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| Sunday, 21 November 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Tortoises : Watch their diet
When you first bring your tortoise home, it is best that you take your pet for a check- up to the vet. Though it may appear to be healthy, the stress of being brought home and placed in a strange environment may cause a hidden problem to surface. This is so even with wild animals in long term captivity and captive - born animals. Many believe that tortoises naturally acquire almost all their fluid requirements from food and therefore they do not require additional drinking water. But unlike in the wild, in a captive situation, tortoises can easily become dehydrated, especially when water is not provided for drinking. As for all other animals water is very important for tortoises. Being an arid species, they can extract much of the water from their food. Even though they do not need a regular source, keep a shallow bowl of water in the pens. When kept indoors, soak them for 20 minutes in chin deep water every 2-3 days. This allows you to inspect them frequently and also keep the cages much cleaner. Tortoises are grazers and enjoy broad leaf plants. The best diet is a variety of weeds (leaves and flowers). There is a real concern among tortoise lovers about abnormal growth and poor health due to improper diets. There are also certain 'anti-nutrients' in plants that if given in large quantities could have a negative impact on the health of the animals. The true key to a healthy diet is variety. Most tortoises are 'programmed' to eat a lot in a short period of time. In the wild they are active only a few months of the year. When they come out of hibernation they feed voraciously in preparation for aestivation (spending the summer in dormant condition). In captivity they are active most of the year and can easily over - eat. Also if kept in an indoor pen they get less exercise than in the wild. These two factors can lead to rapid growth and a shortened life span. For this reason their diet should be restricted and monitored. When kept outdoors they can be allowed to graze freely. Supplementary food can be fed daily in small amounts. If you can divide the pen into three parts, grow fresh crops in one third of it. The following food items should be avoided for a variety of reasons: all fruit(although fruit is often recommended, its sugar content can lead to parasite blooms), all grains (including bread), dog and cat food, meat and pellet type food. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Tortoises are certainly not animals you could pet and relate to, like
cats or dogs, but many of you may be having them as pets. Just because
they have a hard shell and are able to protect themselves from many
dangers, don't think they don't need much attention. All pets, no matter
what they are, need to be given special attention.
