alot of people say that russian tortoises can eat fruit but the perosn i got it from said no. Should i give it

Question

The person who sells the tortoise says not to give a russian tortoise fruit but on the internet people say you can. Should i give fruit to my tortoise?

Answer 1

This link is THE BEST tortoise food link I have found: http://www.petdoc.ws/TortDiet.html

Try something like this:

About 45% 'fodder'- green or dry grasses, leaves, clover, alfalfa, hay, 'yard plants', flowers, etc.

About 40% vegetables- avoid light green head lettuce or too much cabbage (brocolli, cauliflower, kale, etc.)

About 10% fruits and berries. Think of these as dessert or snack foods- tortoises LOVE them, but should not have too much of it. On the other hand, they contain a lot of nutrients tortoises need.

Less than 5% proteins- hard-boiled or scrambled eggs and shells, good quality dry dog food, sardines (with bones), etc.

Answer 2

Russian Tortoises are grazers and enjoy broad leaf plants. The best diet is a variety of weeds (leaves and flowers). Dandelion is a favorite.Also if you chop up hay (timothy, orchard, Bermuda ...etc) and mix it with the greens you can feed larger volumes. I also leave fresh hay in the pens at all times. The following greens are easily found in my local stores:
Romaine lettuce
Red and green leaf lettuce
Endive
Escarole
Radicchio
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Kale
Collards
Spring Mix (mixed salad greens)
cabbage (on occasion)
OTHER GOOD CHOICES
Some other favorites of my tortoises that are available:
Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Hosta
Sedum
Mulberry leaves
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Dandelion
Rose (flowers and leaves....make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
Californian Poppy escholzia
Make sure all are pesticide and herbicide free.
The following food items should be avoided for a variety of reasons. there are many books and groups that go into great detail...so I won't repeat them here.
All fruit (although fruit is often recommended, its sugar content can lead to parasite blooms....just not worth it) the exception is apples due to the high quantity of pectin....but still not frequently.
Iceberg lettuce
Bok Choy
All grains (including bread, pasta etc)
Dog and cat food
Meat
All human food except what's been listed as "good"
One of the most important supplements is calcium. If there is a good source of UVB as with tortoises kept outdoors, a light dusting of the food with calcium daily is sufficient. Indoors use phosphorous free calcium with D3. Minerall is a great product with trace minerals as well as calcium.
I prefer to feed them as much as they will eat in twenty minutes....daily. I have also fed them as much as they would eat in an hour... every other day. Both methods work.

Answer 3

Fruit cannot be given in high amounts and should not be fed regularly. For instance, my western hermann's tortoise gets about a dime sized amount of strawberry a few times a month. There are a few sites where you can get a better understanding.....http://russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm or kingsnake.com
It looks like a small amount of apple every once in a while would be okay.

Answer 4

About 20% of the diet should be fruit like apples, melons, grapes, bananas and plums. Offer every third or fourth feeding.

80% of the diet should be raw and cooked vegetables. Choose romaine or green leaf lettuce, yellow peppers and tomatoes; cooked sweet potatoes, squash and cauliflower.

Answer 5

in their natural habitat they eat cactus roots..... so that means that they have the digestive ability to inhest that type of fruit root....