Jacqui's Captive Bred Tortoises

WATERING

Contrary to belief tortoises do drink, especially on waking from hibernation, when a warm bath is usually appreciated .  A shallow dish about 10 cm (4 ins) deep, should be sunk into the ground to allow the animals to submerge their heads into the water.  Allow for easy access into and out of the dish. Placing pebbles in the bottom is a useful aid to young tortoises to get in and out of the bowl. They will climb right in and often empty their bladder/bowels whilst in the water. Urates can often be seen in their urine, this is a white slimy matter and is not cause for concern unless it appears gritty, in which case the tortoise is dehydrated and regular warm water soaks should be provided until the “grittiness” subsides.

FEEDING

Tortoises need a diet which is high in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, but low in fat and proteins and consists of mainly on green leaves/weeds & flowers.  If your tortoise has the run of a garden it will forage quite successfully for itself on charlock, chickweed, clover, dandelion, groundsel, plantains, sow thistle and vetches and the leaves of plants and bushes like buddleia, ice plant, lilac, hebe, rose and bramble.  Never use  weed killers and slug pellets, in any area accessed by tortoises. Do not feed garden centre bought plants either until after they have grown on as they are grown using fertilizer and pesticides.

In the wild, tortoises are opportunistic feeders and they will on occasion tackle carrion and dung.  Their digestive systems are, however, geared towards the digestion of leaves, including cellulose, so a wide variety of greens must be offered and the diet should be as varied as possible. The addition of a daily supplement that contains calcium such as neutrobal, vionate or limestone flour is necessary in order to ensure optimum shell development. This needs to only be at a level of 1 pinch per kilo of body weight and can be purchased from reptile shops or on line easily.

The following foods can also be used: radicchio, frisee, red chard, lambs lettuce, romaine, cos lettuce, little gem, bits of cucumber, endive, lettuce, kale, spring greens, watercress and tiny bits of tomato occasionally. 

Fruits and other vegetables are not advised as they can interfere with gut flora.

A varied diet, avoiding over reliance on one food type is preferred. Commercially prepared salad leaf mixes such as Florette crispy salad mix, can be used when natural food is in short supply and this can be added too from the list above, but should not be used as the only diet.  

High protein items like dog and cat food and peas are not natural and can be harmful in excess, especially in juveniles.

The aim is to vary the food so that the tortoise does not become dependant on one food. Tortoises can become almost "addicted" to foods such as fruit, tomatoes, cucumber, and even red foods such as raddichio. I have found that rescues and re homers that have been fed inappropriate diets, can be very difficult to wean off them! If this situation is to be avoided then a variety needs to be provided and the owner needs "will power" if they have an addicted tortoise to break the habit of reliance on poor diet. I personally find my group enjoys a good variery of common and garden weeds, with special favourites of common plantain, dandelion leaves & flowers, hawkbits (or milk thistle) mallow leaves and clovers. They also enjopy walking round thier garden nibbling on hebes, hibiscus leaves and other weeds I have growing wild for them. Pictures to identify weeds can be found on the "tortoise friendly weeds" page.

Feeding on a flat piece of slate or stone will keep the tortoises beak and claws in trim and avoid the cost of the vet clipping them and the cost of a fancy food bowl.

The provision of cuttle fish bone is also an excellent idea as again this will keep the beak worn down but also for the tortoise to take their own calcium as they require it. This should be used in conjunction with a good daily supplement such as nutrobal.

Avoid plants with a high oxalic acid content like spinach. Foods with high oxalic content bind the calcium rendering it unusable by the tortoises body, but can then lead to stones in the urinary tract and organs.

Avoid overuse of kale and sorrel with relatively high oxalic acid content.

Avoid high sugar foods e.g. fruit in excess.

Avoid high phosphorus foods e.g. banana - also quite addictive.

Avoid especially all unnatural foods, particularly high protein and high fat foods like meat-based dog and cat foods, which are without the worst offender in damage to the growth and health of tortoises. If in doubt about a particular foodstuff, ask yourself: Would the tortoise be likely to find this in the wild? If the answer is a clearly  NO then don't use it!

Calcium & Vitamin D3

Tortoises, particularly growing babies and egg laying females, naturally have

a high calcium requirement. Vitamin D3 is needed to render the ingested

calcium available to the body. The tortoise's body has evolved a mechanism to manufacture D3 through exposure to UV light i.e. the abundant Mediterranean sun. This is why we need to ensure D3 is available both through dietary supplements and by provision of Full Spectrum Light (FSL), in the form of UV combined bulbs such as Mega Ray. This is particularly vital when summer sun is in short supply or the tortoises are  indoors in cool weather, if we are to avoid calcium deficiency giving rise to metabolic bone disease (MBD).

Vets

There is no substitute for a good reptile vet. It is VITAL that the vet you use is familiar with reptiles as there are critical differences to mammals. A reptile has a slow metabolism and will slowly metabolize medication which can have a huge impact on recovery. Also certain antibiotics if used on reptiles are FATAL. There are  online sources of recommended reptile vets and the writer can suggest some if needed. Do not go on the recommendation of a pet shop, remember they are just the animal dealers!

There are also a number of forums that tortoise enthusiasts and owners can join and 

again I can provide information on reputable ones. There is a lot of incorrect information available on the internet so please exercise caution.

Growth of healthy tortoise babies.

For a healthy rate of growth in your tortoise you are aiming for:

1 year - length of little finger

2 years - length of ring finger

3 years - length of middle finger

5 years - length of palm

10 years old - length of hand

Don't try to grow them faster. Aim for a slow, even growth like the wild ones.

How to measure your Tortoise

Place the tortoise against the wall on a sheet of paper, place a straight edge vertically at the tail end and make a mark . Measure from the wall to the mark and you have the Straight Carapace Length of your tortoise.

Examples of suitable garden food/plants

 Dandelion Taraxacum officinale

Hawkbits & Cat's-ears Leontodon & hypochoeris spp

Hawk's-beards Crepis biennis & capilallaris

Nipplewort Lapsana communis

Chicory Cichorium intybus

Sow thistle Sonchus oleraceus & arvensis

Plantains Plantago major, media & lanceotata

Mallows Malva sylvestris, neglecta & moschata

Shepherd's purse Capsella bursa-pastoris

Bittercress Cardamine hirsuta & flexuosa

White/Dutch clover Trifolium repens

Red clover Trifolium pretense 

Common vetch Vicia sativa

Bush vetch Vicia sepium

Tufted vetch Vicia cracca

Sainfoin Onobrychis sativa

Creeping Bell-flower Campanula rapunculoides

Bindweeds Convolvulus & calystegia spp

Stonecrops Sedum album & spectabile

Hedge mustard Sisymbrium officinale

Honeysuckle (flowers) Lonicera periclymenum & caprifolium

NB: For furtther information on suitable weeds see the "Tortoise freindly weeds Page"

I welcome your questions and queries. Please see my Contact me page for complete contact information.