Did you know the best way to make sure your tortoise stays hydrated is just good old-fashioned water?
We see a lot of tortoise keepers offering foods with high water content, but very little nutritional value. This is concerning because WHY do you feel your tortoise is not getting enough hydration if you are providing fresh water and areas to soak?
Sure, in the EXTREME heat of summer it’s ok to offer foods high in water content like cucumbers or watermelon as a way to intake more liquid, but these food choices should not be a regular part of any diet. Here’s why:
Foods high in water content offer very little nutritional value.
Tortoises will begin to prefer the less nutritional foods in the same way a human toddler would prefer chocolate milk over regular milk.
Taking in too much liquid can be just as dangerous as not taking in enough liquid.
Diets high in water content can cause frequent and loose stools and frequent, loose stools = dehydration. So you’re actually defeating the purpose of hydration.
If you google “Are cucumbers safe for tortoises” the answer will be yes. Because cucumbers are not TOXIC to tortoises. But if you read further you will see that cucumbers are not a recommended source of nutrition and should rarely be given.
Just like chocolate milk is safe for toddlers…but not something that should be part of their regular diet.
As tortoise keepers it is VERY difficult to mimic the diets our torts would have in the wild. So we have the obligation of providing healthy nutrition, including calcium, and Vitamin D / UVB, to give our torts the best, longest life possible.
