Its Garden Season !!!

[klorentz]

Hey all I may not need to mention this to to many tort folks that have the space . But if your planning your next big garden this year remember to save a spot for growing some tortoise food . Turtles ( even water turtles ) can get good food from the garden . Remember for the ones who are new to torts never I mean never feed Iceberg Lettuce to vegi eating herps . It has no value as a food for any of them .


Also I must stress this never use ANY pesticide or herbicide in your garden . Garden organicly and you will not only be growing better food for yourself and your shelled friends it will be better for the environment too . There are a great deal of greens etc you can grow . Oh and don't forget the dandilions ! Make sure they are growing in an untreated area before you feed them though .


Kevin

[Dr Alan]

Hey Kevin and Linda,
Great idea :!: Can you give us a "short list" of easy-to-grow, tortoise-appropriate items? You can tell that you (like a lot of us) are from the northern half of the country, where gardens go in relatively late. Our local Wal-Mart lost thousands of dollars worth of plants displayed/stored outdoors last Saturday night 'cause we had a frost accompanied by high winds.

[klorentz]

Ok here is a very short one I will have links for you soon for more list of edibles for torts . One mistake that I have seen that is very common in pet shops is feeding comercialy prepared foods as the main diet . Avoid this at all cost . This can cause several health issues . Pyrimiding being the most noticable .


leaf lettuce such as bibb or butter crunch is good . Red leaf is another . Cactus pads are another . collard greens and endive . Hibiscus flowers and mulberry leaves . Also if you can get some good timothy hay to feed that would be good too and dandilions .

[Dr Alan]

One mistake that I have seen that is very common in pet shops is feeding comercialy prepared foods as the main diet . Avoid this at all cost . This can cause several health issues . Pyrimiding being the most noticable. Pyramiding? Lost me there...


and dandilions . The dandelions I can grow without even trying. :D

[kenster]

And to think I was dreading all the Mullberry leaves in the yard again this year..Now they will turn into feed...woooohooo no raking! Now if I can just figure out what will eat the pine needles I'll be all set :wink:

[klorentz]

Ok Doc here is the low down on pyrimiding . Some here should know the famous Star Tortoise . These are the only torts with natural pyrimiding ( raised scuts which resemble little pyrimids ) . All other torts have a smooth shell . This condition is caused by high protien foods torts should not be getting as the main food source . Many pet shops misslead their customers in to thinking feeding prepared foods as an exclusive diet is ok . This is very very wrong .

If a tort is fed long term on such food as the main diet the tortoise can become horribly disfigured . I have seen some really bad cases presented by members of Turtle Homes and the World Chelonean Trust web sites . Let me tell you it aint pretty . One pic which was presented to list members on the Turtle Homes , Yahoo Groups was really upseting . The former owner of a leo tort let him have free run of the house . This gave the tort the chance to get into dog food for several years . The result in the end was this poor leo tort was permenetly disfigured . The pyrimiding was so bad the scuts had a bit of a leaning look . There is no way of bringing a torts shell back to what it should be but it can be stopped by correcting feeding practices .



Sites I would recomend for good tortoise info are the World Chelonian Trust http://www.chelonia.org/index.htm . There is a wealth of tortoise and turtle info on this site . Turtle Homes is another good site . Check out Sulcata Reality Check . Its a real eye opener .


http://www.turtlehomes.org/usa/test.shtml . Again lots of great care info on this site with loads of good links . Since becomeing a tort owner about three years ago I have learned a great deal from these groups . I had basic knowledge of tortoise care but not the expanded info these two groups have. It is invaluable to tortoise and turtle owners . You will find some real good food list on both sites .




Kevin

[Dr Alan]

Thanks Kevin.