Super foods
 

Hello I know that variety is the spice of life as they say with tortoises but I was wondering are there super foods for tortoises that are super good for them ? Mainly for hermanns or a leopard but any food advice for any tortoise is welcome as I'm sure others may have wondered

Opuntia (high in calcium) and Butternut squash (high in vitamin A) come to mind off the top of my head.

Danny

My suggestion is ribwort plantain and my reasons are:

1. Will grow in almost any conditions in the UK and stays green for at least 9 months of the year.

2. High in fibre.

3. Good calcium/phospherous ratio.

4. Low protein level - they can eat as much as they want.

5. No fat.

6. A good plant to have in your garden for other reasons too - flowers attract beneficial insects, seeds are good for birds etc.

I'm not a big believer in superfoods for people or for tortoises. A varied diet of healthy foods works best for both IMO. So the 'super' element in my suggestion is found partly in the non-dietary aspects of growing it.

But I will be very interested in others' views. So please lets have more answers!

Yes I use plantain as a bit of a base, they get some everyday they have weeds with a good mix of other weeds that will vary from day to day

Agree with Jon. In fact both the plantains are superb. Sow thistle also a good one, nipple wort. But the plantains are widely considered as the best.
Just depends on what you got growing where you live. No good saying this n that is the best if you find you search far and wide and can't find it. xx:)

Mallow is another good one.

Re: weeds you can't find that everyone says they can get and still about. Been there..lol.
The one I never find is speedwell. No matter when I look and how many say its growing and how much I'm on the hunt...I never find it. The search continues..2014 lol. xx:)

Rach I never see speedwell in my local area either. Might be to do with soil types- I think speedwell does well on alkaline soils and round here we have acidic soils.

I saw it once when I was up in Cheshire...I went back to get some after getting ID'd on here , and the friggin council had cut it all down. Meh....:(xx

Wild Chicory (Cichorium intybus). I bought one once from the herbs section of Dobbies Garden Centre early in the year for £2.99 and it grew really high, 5 or 6ft and I was able to use leaves and the blue flowers the whole summer. I have never seen it for sale again since, each subsequent year I have went to buy one they have sold a different version of chicory that turned out nothing like it!
The Tortoise Table says .. Safe to feed..
Common name : Chicory (Wild Chicory)
Latin name : Cichorium intybus
Family name : Asteraceae/Compositae

Wild Chicory is an attractive plant, and it is fine to feed to tortoises. Do not feed the roots, as they are too high in starch and sugars, but leaves and flowers have a good level of calcium as well as a low protein and phosphorous content, which makes them useful in the tortoise diet http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/s...=main&catID=87
Search for Cichorium intybus on Ebay and you can get the seeds for about 99p

Al, was it you that tried to grow ribwort plantain and it took like, forever to even start growing.
I've never tried but I might when I'm back in my house - when it's back in season.
Is it the long seed like things that grow by the ribwort leaves that you kind of scatter in any old bit of garden soil?
xx:)