Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought some meal worms in a can to feed my red foot. He has eat crickets and grasshoppers before. Judging from his stool, the mealworms did not appear to digest what so ever. I have stopped feeding them to him until I can find some info out. Is this hazardous to him? Is he not obtaining any nutritional value from them?

I dont really think mealworms or any insect are the most approiate food for your redfoot (or any tortoise really). Heres what my torts eat:

Dandelion greens, endive, escarole, turnup greens, sometimes romaine, timothy hay (for the leopards), some fruit for my redfoots (canteloupe, strawberries, tomato, mango, ect), and of course Ive never seen any tort that wouldnt eat moistened MAZURI tortoise chow.

Check out www.tortoisetrust.org for articles on what and what not to feed tortoises. They have an article that specifically addresses redfoots. I would bet that most on this board would agree that intentionally feeding insects is not really the correct thing to do. If you are trying to give your tort protien just feed a bit of mazuri tort chow, it has more than enough protien for a redfoot. Just because the tort will eat insects doesn't mean the should eat insects. Anyone have anything else to add???
Hope this helps...

-Ian

One more thing...

I think that mealworms are digestable, I have fed them to insectivires (gekos, bearded dragons, ect) with no digestion problems. But as I said before, I wouldnt feed them to a redfoot...

-Ian

Are you sure they can't eat meat and probably should eat some insects or meat based protein? Because I thought I had researched this when he first arrived at the house and he was the only tortoise in my bunch that needed some meat based protein. I checked your site www.tortoisetrust.org and it said to feed him meatbased protein. "Both of these large South American tropical tortoises are omnivorous to a greater or lesser extent." Isn't that what omnivorous means? That was their exact wording. It also went on to say that during the dry season 20% of their diet is made up of carrion. Which, if I am not mistaken is meat. Plus, to anyone that is concerned, I do not feed the insects live. I have heard of some disastrous effects and since he will eat them dead, and it probably doesn't make to much of a nutritional difference, he gets them dead.

Many people are starting to realize that most tortoises are omniverous. Most are opportunistic feeters.

Many of these ideas are based on one observation and it is propagated when that one observation is use as a reference time and again.

By now, in the case of the RF, I'm sure there is more than one observation but at the same time there are more and more observations of other 'herbiverous' tortoises feeding on carrion. This does not mean that you should go out of your way to feed carrion but it does suggest that carrion can be added to increase variety.

As to feeding meat... I don't see a problem there. Where the problem pops up is the fat that is usually attached to the meat. This is why I can never understand why some folks ever suggest any canned dog/cat food for tortoises.

I would think bugs and small rodents (if you can stomach it) are the way to go.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

>>...bugs and small rodents ... way to go.

...do you realize that would put alot of stress on global economy when da Turts and Torts took over those pests firms on this planet

>>I dont really think the most approiate food for your redfoot (or any tortoise really). Heres what my torts eat: ...

...really? did you try cat foods, pinkies or even birds like some of our RF folks on here...

.

...must i??? shouldn't this da free country as we know it

these are the fav for wet-feeters (aquatics/semi aqua/box turtles...), there has been reports that the larger type where their exoskeleton was so tough, once ingested by turtles, not only they didn't got digested but alive and managed to DIG their way out through all that guts...that's gotta hurt...