Welcome

REDFOOT TORTOISE

DIET AND FEEDING  

 

 

Redfoot are not picky eaters and will usually eat whatever you feed them.  Your goal is to make sure to feed a variety of healthy foods.  Greens that are high in calcium and low in phosphorous and vegetable protein are needed to insure your tortoise has a healthy diet.  Turnip greens, dandelion greens, collard greens, cactus pads, and chickweed all have a high calcium content and are good choices for the Base-Diet (foods fed at every meal).  

 A good rule of thumb on how much to feed your Redfoot is to feed them as much as they will eat in about 20 - 30 minutes.  It takes a few feedings before you get the hang of how much food to offer.  

The following is a suggested feeding schedule for a Redfoot that is under a year old.  Once my Redfoot reach the age of one year, I start feeding them every other day, still offering the same foods found on the list below.  Twice a week, I add TNT or TNT Fruit Lovers Blend to the meal as a nutritional supplement (it is the only supplement I use).  You can purchase the TNT blends at http://carolinapetsupply.com

If you keep a cuttle bone in the enclosure, the tortoise will chew on it if or when it needs extra calcium.  This is a safer method of providing additional calcium than adding it to the food.  

DAY # 1
Base-diet of leafy greens           

DAY #2
Base-diet with fruit            

Day #3
Base-diet of leafy greens            

 DAY #4
Base-diet with vegetable    

DAY #5                                                            
Base-diet with fruit

Day #6                                                            
Base-diet with meat

Day #7                                                            
No food day

While you always want to offer nutritious foods on a regular schedule, there is no ‘one-and-only-one’ way to keep a Redfoot.  If you maintain the goal of a varied and nutritious diet, then there is plenty of room for change in the suggested feeding schedule.  This is just to help the new tortoise owner get off on the right foot.  Research and common sense goes a long way when deciding what works best for you.

Suggested link:
http://redfoottortoise.com (this link has a wonderful diet page and edible landscape page)

SUGGESTED GREENS FOR THE  BASE-DIET

Turnip greens
Dandelion greens and flowers
Collard greens
Bag Spring Mix
Kale
Chicory
Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Chickweed
Henbit
Grape leaves
Hibiscus leaves and flowers
Mulberry leaves
Purslane Leaf
plantain
Opuntia cactus pads (spines removed) Red
and Green leaf lettuce and romaine lettuce  

VEGETABLES THAT CAN BE ADDED TO THE BASE-DIET

Yellow squash
Zucchini
Pumpkin
Steamed sweet potato
Carrots
Mushrooms
Bell pepper  

FRUITS

Any fruits and berries.
Banana and tomato should be kept to a minimum.
No citrus fruits.  

MEAT PROTEIN

Steamed or boiled chicken
Steamed or boiled shrimp
Hard boiled eggs
Pinkie mice (thawed)
Live pill bugs, butter worms, meal worms, super worms  

NEVER FEED

Any grains or grain products, dog or cat foods, pellet tortoise chows  

VEGETABLES WITH NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Celery, cucumber, iceberg lettuce