and a good shot it is...

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Posted by EJ on March 07, 2002 at 11:11:24:

In Reply to: Re: Well...let me take a shot at it posted by Dave Ennis on March 06, 2002 at 21:23:16:

because you can't go wrong with variety. This is one of the better lists of food that I've seen and not only just for russians.
I have not found one single study where the minimum daily requirement has been determined for any tortoise. All the diets you read about is based on experience or hearsay. What you have to do is first get back to basics. The tortoise is a vertebrate. It requires protein, carbohydrates and vitamins among other things to grow. What we have find out is the proportions of those components (and here's an important point)for the species being kept in the particular environment it is being kept in. In the wild these animals will feed on anything. What we have to worry about is the overfeeding of too much of any one component. You can't go wrong if you mix it up as much as you can. That includes some of the 'never feed' foods that some folks tout. What you do have to watch is your animal and let it tell you if you are feeding the right components.
You're looking mainly at the crap. It should be a well formed pellet for the most part. That will tell you a great deal about the condition of the animal and the diet. If it is runny, the first thing you do is check for parasites then look at diet. The greens of course is a given. What kind of greens is the next choice. Then the added stuff... fruits and added protein.
Ed

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Re: and a good shot it is...right on EJ! np Dave Ennis 03/07/02 (0)

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: because you can't go wrong with variety. This is one of the better lists of food that I've seen and not only just for russians. : I have not found one single study where the minimum daily requirement has been determined for any tortoise. All the diets you read about is based on experience or hearsay. What you have to do is first get back to basics. The tortoise is a vertebrate. It requires protein, carbohydrates and vitamins among other things to grow. What we have find out is the proportions of those components (and here's an important point)for the species being kept in the particular environment it is being kept in. In the wild these animals will feed on anything. What we have to worry about is the overfeeding of too much of any one component. You can't go wrong if you mix it up as much as you can. That includes some of the 'never feed' foods that some folks tout. What you do have to watch is your animal and let it tell you if you are feeding the right components. : You're looking mainly at the crap. It should be a well formed pellet for the most part. That will tell you a great deal about the condition of the animal and the diet. If it is runny, the first thing you do is check for parasites then look at diet. The greens of course is a given. What kind of greens is the next choice. Then the added stuff... fruits and added protein. : Ed

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