Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: What is the proper nutrition for a tortoise?

[DanielRES1180]

Honestly, if you know all the proper care for a tortoise, what is the proper diet? My friend has a tortoise and I think that he doesn't put all that variety of food into its diet because he feeds it strictly lettuce. Like other cases, he says I over indulge my turtles and that I take them too seriously. He says there is no necesity for sites like Red Ear Slider because it's so simple. He says it's just a bowl of water and a land mass, keep the water clean and that's it. How do I inform him that he needs to put more variety into the turtle's diet? It's pretty sticky.

[marisa]

A good site for your friend: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/webdiet.htm

[DanielRES1180]

I couldn't e-mail him, but I memorized pretty much the whole thing and spoke to him on the phone, but I got the "It's only a turtle" comment . His parents have the same attitude I guess. It's just not worth it. He told me he used to have two 8" turtles in a 50 gallon Rubbermaid container . I don't know how to snap him out of that thought process, he once again told me I over-care for my turtles, and that's considering that my setup is crappy. Imagine what he'll say when I upgrade and all.

[marisa]

Don't you think the article would have more of an impact on your friend if he saw those pictures?

[DanielRES1180]

I think he has no internet connection, but I'll try to copy and paste all the important info on Wordpad.

Yay, it's my 100th post, although people could care less

[DanielRES1180]

I just talked to him and I'd rather refrain from what he said, alls I'm telling is that he said that you guys should get a life because you're making turtle care harder than it really is. I'll still give him the care sheets and what not tomorrow.
I don't know if this is a reliable source since petco doesn't have a good reputation with some people, but click here to see if this care sheet is correct http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_AfricanSpurThighed.pdf

[marisa]

Is this the species of tortoise he has? It would be a start. Can you print out the article from that link I gave you?

How are you presenting your views to him? Sometimes people are made to feel defensive, and if they do, they won't listen to anyone...

[DanielRES1180]

He's putting much more variety in the tortoise's diet. It would be really good if you could put a sticky in this forum on the proper nutrition for a tortoise, so people could print it out and not rely on URL's for info, so it would be in this site black and white.