Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought some butternut squash to feed to my cherryheads this week and they love it - problem is, it's too hard for them to chew...they usually wind up biting at it for a while and just scraping off little bits, and then giving up.

I thought about boiling it to make it soft, but am concerned that will rob the squash of its nutrients. Any thoughts or advice?

have you tred finely chopping it? i've done that with things my redfoot couldn't easily eat (especially when he was really little). he won't get as much exercise form eating it, but at least you don't risk losing any nutrients that way.

You can also grate the raw squash with an old fashioned food grater (watch your fingers). Or you can put it in the microwave to soften it up a bit. I do this with sweet potatoes. Make a few holes in the squash with a fork to let steam out, then microwave it. You will need to experiment on the length of time required to get it soft enough for your tortoise.