Russian Tortoise Diet question

[marshallbooz]

Hello,
I have a question. What daily hay can I give my russian tortoise? I feed her a variety of greens supplement with calcium and working on adding in safe plants and flowers. What will help best with fiber intake? What hay is safe for daily feeding for russian torts?

[Nina]

Hi and welcome to The Tortoise Table.

Russian tortoises aren't really hay eaters (unlike Sulcata and Leopard tortoises whose diet is composed mainly of grasses and hay). You could try some orchard grass hay, bermuda hay or timothy hay, but they might not be interested. You are right in thinking that they need a high fiber intake though, and 'long fiber' is best, so when you are giving flowers and leaves, include the stems of the flowers and leaves too, unless they are too woody to eat. Coarse material is good for them because it is slowly digested, and a tortoise's digestive system works best when it works slowly.

You can use the filter tool on our website database to produce lists of edible plants for your tortoise. Just go to this page and scroll down to the section called 'How to Use the Traffic Light Filters', and if you have any questions or problems, let us know. https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... -database/

Having said that Russians aren't really grass or hay eaters, my two Russians never paid any attention to grass until a couple of years ago, and then they decided that they liked it and will happily graze on the lawn for hours now. Good luck with adding hays to their diet, and if they take to it then that's great, but if not then don't worry and just keep feeding good coarse weeds and flowers, etc.

Nina

[marshallbooz]

Thanks for your answer. I got it.

[Daniel]

If you want to add more fiber to the diet, you can try feeding PRE ALPIN Testudo. It's really good and recommend by The Institute of Zoology in Munich.

[Nina]

Yes, I second that. Pre Alpin Testudo is the only commercial food that the Tortoise Trust recommends, and Andy Highfield has noted that poos from tortoises fed on this look very similar to poos from wild tortoises (which is a very good thing). It's made by a German company called Agrobs, but you can buy it it the UK, and there are several varieties -- fibre, herbs, baby, classic, etc. but there isn't a whole lot of difference between them so any would do. It comes either loose or in large pellets called cobs, and you soak the cobs in water until they rehydrate and expand a lot (so a little goes a long way).

My tortoises didn't like it at first, but I mixed it with their regular weeds and flowers, and now they happily eat it on its own. I don't know where you live, but because you mentioned 'Russian' tortoises and 'fiber' (rather than 'fibre'), I'm thinking that you might live in North America, and I don't have any links to places where you can buy Pre Alpin Testudo there. Do you have any links, Daniel?

Nina

[Daniel]

Unfortunately I don't, but could aways email the manufacturers and ask if they have a representative in North America.

If in the UK I do know of a couple of places that sell it at a reasonable price.