Mediterranean Tortoise Diet - Hermann's, Horsfield's, Greek, Egyptian and Marginated.
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- Опубликовано: 17 ноя 2024
- Hi everyone, this video goes into detail about Mediterranean tortoises diet, supplements, baths and general care. If you have any questions, let me know and I hope you enjoyed seeing Sheldon tucking into his favourite foods :) Please check out my other tortoise care videos :)
This diet information should be suitable for all species of Mediterranean tortoises; Hermann's tortoise, Russian tortoise (Horsfield's), Spur-thighed tortoise (Greek tortoise), Egyptian tortoise, and Marginated tortoise, although it would be a good idea to do some of your own research to make sure as diet advice is always changing :)
Useful tortoise links;
Tortoise Trust: www.tortoisetru...
Taking care of pet tortoises: www.tortoisetru...
Shelled Warriors: www.shelledwarr...
The tortoise Table: www.thetortoise...
My Facebook: / thesmallpetshop
Check out my updated diet video as some advice has changed in the last 7 years: ruclips.net/video/ANwwPyYdSL4/видео.html 😊 🐢
You are such a marvellous caring tortoise owner! If only all owners of tortoises could be so attentive to their needs. The more I read about torts the more I realise how important it is to give them the proper diet and life. That I do, I hope. Mine have big variety of weeds in garden and big safe run. Your Sheldon is adorable!
Thank the Gods your Tort is out in the sunshine & enjoying some natural sunlight and exercise plus natural food beyond shop dried coloured crap or lettuce ! I know many don’t have huge or perhaps any gardens but most folk can get access to a bit of ground once in a while- where the Tort can forage and surely feel less than imprisoned for half an hour. He’s alert & enjoying those greens - Lucky Tort 😁🐢👍new forest pixie
I have a Greek/spur thighed tortoise, I've had her for 6 years :) great video x
learned a lot, thank you. you have such a beautiful soothing voice
***** Awww thank you so much, I'm so glad you liked it :)
Shelldon is so cute!
Thank you so much :)
Brilliant video. I use the tortoise trust too. William the tortoise and I couldn't do without their advice. x
Thanks I really enjoy your videos I don't know when I can send it but it will be in the next 2 weeks for sure
Ok,
thanks for the info im getting my hermanns tortoise tommorow and i am so excited!!!
I have a Russian Tortoise named Anna that basically has the same requirements as the Mediterranean Tortoises. One thing I would give some caution to is giving too much calcium D3 supplement as it can be toxic to their liver if given too often or too much and can cause bladder stones too if over used. As you point out natural sunlight is best in the warmer months with a UV lighting set up for reptiles in the winter months with indoor housing. Here in Virginia I let my tortoise eat almost anything in my pesticide free garden/yard except for buttercups which are toxic to all tortoises if a significant amount are ingested. Also, too much clover is on the high side for protien so as you point out make sure the tortoise gets a variety of weeds when it browses and grazes. In the winter months I can find wild dandelions until it snows and luckily the grocery store carries them. Grocery store greens can be fed in the winter months a list on the Tortoise Trust is listed and getting organic is best. I avoid spinach at all costs as it can interfere with calcium absorbtion. Good video and your tortoise looks like it is very happy and healthy.
Hello, I just have a little query about bathing tortoises.
I try to bathe mine very regularly, and I use this bathroom sink to do it, usually after bringing him in after a long day wandering around in his pen outside.
I fill the water to what I reckon is a good temperature and put him in and he seems to relax. After a while the water cools and I go to refill it.
I try to bathe him for longer, to assist with defecation and such.
But after that first or second refill he usually tries to clamber out of the sink, to no avail due to the slippery sides.
I'm pretty confident that the waters I use shouldn't make him uncomfortable, but me and my family have had small arguments over whether it's cruel to keep him in the bath when he seems to want out.
What do you guys think?
If it seems like he should want out after around 5 minutes in the dip (about as long as it takes for it to cool the first time) should I take him straight out, or should I stick to my guns and keep him in longer, 'cause I've found before that it seems to help him defecate usually after the second refill at least.
great video on the Mediterranean diet
Thank you :)
MA FishGuy i love your channel
MA FishGuy hi
super video, very helpful and informative on what's right and wrong
Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it :)
+TheSmallPetShop can you please tell me if this is normal my tortoise always sleeping he just over 1 years old he's from Turkey he's out in the morning eats and goes back in his hiding hole please help
This is great. one question I have. I've adopted a Hermann's that hasn't had the best start from its previous owner but I really want to rectify that. How much food should I roughly be giving him a day? I don't know his exact age but I'd estimate around 3-4. He measures roughly about 18cm in length. Your videos are great so thanks again.
Hello, a really great video with useful information. Do you hibernate Sheldon, and using what method?!
He lives in a tortoise table in my sitting room, I would only recommend keeping them in a main room if it is pretty quiet though :)
Thank you, I have not hibernated him yet because I brought him home at the beginning of last winter and when I got him he was on a poor diet. I didn't want to hibernate him while I was changing him on to a healthy diet because hibernation can be dangerous and I wanted to make absolutely sure he was the right size and weight for their age. He is now on a good diet of fresh weeds, flowers and grasses and is a good weight and size so I'm planning to hibernate him this year :) I will use the...
Great tips, Adorable tort love the shell!
I've never really been told about the temperature of the water, but I give Sheldon warm soaks, he seems to like it better :)
Great video with lots of useful information!
Regarding 5:22, tortoises actually can swim, at least some of them, including Hermann's. However, you should obviously never force them to do it! Also, if there isn't a shallow bank where they can easily transition from swimming to walking, they won't be able to get out of the water and thus eventually drown.
Aww your tortoise is adorable
They grow in my garden but when I didn't have a garden, I bought seeds from the shelled warriors website and grew them in pots on my window sills :)
Thankyou, I wasn't to sure xxx :)
Thank you, he is :) I have filmed bathing a tortoise, I just need to edit that. I am planning on doing diet and housing videos for all of my animals eventually because I think informational videos will hopefully help more people :) I will try and get a rabbit diet video up soon :)
idk if someone else has said this, but Hypericum is actually not good for tortoises. You are probably confusing it with Hibiscus, which is perfectly safe to eat. Also, there are some other weeds that you listed that aren't generally considered good for tortoises.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, I have just cropped that part out of the video so no one else makes the same mistake as me. I didn't actually confuse it for hibiscus, I made this video 5 years ago and a lot has already changed in the world of tortoise care. Hypericum is still listed as a safe plant on the Shelled Warriors site: www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/site/Edible_Weeds.html which at the time was conssidered by a lot of people as one of the best sites. I no longer use this one for feeding advice although I do buy seeds from them. This highlights the importance of checking multiple sites before feeding. Time for an updated diet video I think :)
Great video! I just loved when Sheldon was trying to tear off a piece of weed near the beginning and almost tipped sideways trying to get it! What a sweetie! ;) And oh that nipplewort - who comes up with these names? lol
Well no one entered my contest so your the winner!!!! Just because I love your videos!!!!!!
Thank you so much :) They are awesome! I've found it really difficult to find un-biased information on tortoises online, everyone seems to be trying to sell me something XD
Awesome name for a tort :) x
Great to listed to...very good info as i Collect my Marginated from a breeder next week x :-)
He is amazing I'm hopefully getting a horsfield or one of your breeds
Nice video! Anyways, today I got my pet tortoise from the Downsview park expo. Since I live in Canada all the tortoises are sooooo expensive. In America they are 100-200 dollars but in Canada they are 500 - 1000 dollars! I got my Hermann tortoise for 475 dollars. But they were selling for 500. My tortoise is called Timmy and is about 5 cm long from head to tail! He is so cute.
I make sure he has food throughout the day if he wants it, I top up his food about 3 times a day and change it when it dries up under his light :)
I'd be so happy to be ur pets cause u take such good care of them
Awww thank you so much, this made my day :)
Thank you so much XD don't worry about not having many entries, competitions are a bit hit or miss, sometimes you get loads of entries and sometimes you don't :)
Variety is definitely the main thing to keep in mind :) I am lucky that way, he pretty much eats everything I put in front of him, his favourites are milk thistle, dandelion, yarrow,clover, forget-me-not and Timothy grass :D
So i live in scotland and it isn't very sunny through the year it has been sunny for about 2 weeks and i have had my Hermann tortoise outside some of the days which is good, But when he is inside I feed him pellets with the water to soak it and sometimes some Peppers&carrots which she likes. But Im not sure what type of flowers & leaves to feed her because there isnt much around where i live.There are dandelions and stuff but not alot what should I feed her to help the calcium & keep her healthy
Hi, I have a 2 year old Hermann's tortoise called Yoshi. I made him a tortoise table for him which he always wants to climb out of. Do you know why this is?? He had sufficient lighting and heating. He also isn't eating much at all which worries me. Any advice? Thanks
I plan on growing my own weeds for my guy but what should i feed him until then? Also i want to give him live vegetation in his indoor enclosure but i am not sure if the seeds will grow indoors. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
thanks for the video, very helpful. I recently adopted a mediterranean tortoise and I have alot of questions if you can recommend a good forum or someone I can ask that would be helpful
It's also advised that if you were going to keep males and females together that you keep one male to 2-3 females to avoid the courtship being too violent.
Hi, I currently use Nutrobal
It makes it more complicated to explain to people the difference between turtles and tortoises though, I always get people commenting on how cute my 'turtle' is XD
Hi there, please can you tell me if I have to starve my baby hermann for two days every week? I read somewhere that it’s important so their digestive system can catch up.
Thank you, I love his markings :)
Can u do a video about hibernation
I have a problem ! I'm hopefully going to get either a Herman or horse field tortoise and I want to be able to take him on the garden (so that he can eat all the stuff like grass and weeds ) but I have two I dogs and I don't want my tortoise eating poo and wee , any ideas?
By Phosphorus free, do you mean no added Phosphorus? Because everything has Phosphorus in it. Also, how much food do you give him? Thanks :)
I guess the next video is going to be guinea pig or rabbit diets? It would be cool to have a rabbit diet video :) your tortoise is cute
Excellent video! You take amazing care of sheldon :) Keep it up!
great video, I'm going to get a russian tortoise next month, thanks for the info!
You're welcome :)
So they can, I had no idea and of course had never thought of trying. I will never make him swim and don't really agree with the people making them swim at all, I think it's cruel. Sheldon will be sticking to shallow baths. Thank you for correcting me, I might never have known :) Although I will still advise people against even trying, they are much better on land :)
What time of the day should the tortoises be fed and how many times? You mentioned how they can digest their food the best with heat.
Xplorer627 Yes, they need both heat and UV light, here is a video about how much to feed: ruclips.net/video/QQwQiuPDJds/видео.html
thanks you have helped me a lot
Another quick question , where do you keep Sheldon ?
Thank you so much, I was wondering if cucumber and little gem lettuce is ok to feed my Hermann tortoise ? It was a really good video, very informative
+Mags Nash I discuss vegetables in this video at about 4:31 the odd piece of vegetable is fine but not suitable for a day to day diet because they are not high enough in fibre, too high in natural sugars and veggies from the supermarket can have pesticide residue on them. Hope this helps x
Thank you what should I fed him on then?
There is a list on this video. You need a variety of fresh flowers, weeds and grasses. There is a plant database here where you can search any plant and see if it can be fed: www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp
and an article on feeding here: www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/webdiet.htm
Thank you for getting back to me
Hi I am getting one of these and could you tell me how big these turtles get ... I heard if you keep it in a small cage but just big enough for them they would stay that small is that true ??? but if not how big do the get when fully grown ???? thank you for your time
your tortoise is awesome :)
thanks for the tips.
Thank you :) You're welcome x
I am planning to do it soon :)
Hello, I have greek tortoise and I can not find weed anywhere, neither do I know what weed is, then what can be done?
I know the grassland tort food is very healthy...But My RT is very stubborn....Should I mix it with romaine. he tends to like that...HE also likes the fruit smelling torot pellets..But I heard that's not very good for them...so im trying to wean him off of it...what can I do?
I personally wouldn't recommend pellets, they are too low in calcium and fibre, too high in protein and sugar, and not a natural diet. It's best to make their diet as close to their natural diet as possible. Supermarket veggies such as lettuce have inadequate fibre, pesticide residue and too much sugar so does not make an ideal diet. I recommend a diet made up of fresh edible weeds, grasses and flowers. I explain more about it in this video: Mediterranean Tortoise Diet - Hermann's, Horsfield's, Greek, Egyptian and Marginated.
How do you get your baby hermann tortoise eat calcium my kids tortoise won't eat them if I dust them in his greens
2:36 best shot of the whole video!
Are there big differences in personality between Hermann's, Russian and Greek torts in general? Looking to get one!
Heya. Was watching for some general tips. I was quite surprised you feed him yarrow as it is listed as toxic for Mediterranean tortoises in a really good book I follow when foraging for my little guy. I just thought I'd warn you. I hope Sheldon is keeping well.
Hi, Sheldon is doing well thank you. You are right, yarrow is no longer recommended as it’s been reported to cause eye issues. This video was filmed 7 years ago when it was listed on recommended feeding lists, I will cut that part out of the video to save others making the same mistake of feeding it. I have an updated video now too with some more up to date information: ruclips.net/video/ANwwPyYdSL4/видео.html 😊
Thank you, he is a sweetheart :)
I will send you a link to the tortoise trust page on winter diets. This is only meant as a shot term diet though because weeds, flowers and grasses are the most natural and what they are built to eat. I grow dandelions, white clover, yarrow, milk thistle, evening primrose, chick weed, forget-me-not, aslike clover, and I keep a few bags of the shelled warriors 'quick grow mix' to hand which is ready to pick in a week. I tried growing them indoors and they sprouted really quickly but then just...
What if you don't have time in the morning to go into the garden to get weeds and grass
Hi, I'm planning on getting a hermann tortoise and i'm wondering if you keep him in a tank or something and if so what size?
My tortoise Is the same sort of tortoise as yours but a bigger we feed him lettuce, spinach, tomato and occasionally a bit of strawberry but he hardly eats it. He eats a lot of grass though when he's walking around the garden is all this food ok for him? :)
Shelldon looks pretty healthy :)
Thanks, he does :)
What do you do about supplements and stuff , I know they need calcium and vitamin d
My big sisters bf dad got my tortoise for me and said to give it peas but I have done lots of research and every one hasent recommended peas, I feed my tortoise water cress is that ok and lettus, I have a small sheet to tell me what to do, I bath him every mon, wed, fri fresh water everyday fresh food every 1-2 days spot clean all the time, clean out every 2-4 months and change his cage design every 1-2 weeks :) xx
What species is your tortoise? If he is Mediterranean, that is not a suitable diet and you are right, peas are not okay. I explain about supermarket veggies in this video and why they are not suitable (this includes lettuce). I would ignore the sheet you have been given and do your research from trusted website such as The Tortoise Trust. They need to be cleaned out every 3-4 weeks and have fresh food every day. I need to know what species it is before I can help though.
Thanks for the in depth comment, It's great to see you have done so much research on a balanced diet. I find that I am always tweaking his diet as I come across new info. This video isn't too in depth but thought it would be a good start for anyone who doesn't know where to start. It's pretty daunting to begin finding a diet for them but this can be a good starter :) I am not totally anti shop bought veggies in moderation (I use some in winter to supplement the weeds I can grow inside) but I find that many people only feed veggies and the fibre content is not there so I try to encourage other things instead. Thanks for the comments :)
How could you give a outdoor tortoise calcium? She doesn't eat from a dish or the floor, she is hand fed cause shes akward. She does get bread and in this recent heat shes had a shower everyday. Plus she gets the odd bean too but not often. I never knew any of this about a tortoises diet x
Thank you, I will try and fit it in soon, they are pretty much in the same place as they were when I did the new piggie room video (about 5 videos ago), but I need to do updates on them soon :)
hi
would it be alright to mix in a small amount of grassland tortoise pellets in with its normal food (because the pellets give extra fiber)
Thank you, he is :)
I would build him/her a secure outdoor enclosure in the garden so you can put him in an area no other pets are allowed so you know he isn't eating soiled grass :) Then you can also leave him outside in nice weather and know he is safe from cats, birds ect :) I am building one for Sheldon soon :)
Sometimes it's quite hard to feed a picky tortoise :/ but I've found that variety is the key :) is Sheldon very picky? He seems to really enjoy the weeds he tearing at c:
Awesome name for a tort :) x
I also feed my tort chopped carrots & green beans (fresh not canned) in addition to spring greens. he's actually a very picky eater, won't eat any fruit, kale, or pellets.
If I try anything he doesn't like he will walk on top of his food dish covering it and grunt at me.
ok we have a baby box turtle and we feed him a mix of salad greens and out side worms and snails. she loves all of it we got this diet on the net are we feeding her wrong?
I gave him one cricket (the first day i bought him) and he did not eat it. He did not look at it, sometimes it came just before his face and still no reaction? what can i do so he will eat living insects? I would appreaciate if you would reply! (sorry for this bad grammar) :(
peace
Thank you :) I believe it is, I use 10.0 bulb for my tortoise :)
Hi there, what brand of supplement do you use for Sheldon?
Has the soaking water to be luke warm or cold?
i loved this video ! what weeds can i feed my tortoise? x
Thankyou :) Im getting 2 female tortoises on Saturday for my birthday :D
You could put some supplements on the food you hand feed her, she could also be provided with a cuttle fish. It depends on her species as to what her diet should be but bread isn't a natural part of any tortoises diet and I really wouldn't recommend feeding it to her. Look at the tortoise trust website for her diet x
Is it safe to let them roam around and eat? I've been meaning to get a tortoise and it would be great to feed them just all natural plants. Is feeding my tortoise grass or some plant from my yard okay? Thank you for the video. Very helpful
It depends if your garden is secure, has been sprayed with any pesticides or fertilisers, could be accessed by predators or if you have any toxic plants growing there which he/she will be able to gain access to. I always supervise Sheldon when she is roaming in my garden or put her into a secure run. This website is great for searching plants to see if they are safe for them to eat: www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/
TheSmallPetShop okay thank you🙂
Hahahaha I wondered if anyone would spot that XD He is a little dear, he is the most laid back animal I have ever had, give him a garden and he will be happy for hours :)
Thank you so much, that means a lot to me :)
Do you only use calcium supliments? Thanks :)
I've been upswing a kutle fish but where can I get calciem powder a part from in a pet shop.
Amazon
I recently bought a cozie for my tortoise from this girl who makes them, but can I put it on him as long as it's not too long?
👑YourQueenJess👑 You could put it on for photoshoots as long as it doesn't stress him out but I wouldn't leave it on because it would stop him being able to absorb heat and light through his shell.
Great help thanks
You're welcome :)
Are there any websites you could recommend where I could buy food for my tortoise? I have a Horsefield and he is called Diego.
I buy seeds or plugs to grow my own food from here: www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/
It would be worth doing lots of research and talking to some knowledgeable people on reptile forums, I know nothing about breeding because I don't breed my tortoise. Tortoises are solitary animals in the wild and only come together to breed so I only have one. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help, I recommend the tortoise trust website for reliable tortoise information on most species.
L0ve your vids! Is the uv/uva output 10.0 enough for a juvenile Horsefield Tortoise?!
How often do you feed him? X
Hi +Thesmallpetshop i am getting a horsfield tortoise and I'm just wondering about a few things, can they live in pairs? Can they live outside in the summer? If they can live outside do they have to have any uv lights or aything like that? If you read this thank you very much xxx please comment back
I lOVE your channel!