The Tortoise Table

Can I feed my tortoise grass from my yard?What weeds are poisonous to tortoises?

Hi Alishakihn and thanks for contacting us.

Yes, you can feed your tortoise grass from your yard, as long as it hasn't been sprayed with a weed killer, or recently had fertilizer applied. Some species of tortoise, like Sulcatas and Leopard tortoises, feed almost exclusively on grasses and they should form more than 75% or their diet. Other species of tortoise might or might not eat grass, depending on their personal preferences. What species do you have?

Regarding weeds, there are literally thousands of species, so it does depend on what species the weed is. If you go to our database here https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ you can use our Filter tool to produce lists of plants that are either poisonous or not good to feed to tortoises (most weeds will be in the wildflower section). Go to this page and scroll down to the paragraph headed 'How to use the Traffic Light Filters': https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... -database/ and follow the instructions (if you leave only the 'red' box ticked you will see only plants that are not good to feed).

Alternatively, if you know the name of the weed you are interested in, you can type it into the search box that is on every page of the website, and then when the short result comes up, click on See More to get the full entry.

If the weed you are looking for isn't in the database, then just send the name of it to us at contact@thetortoisetable.org.uk and we will look it up and get back to you with advice on whether it can be fed.

Hope that helps,

Nina

Thanks. Now I know food of tortoise.

I just raised a baby Leopard turtle. I've only been feeding it grass for a week but really want to add more protein because I'm afraid it lacks nutrients. I have seen people feed their turtles maggots, worms, and even pureed pork. Can I feed these to my turtle?

You should definitely not feed your Leopard tortoise maggots, worms, or pureed pork. There is a difference between tortoises and turtles: tortoises are animals that live on land and turtles live in the water. Your Leopard tortoise needs to have a diet that is over 70% grass and the rest can be other good leaves and flowers. Leopard tortoises need a high fibre but low protein diet, so you don't want to add more protein to his diet. Turtles live in the water and many of them do eat animal protein like maggots, worms, etc., but this is not true for Leopard tortoises. Would you like to send us a photo of your Leopard so that we can determine if it is a tortoise or a turtle?


Nina