Can Russian Tortoises Eat Carrots
Russian tortoises can eat carrots. Feeding Russian tortoises with carrots tops every day can lead to health issues because carrot tops are a source of oxalic acid. Oxalic acid can interfere with calcium metabolism and it can cause kidney or bladder stones. So tortoises should eat carrots once a week.
Tortoises are allowed to eat carrots; whether or not they should is going to come down to their individual preferences about them, and is ultimately up to you as the owner. Even then, not every tortoise will like carrots, so you might find they are left out or ignored if you do offer them. For other tortoises, they can consume liberally, so you need to be mindful of how much you are offering and providing. Raw carrots are far better for tortoises than cooked carrots as cooked carrots will have lost much of their nutrients due to cooking.
Tortoises should only eat carrots on the side, sparingly, due to the higher levels of protein, and potassium. Sulcata turtles should eat only the tops of carrots as they contain a high amount of oxalic acid that may cause stones in their kidneys and bladders. Do not give the Russian tortoise any extra carrot tops, as that is a source of oxalic acid. This oxalic acid may disturb calcium metabolism and lead to kidney or bladder stones if the tortoises are fed excessive amounts of carrots.
Similarly, carrots have a compound called oxalic acid that may cause problems with absorption of minerals, particularly calcium, which is extremely important to tortoises and their shells. Sulcata tortoises should only eat the carrot tops sparingly as they have a high level of oxalic acid that can inhibit the absorption of calcium at higher levels and may lead to kidney and bladder stones. If a tortoise is fed moderate amounts of carrots along with other vegetables, it may be able to obtain adequate amounts of calcium and phosphorus from carrots. You can cut the carrots very finely and mix it in with the other vegetables before feeding it to your tortoise.
For the most part, you should give small, chopped pieces of carrots to the tortoise, if you choose to feed them at all. If your tortoise is younger than 10, you cannot offer him/her carrots, as he/she needs to eat meat. Either way, offering carrots to your tortoise is fine — and doing so may have benefits (such as providing vitamins/b-carotene), but you have to take into account the context, and obviously, the other foods offered in their diet.
| Types | Diet |
| Russian Tortoise Diet | Leafy greens (collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, spring mixes, chicory, endive), vegetables like bell peppers, squash, and carrots. |
| Horse field turtles | Eat lots of dark, leafy greens, like collard greens, clover, wild mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, mulberry leaves, and ficus leaves |
Some owners have gone as far as not feeding carrots at all; either because their tortoise has no preference or tastes for them, or the ratios of oxalic acid to calcium/phosphorous means better foods are available. Tortoise owners often differ in the frequency of carrots that they provide, but there is general agreement that they should never be a staple, nor should they become a daily supplement in a diet. In the following Tortoise Food List, we have provided the Tortoise Food List for foods they cannot eat, or that should be eaten in very limited amounts.
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Russian Tortoise Diet They ideally need to consume a high-fiber diet consisting of hay, dark leafy greens like collards, cabbage, and rutabagas, mustard greens, and dandelions, as well as various vegetables including zucchini, corn, bell peppers, carrots, peyote, and sweet potatoes. Russian tortoises mostly prefer leafy greens (collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, spring mixes, chicory, endive), but they will eat vegetables like bell peppers, squash, and carrots.
Horsefield turtles need to eat lots of dark, leafy greens, like collard greens, clover, wild mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, mulberry leaves, and ficus leaves. Most of the food for your pet tortoise should be fresh vegetables, such as cabbage, dandelions, mustard, and collard greens, depending on your tortoise species. A desert tortoise diet may benefit from the addition of vegetables, particularly dark, leafy, vegetables that are high in vitamins and minerals.
Tortoises can eat many vegetables and plants, and you can plant several in a vegetable garden that is designed just for your tortoise. Tortoises typically eat vegetables like lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, potatoes, apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, apricots, plums, melons, grapes, figs, strawberries, and carrots. Tortoises are hardy creatures, and can survive without food for months, provided that other needs are met.
In captive situations, we frequently expose our tortoises to a lot of food, which makes them easily overfed, resulting in shell growth deformities and other health problems. Giving tortoises too much food can result in serious problems, including deformed shells, like pyramids, in turtles. If you feed the tortoise lots of vegetables and other plants, like flowers and grass, they get sick.
Not only does this limit how much fruit you can give it, it could severely harm its internal organs. Some vegetables that you can feed sulcata tortoises include; cabbage; mustard; dandelions greens; avoid feeding a large quantity of spinach, collard greens, and any other greens which may contain huge amounts of oxalates. Although the diet for tortoises is mostly grassy, you can also possibly include insects in a Red-footed Tortoise diet, since it may give them some limited protein that they need.
Mediterranean tortoises are not very fruity eaters either, so feeding fruit should be minimal. This is because Mediterranean tortoises do not eat fruits in their natural habitat, therefore, their digestive systems are not prepared to handle fruits. Russian tortoises may be able to consume apples, but only sparingly, with no apple seeds, but experts advise against feeding apples to Mediterranean tortoises such as Russian tortoises, as they lack the ability to digest the high sugar content in apples and other fruits.
Now, that is one group of tortoises who can eat fruits with ease, and can even eat vegetables such as carrots with moderation. The diet provided for tortoises may include dark leafy vegetables, as well as carrot tops, collard greens, romaine lettuce, mustard greens, cabbage, and beet greens.
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Carrots also contain many other trace minerals which are beneficial for tortoises, such as chlorine, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and sodium, which can be seen in the chart above. As a note, Baby Carrots are also washed in clean water to remove chlorine, making baby carrots safer for tortoises to eat.
What vegetables can Russian tortoises eat?
A high fiber diet consists of hay, dark lettuces, greens like collards, kale, turnip, mustard, and dandelion greens, as well as a variety of vegetables including squash, corn, peppers, carrots, prickly pear cactus, sweet potatoes, is ideal for them.
What should I not feed my Russian tortoise?
You should not feed your Russian tortoises meat or insects because they are herbivores. Instead, you can feed them a calcium supplement to make sure that they have an adequate calcium intake. You can also give them calcium powder by mixing it with their food twice a week.
Is it safe for Russian tortoises to eat carrots?
It is safe for all types of tortoises to eat carrots, but they shouldn’t be fed more than once a week. It is recommended that you feed your Russian tortoise no more than three carrots at a time, and ensure that you provide it with a wide variety of vegetables rather than a single vegetable.