Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a yearling cherry head redfoot, and I follow the diet reccommended by most people on this forum, with the 2 days of greens, 1 day fruit, 2 days greens, 1 day fruit, and 1 day protein. She only eats a small amount each day, and I end up throwing out a lot of the fresh fruit I buy because it goes bad before she eats it all. Does anyone know if it is okay to feed her with those little dole fruit cups or something like that? I wasn't sure because they usually add sugar to those. Any input would be great! Thanks!

I would steer away from as much sugar as possible. You might try chopping some fruit up and sealing it in ziplock bags, or the like. You might also try freezing the fruit after chopping it up then defrosting only a small portion that you will be serving to the tortoise.

-Kory

thanks! i wasn't sure if it was okay to freeze the fruit, if it would take away any nutritional value. thats a good idea, though, and it will definately save me from throwing out so much rotten fruit.

If the fruit is frozen for a long period of time it will loose value, but it should be okay for a month or two. I freeze cactus fruit at times and it seems to be just as fresh when I thaw it out. There is probably some loss but I'm sure the other foods I offer that are fresh balance things out a bit.

I'm also sure that freshly cut up fruit that you freeze will be better for your tortoise than prepackaged fruit that has any sugars or preservatives added.

Another thing you might also consider is sharing the fruit with the tortoise! I do that quite often. It's made me a healthier person. Just a thought!

-Kory

good advice about sharing Lucy's fruit! i almost never eat fruit, so I probably should help her eat it. thanks