Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering if some of the more experienced tortoise keepers might remark on what is known about a tortoise's sense of smell and what role their sense of smell plays in what tortoises eat.

I was intrigued by this months advertisement in Reptiles magazine. On page 25 there is a cool advertisement selling Jurassi Fruit. They claim that tortoises will eat just about anything if you spray this stuff on the food that you want them to eat. The spray is offered in both bannana and strawberry scented. Has anyone used this product yet? If you have please report to us your findings.

Thanks

Tortuga

I only have one tort, a sulcata, and it sure seems like he smells foods he is unfamilar with before he eats it. And he hates strawberries and bananas!!

Nikki

I own 2 T. Kleinmanni and had one of them since 1997. I can tel you from my experience that color seems to be more important to them than smell. They go after red and yellow more frequently than green.

Don't you think it kinda makes sense that sight would proceed smell.
Hey, check that out... Looks like... Smells like...Tastes like... Good thing you didn't step in it.
(sorry)

Tortoises will detect food from a distance by it's color, but smell is more important once they locate the food. The reason they like red or yellow is because they are associated with blossoms or fruit. Sight will not tell them if something is toxic, but smell will.

Just wondering...

I have used the Strawberry Jurassifruit. It works!! We have used it not only with our Torts, but also with our bearded dragons, Tegu, and Rock iguanas. They all love it.

I also have found that ordering candy flavoring (oil) in the appropriate flavors and diluting it works just as well. The only ingredient in Jurasifruit is strawberry oil. In mine, its strawberry oil and water.

Tortoises have a very keen sense of smell and they do use it to determine what plants are edible and which ones should be avoided. That's why they will almost always smell something before they eat it. Some people say tortoises won't eat any plants that are poisonous, and some people say they will eat poisonous plants if you have them in the yard. In my experience, they will not eat anything that is dangerous to them. I know some will disagree, but I have experimented and have come to this conclusion. Also, one has to remember, what is poisonous to humans is not necessarily poisonous to tortoises.

They also use their keen sense of smell to find mates and to avoid predators.