmytortoise]

Great pictures

[Geomyda]

Originally Posted by Torterra

Great photos, lots of colours! I see you have a lot of plums this year, good for torts! Very leafy turtle.

Yes indeed, a great year for plums and Greengages. seems a shame, that they should be allowed to just turn into Prunes!
following the recent post showing one of my old Hermann's eagerly feeding on one or two windfalls, it seems that there is some debate over whether this addition to a very varied diet which dare I say also includes some pellet Mazuri, exotic leaf eater too, with tinned Tomatoes, of course.
In this regard, I very recently had correspondence with a very eminent Tortoise biologist; professionally qualified at the highest level.
It happens, that when I first met her many years ago, she was involved personally in a study of a wild population of Hermann's tortoises. This involved following their natural lifecycle in the field over a four year period, using radio telemetry in the study group.
Her response to me, is indeed highly illuminating and put correct perspective on some of these perplexing conundrums which frequently form debates and arguments on fora such as this:
" Ripe fruit, yes, I have seen Pears, Plums......and Muriers, a berry fruit grown on trees". She also goes on to say that young pads and the ripe fruit of Opuntia spp are eaten, but states that unlike the earlier mentioned fruits, Opuntia is not native to southern Europe and has only been in the habitat in recent history. The Wild tortoises, have obviously adapted to exploit thi new food source and as so much of their diet, it represents an opportunistic nature to their biology
Maybe, some of the seasonal angst that pervades captive tortoise keeping, should reflect more on the natural biology observed by professional experts rather than bicker over one mantra against another?

[Torterra]

How about blackberries/ Rowan berries, wild rosehip? I would remove seeds from rosehip anyway, dont want to experiment... Exotic Indian Stars they should eat a great deal of fruits in the wild...

[Geomyda]

Originally Posted by Torterra

How about blackberries/ Rowan berries, wild rosehip? I would remove seeds from rosehip anyway, dont want to experiment... Exotic Indian Stars they should eat a great deal of fruits in the wild...

Blackberries are eaten with relish by North american Box turtles, but I cannot recall seeing the Hermann's paying much if any attention to them. as for Rowan, and or Rosehip, again no experience with these as a seasonal treat.

[emma_mcraf]

Oh, they're fab!! Great photos!

[Geomyda]