Tortoise Edible Plants & Weeds

Various types of tortoises enjoy weeds, plants and other edible greens. You can feed these types of plants to the following species: Sulcata tortoise, leopard tortoise, indian star tortoise, aldabra tortoise, burmese star tortoise, russian tortoise, greek tortoise, hermann’s tortoise, egyptian tortoise, pancake tortoises and most other species of tortoise for sale.

Recommended tortoise safe plants

• Dandelion (Taraxacum officianale)
• Hawkbits (Leontodon spp.)
• Sowthistles (Sonchus spp.)
• Hawkweeds (Pictis spp.)
• Hawkbeards (Crepis spp.)
• Plantains (Plantago spp.)
• Clovers (Trifolium spp.)
• Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) [preferred by T. hermanni]
• Cat’s ears (Hypochoeris spp.)
• Vetches (Vicina spp.)
• Trefoils (Lotus spp.)
• Mallows (Malva spp.)
• Bindweeds (Calystegia spp.)
• Sedums (Sedum spp.)
• Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis)
• Also (observed eaten by T. hermanni and T. marginata in Greece):
• Robinia (pseudo-acacia) leaves
• Wild clematis
• Acanthus
• Nettles

In practice, the important thing is to provide a variety of fresh ‘natural’ graze. This is vastly superior to ‘supermarket salads’ and will supply a far greater range of minerals and essential trace elements. The fiber content will also be far high than ‘commercial’ salads. If you can manage to grow some of these plants in your tortoise enclosure your tortoises will certainly appreciate your efforts. Not only Mediterranean tortoises will benefit from a healthier diet. Ashley Woods, a Tortoise Trust member who keeps and breeds leopard tortoises (Geochelone pardalis), includes several wild plants in their daily die: