How To Buy the Best Food For Tortoises

The correct nutritional requirements are often unknown, as there is very little published accurate information on tortoises available.

Most tortoise keepers rely on what is published in books or on the Internet and this could, in many cases, be inaccurate.

It is a fact that despite all efforts by tortoise owners to provide a nutritious diet and to replicate what a tortoise eats in its natural habitat, there are still many reports of captive tortoises with nutrition-related problems.

The food tortoises eat plays a major role in their growth, shell hardness, and overall health, so providing the best food for a tortoise is what you should aim for.

Best Tortoise Food with Calcium

As far as tortoises, especially younger tortoises, the calcium level of the food is very significant, both for healthy bone and shell growth, as well as the eggshells of laying females.

Besides feeding your tortoise with dandelions, which are a significant source of calcium, there are also commercial tortoise foods that have a very good calcium to phosphorus ratio.

These foods can’t be part of the staple diet like dog foods, but they can add a bit of variety to the tortoise food list.

They can also come in handy, especially in the winter where some specific greens are harder to come by.

The Importance of Calcium in Turtle Foods

If you need to provide more calcium for your tortoise for whatever reason, giving them pieces of cuttlebone should do the trick.

You can simply break them up into pieces, making it easier for your tortoise to nibble on them.

If you live in a region where the soil is more chalky, you may also notice that your tortoise will occasionally pick up small pieces of chalk and eat them.

This is nothing to worry about, as this is a representation of your pet’s natural behavior.

Make sure you provide the correct kind of UV lighting so that your tortoise can metabolize the calcium you give him. 

Best Food for Baby Tortoise

Tortoises of all ages and sizes should be provided with a healthy and varied diet.

This becomes more significant when dealing with baby tortoises.

As they go within their stages of fast growth, the need for a balanced diet followed by proper calcium levels and vitamin supplementation is a requirement.

Of course, different species will have their own unique dietary needs, so be sure to accurately research the requirements of the species of tortoise you own.

The more types of food that your tortoise receives correlate directly with the number of varying vitamins and minerals that they will eat.

Calcium and vitamin D3 should be used as supplements at every feeding session for young tortoises, and less often as the reptile reaches adult size.

Best Tortoise Dry Food

While the proper foods are immediately available for them in summer, it can be much harder to find an adequate supply in winter.

So that’s where dry foods can come in handy.

Dry diets are often used as a back-up when fresh food isn’t as easily available.

In the case of African and Mediterranean tortoise species, which are herbivorous in their feeding habits, their diet needs to be based essentially on green foods.

Shop-bought greens may have lower mineral levels, especially in terms of calcium, compared with a dandelion growing in your garden.

You just can’t tell the nutritional value of this type of food by just looking at such plants.

So dry foods can provide the advantage of additional nutritional content by knowing exactly what you are feeding your tortoise with.

Tortoise dry nutrient content

There are numerous brands of tortoise foods available today and those from reputable brands all have requisite high fiber levels in excess of 20%, as you can verify from reading the nutritional categorization of the product on the packaging.

Some other dry foods are also soft, to make them more appetizing.

They have a much wider range of ingredients compared with cobs

Cobs for tortoises are composed only of dry plant matter, such as hay and dandelion, and can offer a good source of natural fiber.

Softer foods and cobs should be viewed more as a supplement to the regular dry food and simply offer your pet more diversity, in terms of a dry food ingredient in its diet.

Pros

• Bite-sized and moist cubes making it easy for your tortoise to eat
• Balanced and contains all the essential nutrients
• It has the aroma and taste of melon which is appetizing to tortoises
• Comes ready to use

Cons

• Needs to stay refrigerated or will get bad

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Different Foods for Different Tortoise Species

It is important to know the distinct requirements of your species of tortoise, as different species have different dietary demands.

A healthy tortoise diet consists of:

• High in fiber to aid digestion
• Rich in calcium for healthy and strong bone and shell growth
• Low in protein

An excess of protein could cause a thickening of the shell. 

This is simply one of the factors which might result in the appearance of ‘pyramids’ (raised scutes). 

An excess amount of protein also puts an additional strain on the kidneys and other organs.

Mediterranean Tortoise Species

Mediterranean species can eat some grass, but they are not grazing species.

Occasionally they will eat animal protein which they would find opportunistically in the natural habitat, but this does not compose part of their normal diet and should not be given.

Grazing Tortoise Species

Grazers eat a mixture of grasses and succulent plants in the wild with grasses making up for most of their diet.

They may eat fruit and animal protein sometimes, but we don’t recommend purposely feeding these to your tortoise.

If you feed large amounts of fruit it may cause critical digestive tract upsets, including very loose feces, and because of the high sugar content, it can disrupt the normal gut flora and encourage the reproduction of parasites.

Rainforest Tortoise Species

In the wild, tropical rainforest species such as Yellow-footed tortoises encounter animal protein and fallen fruits quite frequently, as they are typical characteristics of these types of environments.

You can’t assume to keep these species healthy on a diet of mixed grasses and hays or 100% weeds, so the addition of some fruits and animal protein will give them a more naturally adjusted diet.

List of Food Tortoises Can Eat

Most grocery stores have a decent selection of greens that tortoises can eat, ideally with the greens being organic and pesticide-free.

However, not all tortoise keepers have access to “ideal” food, so knowing whats safe for your tortoise will help you develop a good diet for him.

Don’t feed the same type of food day in and day out.

Mix varieties and choose a different green as the basis every few days.

The following list is composed of foods that your tortoise can safely eat:

• Clover
• Earthworms
• Mango
• Peach
• Commercial tortoise foods
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Mulberry leaves
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Sweet potato
• Artichoke
• Dandelions
• Bell peppers
• Squash

Foods to be Avoided by Tortoise

The following food items should be avoided for a variety of reasons:

• All types of fruits – although fruit is often suggested, its sugar content can lead to parasite blooms, and sometimes it’s simply just not worth it. The exception here being apples due to the high quantity of pectin.
• Bok choy
• Iceberg lettuce
• All grains – including bread, pasta, etc
• Dog and cat foods
• Meat
• Mostly all human foods except for what we already have listed as safe

Harmful Properties in Tortoise Foods

Tortoise foods can include chemicals that could interfere with a tortoise’s capability to assimilate nutrients from foods.

Although most tortoise foods have some of these properties, a diverse diet can decrease the harmful effects.

Some of the harmful properties found in plants are included below, together with brief information on the effects they could have if ingested. 

Oxalic Acid

This is a naturally occurring element in many plants and imparts a bitter taste in greens such as mustard greens. 

This substance binds minerals, the most important being calcium, and in large amounts can lead to kidney stones and kidney damage.

Phytic Acid

This is found in high concentrations in peas, beans, and cereals. 

This chemical also binds minerals as well as proteins.

Tannins

Although tannins are helpful for the most part, in large amounts they bind protein and interfere with digestion.

Goitrogens

This composite is involved in the development of enlarged thyroid glands that can conflict with the uptake of iodine.

Commonly Asked Questions About Tortoise Foods

Conclusion

Your pet tortoise’s diet is as important as its light and heat. It is essential for growth and health.

Knowing what to feed your tortoise can help him live a long and happy life. 

Being that they are not difficult to care for, and can eat almost anything, it doesn’t mean that more thoughtful consideration shouldn’t be taken when feeding them.