[HOME] HOW
TO CARE FOR AUSTRALIAN FRESHWATER TORTOISES
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10 FEEDING
TORTOISES
Some aquarium and pet shop owners in Australia have been known
to tell customers to feed tortoises on dandelion and lettuce.
This just shows how little is known about them : no wonder so
many of them die. Do NOT feed your pets on commercially prepared
'turtle food' as this leads to malnutrition and eventual death.
Australian tortoises cannot live on 'turtle food'.
Tortoises need variety, and the best foods to give them are
as follows: frozen shrimp (Daphnia), frozen beef-heart, tubifex
worms, and Tetra Min Staple Tablet Food, which can all be bought
at aquarium shops. The first two items can be stored in the
freezer; tubifex worms should be kept in water under a dripping
tap. As mentioned before, tortoises like a little vegetable
matter and occasionally chew on water plants.
Other foods which are an excellent part of their diet are finely
chopped fresh liver, cat-food or dog-food, tadpoles, mosquito
larvae, finely chopped lean muscle meat, ox heart, and especially
chopped earthworms. Tropical tortoises may be fed mainly on
the shrimp, small amounts of Whiskas cat food (commercial pet
food contains a lot of vitamins), minced meat no preservatives
or fat) and Tetra Min tablets. The other foods are given as
a special treat when available. Try to give them as often
as possible. The main thing is plenty of variety, no preservatives
and no fat.
Many adult tortoises are very fussy about their food. If you
find that your tortoise will only eat red mincemeat and refuses
other foods, don't worry. Tortoises who are kept outdoors find
food in their pool-water, such as mosquito larvae, insects,
and possibly tadpoles and worms. If you try giving earthworms
to your tortoise, you might have to chop them up, as they may
be too big to swallow whole.
FEEDING TORTOISES
(continued)
The construction of tortoises' necks makes it easier for them
to take from overhead rather than from below.
Tortoises should be fed once a day. They may often appear to
be greedy, but they merely eat as much as they require. A tortoise
with a four-inch long carapace should have a daily ration lump
about the size of a pile of ten twenty-cent coins. Babies should
have about one third of this. Frozen food can be put into the
water in lumps - it will soon thaw. Australian tortoises
can only eat when they are submerged in water. On
land they cannot swallow. As a basic, staple diet, I recommend
the frozen shrimp, which can be given almost every day,
One good method of supplying food is to buy two or three pounds
of fresh ox-heart, cut off the fat and gristle, mince it very
finely, then wrap small amounts in plastic, and freeze the lot.
Each packet can then be defrosted the day before it is used.
Tortoises need Vitamin D to nourish their shells. Vitamin D
and direct sunlight are
closely associated. Sunlight filtered through glass loses most
of its Vitamin D-giving rays, so whenever possible, give your
pets some hours in the sunlight, with shade available to them.
Cod liver oil is a good vitamin supplement for tortoises. I
give it to them with an eye-dropper when they are outside. Don't
give it to them when they are in their tank, unless you want
very oily water. If they won't open their mouths for the oil
(which they don't), just drop some on the outside of their mouths
and hope that it seeps in. Or you can give the oil to them on
their food.
Adult tortoises have been known to catch unwary birds bathing
in their pool. They grab their prey by the leg and pull it underwater.
MENU:
Tortoise Descriptions:
PAGE 1 PAGE 2 PAGE
3
Indoor Living Quarters: PAGE
4 PAGE 5 PAGE
6 PAGE 7 PAGE
8 PAGE 9
Outdoor Living Quarters: PAGE
10
Feeding: PAGE 11
Hibernation: PAGE 12
Ailments: PAGE 13
Behaviour and Intelligence: PAGE
14
How Old is the Tortoise? PAGE
14
Dangers: PAGE 15
Reproduction and Sexual Differences PAGE
15
References: PAGE 16
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