Evening All!

Just a quick question about feeding. I have always fed my two horsefield torts every day. Having said that I know that some people feed less. What is everyones thinking on this. My thinking is  that in the wild they would eat every day. I feel really mean not feeding mine. But, if there is a very good reason for not feeding them everyday then I am interested know more.

Zoe

Hi Zoe,

There is nothing wrong with feeding your torts every day. The thing that everyone is aiming for is slow growth. As you know, tortoises don't need food to produce their body heat, like mammals do, so they need less food proportionally than we do. Some people feed there tortoises every other day, some feed five days a week, and some feed every day. But if you feed everyday, just make sure you don't feed them too much, and they should be fine. If you are getting growth of between 1g - 3g per month then you and your torts are doing well.

Nina

Other than weighing them, is there a way of knowing if they are getting too big too quick?

Zoe

I'm with you on the one Zoe and I feed my tortoises every day.  When I first kept horsfields I fed them the right food but just too much of it.  Every time they looked at me with that 'please, please, feed me look' I'm afraid I fed them. 

I had occasion to take one of them to the vets for a once over and he told me that he kept horsfields too and took me to show me his tortoises and I was really shocked.  They were the same age as mine and only half the size.  They had lovely smooth shells and my tortoises shells were starting to become a little lumpy.  I was advised to feed my torts daily but in smaller proportions and it was suggested if I ever overwintered them to feed them every other day.  It was a steep learning curve for me and now I am very careful with the amounts my tortoises eat.

Helen

So in really simple terms, for a 1-2 year old tortoise, how much is just right. If you think of dandilion leaves, approx 15cm long, how many would be enough. When I pick mine up, they dont feel like full pies, more like a value pie, full of air. They weigh 168gms each.

Keeping a tortoise is such a worry!

I dont want to over feed then, under feed them, poison them, feed the wrong stuff. Its more complicated than children!