Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am just looking for any ideas on what people do to preserve food for their torts. I have a pair of cherryhead redfoots and always wind up throwing away bagged lettuce, halves of apples, strawberries, sliced kiwi, etc. because the torts do not eat enough within the timeframe before this stuff starts to go bad. I am assuming this just goes with the territory and everyone else has the same problem, but figured it was worth asking.

I try to buy stuff for my torts that I would also use for my own personal food supply. All of the items you listed are really tasty! In fact, torts often like fruits that are past their prime, so you could buy the stuff fresh for yourself and when it begins to go bad, give it to the torts.

And I've started to compost leftovers.

I didn't mean that you should give rotten fruit to your torts, but that you could give them fruit that has gotten too ripe for your tastes. For example, I like bananas when they are closer to green. I'm not as fond of bananas that are blackened and soft, even though they are still suitable for human consumption.

I don't do this with greens. Greens that have turned brown are composted, not fed to the torts. I've noticed that some greens hold up better than others. Endive and collards last longer than lettuces or mustard greens. It also helps to keep them in a sealed bag with a little moisture.