can you over feed a tortoise if so how much should they eat?

Answer 1

This is a slightly tricker question to answer than you might think.

In the wild, tortoises get pretty much the food, water, sunlight, rest, etc. they need. Most tortoises try to grow quickly since as a rule of thumb, the bigger males are the most successful and the bigger females are the most desireable. besides- big tortoises have few enemies.

In captivity, however, there is evidence that over-feeding causes problems besides simple obesitiy- kidney problems, bone development issues, and even shell probelms are all considered side effects of either over-eating or of some related problem.

As a rule of thumb, we figure a serving of food to be about the same amount as the size of the tortoise's head... although I often 'cheat' with certain kinds of foods, such as Timothy hay for grassland tortoises and dandelion greens for forest tortoises.

A young tortoise should get fed daily with a healthy variety and an occasional dusting of vitamins and calcium. Be careful to not overdo the vitamins or calcium- they should get most of them in the food!

As the tortoise gets over a year, it can be fed larger meals less often.

Of course, if your tortoise is kept outdoors, it can graze more freely. Try planting a good crop of safe foods for it in its pen, and then supplementing that occasionally with othr foods as needed.

Answer 2

Yes you can. Overfeeding on the correct food is nearly as bad as feeding on incorrect food. Some people suggest you should just give enough greens to cover the shell of the tortoise. Others suggest removing uneaten food after 20 minutes. You are aiming for a slow, smooth growth. Try this guide for good advice on diet.

Answer 3

I would say contact the tortoise trust. Or grab the book tortoises for dummies. You will get heaps of info in there!

Answer 4

I dont think you can over feed them they tend to eat what they want and love variety so it is important to give them variety so they dont end eating too much of the same sort of food.

Answer 5

yeah sure you can its very difficult to say how much to feed it all depends on their age size etc.. you should check the back legs you may notice fatty patches around the thighs, they should also be able to get thier back legs all the way into their shells.

Answer 6

yes..i think you can