Can I feed my Hermann tortoise lettuce everyday? I heard it's not good for them?

Answer 1

will give them the runs ..............in moderation

Answer 2

Many of the answers here are not the best for your tortoise. Hermann's, like many other torts, have rather specialized needs which will not be met if they get too much 'junk food'.

Try this feeding plan, based on Dr. Mader's Tortoise Diet:

45% 'Forage'- Fresh or dried grasses, hays, yard plants, mushrooms, flowers and other somewhat dry, tough, fiberous foods.

40% Vegetables. Aim for a mix of things- variety, variety, variety. Lightly microwave hard veggies like carrots. Avoid corn, peppers and light green head lettuce. Try to have a few different colors in each meal. Tomatos can count here or as a fruit.

10% Fruits and berries, anything except citrus. Because this plays a smaller roll, you might only offer some of 2 different kinds of fruit per meal.

LESS than 5% Proteins. This can be things like a cooked egg mashed with its shell, some good quality dog food, sardines with bones, some cooked chicken, pinkies, etc.

Don't let the percentages drive you crazy, just use them as a guide- about 1/2 and 1/2 fodder and veggies, a nice fruity 'dessert', and a small meaty snack is the goal.

Note that the percentages would change based on the species- Red- and Yellow-foot tortoises would get 20% fruit and less fodder. Browns and Hinge-backs would get 10% proteins.

Some additional notes:
- Keep grains to a minimum, they seem to contribute to shell problems.
- A serving is about the same size as the animals head (I usually do twice that size)
- Remove foods that are going bad. I usually leave dry stuff until the next deeding, but remove other foods after a couple hours.
- Feed babies daily, young torts every other day, and adults every 3 days.
- Add good vitamins (with B13) to each feeding, and a good calcium supplement to every other meal.


Now- if you are asking this question, I have to wonder about other care issues. is your tortoise getting the right temps, humidity, lighting, pen size, etc.?

Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for good care ideas and some interesting articles.

Answer 3

My Hermann loves anything bright and colourful like grapes, corn, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, ect. But most tortoises prefer lettuce.

Answer 4

romaine lettuce, the most common salad lettuce is not good for reptiles. Dark leafy greens like spinach, collard, and dark green and red lettuce is ok. Just avoid the romaine, it has no nutritional value. To a turtle its like eating cardboard.

Answer 5

I love both fruits and fresh vegetables better, however they look and taste. You desire a little of both.

Answer 6

Follow an increasingly slim protein/green veg eating plan

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

The problem is that there is insufficient nutrients, so you should try other things, for example, soft pears, bananas, and such. But a powdered vitamin mineral supplement is a good idea too. In nature they feel on many things from grass to even mushrooms so a wide variety of vegetables is a good start. Many of mine have eaten canned dog food (Alpo) as well as vegetables, but I have one male Waxy tortoise that only like melons!!!...Do you want him...he is a pain! I enjoy them very much and have bred several species. Experiment with each specimen by offering different things...some will be easy, others need tempted with real delicacies such as flowers. However if he prefers only lettuce, try to shift him to romaine lettuce (it has slightly better nurients in it) but keep up the vitamins and minerals.

Answer 9

No !!! You can´t give your tortoise only lettuce !!it need the correct food to prevent illness !!

DIET

Hermanns tortoises are herbivores and in the wild consume a wide variety of flowers, leaves, and plant stalks. Their natural diet is high in fiber and calcium, and low in protein and fat.

TEMPERATURE RANGE (°F)


Daytime Air Temperature: 70-90°

Nighttime Air Temperature: 60-65°

Basking Temperature: 90-95°

Humidity: 30-50%

HABITAT


Preferred is Mediterranean oak forest, arid, rocky hillslopes with scrubby vegetation.

DISTRIBUTION


Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, southern Italy.

BEGINNER TURTLE


Yes

CAPTIVE HABITAT


If possible, a safe and secure outdoor habitat with plenty of sun is preferred, and it should be planted with a variety of edible weeds, wildflowers, and a little bermuda grass. A southern exposure for basking, and bushes and rocks for hiding will be greatly appreciated. If an indoor habitat is used, it should mimic an outdoor one as much as possible.

RECOMMENDED ENCLOSURE

Adults and even babies should be outdoors, if the enclosure is safe from predators, including birds. For an adult, about 6'x4' should be enough, but the bigger the better. If you house more than one hermanns tortoise together, the enclosure must be larger. Hermanns tortoises are active and will dig and climb, especially if their pen is too small. To prevent escapes, make sure the pen's walls are placed several inches below ground surface and either makes the walls high or place a lip along the top of the wall to discourage climbing.

For a hatchling's indoor enclosure, a rubbermaid container filled with a mixture of organic soil, orchid bark, and play sand makes a nice habitat. Form some hills in the dirt, put in a few rocks, and place a seed tray in one corner to grow some sedum, weeds, and wildflowers. You can also accommodate an adult in a similar, but larger, rubbermaid container. Indoor enclosures need to have UVB light from a bulb, such as a Reptisun 5.0. You will also need a heat lamp for a basking area and a hide box for some privacy. Mercury vapor lamps, which supply heat and UVB, are good as long as the enclosure offers a warm end and a cooler end.

Clean water should be available daily, and twice-weekly soaks are not a bad idea, either. Hermanns tortoises kept outdoors will often make a point of coming out during a rainstorm and drinking from puddles!

CAPTIVE DIET


The best diet is a natural one that allows the tortoise to graze on various weeds and greens. Such things as dandelion, bindweed, opuntia cactus, sedum, plantains (the weed, not the fruit known as plaintain), coreopsis, hibiscus, mulberry leaves, California poppy, mallow, honeysuckle, some vetches, some clovers, bermuda grass, and many other wildflowers and weeds can be grown in an outdoor tortoise pen. It is also possible to grow many wildflowers and weeds indoors and in greenhouses so that your tortoise does not have to rely on grocery store greens, especially in winter. Anything the tortoise might graze on must be pesticide free.

If fed grocery store produce, it should be mixed into a salad and may include endive, escarole, shredded carrot, kale, opuntia, occasional romaine, and occasional pumpkin. The mixed salad diet is low in fiber so it is helpful to sprinkle with bermuda grass hay that has been ground to a powder (a coffee grinder works well). Dust the food with calcium daily, and if the tortoise isn't kept outdoors in natural sunlight, also use a combination calcium-D3 product a couple of times a week. It is also helpful to keep a cuttlebone (with the back removed) in the enclosure so your tortoise can nibble on it if she or he feels the need for more calcium.

Foods to avoid (or to use in very *tiny* amounts) because they interfere with the uptake of calcium: spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, beans, peas, cauliflower, collard greens, beet greens, turnip greens, mustard greens. Fruit also should be avoided because the hermanns tortoise's digestive system can't process it.

COMMUNITY HABITAT


You should not mix tortoise species because of the danger of transmitting parasites and other organisms to which a hermanns tortoise might not have an immunity. It's not a good idea to mix hermanns tortoises of greatly different sizes because of the danger of injury to smaller ones. Do NOT house males together as they may fight. Females may be housed together, as well as a male and 2-3 females. Males are aggressive so keeping one male and one female together is not recommended, although it may work fine in some cases. Hermanns tortoises don’t get "lonely" so they don't necessarily need company..

OTHER INFORMATION


Other Information: The Hermanns tortoise is a beautiful species of tortoise. They are very hardy, stay small, and are quite friendly. There are two subspecies, Western and eastern. The eastern hermanns (Testudo hermanni boettgeri) get a little bigger and are much more common than the Westerns (Testudo hermanni hermanni).


All tortoises need calcium, uva ( 12 hs a day ) , vitamin A, to live.
Remember going to a vet to check your tortoise ! All vitamins and calcium need to be controled by an especialist !
Good luck and please change food !

From Argentina

Answer 10

We tend to think of dog training as a series of steps for teaching particular behaviors. To teach a dog to stay in a particular position, you reward her as she remains in place for gradually longer times, at gradually greater distances, with gradually increasing degrees of distraction. Read more https://tr.im/byqI8

Now, this is fine, training does involve teaching dogs specific behaviors with a step-by-step approach. This week, though, I’m going to discuss three mental habits that will not only enable you train more effectively but also make life pleasant for both you and your dog.

Answer 11

Stroll everyday 30 moments each day