Leopard Tortoise Diet

[Burgers]

Hi There! my leopard tortoise is a little underweight at the moment and i was wondering if there is anything in particular i can feed him to help him gain some weight over the coming months.

He normally does eat less in the winter months so i'm not all that fussed about that. i was thinking of feeding him a bit of Tortoise food from the pet shops (i know its bad but i figure if i just use it two or three times a week for a while it might help him gain a smidge of weight)

thinking i might increase his light time and maybe crank the heater up a bit over the winter just to keep him that extra bit warm as well.

just anything you extra knoledgable people can suggest to feed him would be greatly appreciated . .think banana is good as long as its not allot! don't want a fatty liver lol

[longbowassassin]

Fresh is best so try,
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/s...ise_home_1.asp
We never feed banana but can recommend Zoomed Grassland Tortoise food its very handy over winter months when fresh food is in limited supply.

[Mick.Ire]

If you can get Nutrazu pellets they would be better than the pet shop food.

Small bit's of banana are ok occasionally.

[winemaker1958]

we fed ours on Zoomed natural grassland tortoise food as a feeding supplement with their greens[from the garden]and weeds.They really enjoy kale fresh from the garden.

[jonesy]

Obviously fresh is best but you can also give then the pre alpin food which you can add to the fresh food to make it go further.
You can also offer it plenty of different types of grasses as leopards are grazers and need lots of grasses. Good luck

[onarock]

I love a trick question.

If you feed your tortoise fresh food you are formulating their diet. And, unless you have extensive knowledge about the foods you choose to feed your tortoise and a nutritional content calculator handy... how do you know if your "Fresh is best" theory really is best?

If you feed your tortoise a formulated diet, your putting your tortoise diet into another persons hands.

6 in one... a half dozen in the other.

[jonesy]

Originally Posted by onarock

I love a trick question.

If you feed your tortoise fresh food you are formulating their diet. And, unless you have extensive knowledge about the foods you choose to feed your tortoise and a nutritional content calculator handy... how do you know if your "Fresh is best" theory really is best?

If you feed your tortoise a formulated diet, your putting your tortoise diet into another persons hands.

6 in one... a half dozen in the other.

I actually am doing a degree in nutrition so I suppose I fall into your theory of not being normal and possibly having a calculator

In the wild the tortoises eat only fresh or dried fresh items, 1st clue
They do not go to shops that provide formulated products that contain so many additives, preservatives etc etc so this will be the 2nd clue

I just believe that eating fresh products is much better for everthing living. There is a debate that frozen is better than fresh as this way the essentials elements are preserved but I am still testing this theory. Hope this helps explain my comment a little about fresh is best as I do believe it is.

[EJ]

Totally false.

Most of the truely formulated diets that I've worked with are put together by animal nutrionists who have educational degrees up to PHDs. I trust they have a little more knowledge in the formulation of a proper nutritional diet.

Originally Posted by onarock

I love a trick question.

If you feed your tortoise fresh food you are formulating their diet. And, unless you have extensive knowledge about the foods you choose to feed your tortoise and a nutritional content calculator handy... how do you know if your "Fresh is best" theory really is best?

If you feed your tortoise a formulated diet, your putting your tortoise diet into another persons hands.

6 in one... a half dozen in the other.

[EJ]

While human nutrition is a good place to start... animal nutrition is a little different and the nutritional requirement of a reptile as an even bigger slant to it.

Fresh is best... if you hit all the nutritional required marks in the proper ratio... good luck with that. It can be done but buy the time you see that you've missed the mark... it is usually too late.

Originally Posted by jonesy

I actually am doing a degree in nutrition so I suppose I fall into your theory of not being normal and possibly having a calculator

In the wild the tortoises eat only fresh or dried fresh items, 1st clue
They do not go to shops that provide formulated products that contain so many additives, preservatives etc etc so this will be the 2nd clue

I just believe that eating fresh products is much better for everthing living. There is a debate that frozen is better than fresh as this way the essentials elements are preserved but I am still testing this theory. Hope this helps explain my comment a little about fresh is best as I do believe it is.

[onarock]

Originally Posted by EJ

Totally false.

Most of the truely formulated diets that I've worked with are put together by animal nutrionists who have educational degrees up to PHDs. I trust they have a little more knowledge in the formulation of a proper nutritional diet.

Big deal... Most nutritionists with PHD's in human nutrition cant even agree on what is good for people. Think they have a better handle on animal nutrition? Moreover, tortoise nutrition? And, what part of my statement was totally false? And please, dont start regurgitating some article that I passed onto you as if I didnt already read it.