Alimentação da Geochelone sulcata

Torna-se difícil em Portugal alimentar correctamente uma tartaruga de esporões africana, a Geochelone sulcata.
Com efeito, todas as ervas que lhes são comummente indicadas como alimentação base são difíceis de encontrar, tanto em meio natural, como já preparadas.

Deixo um resumo, retirado de www.sulcata-station.com, muito bem conseguido, na minha opinião (está em inglês mas tem os nomes em latim, o que facilita todas as pesquisas).


"Recommended Diet Items

Now, after reading about all the things that you shouldn't feed your tortoise, you may be thinking, "What on earth am I supposed to feed this little guy/gal?"

The goal in feeding your sulcata tortoise should be to imitate Mother Nature. You should try to provide those items that the tortoise would encounter in its natural range, and in roughly the same proportions that it would encounter. If you can do this, you will find that your tortoise has few, if any, health problems and will grow slowly and steadily, with little to no pyramiding. Below is a list of items that SHOULD make up the diet of your sulcata tortoise:


1. Grasses -- Grasses should make up at least 75% of your sulcata tortoise's diet. You should try to supply as many different grasses as you can from the following list:

Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides)
Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon -- which actually originated in Africa!)
Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata)
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Little Bluestem (Andropogon scoparious)
Western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii)
Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
Arizona Fescue (Festuca arizonica)
Lawn Fescue (Festuca arundinacea)
Sheep Fescue (Festuca ovina)
Creeping Red Fescue (Festuca rubra)

The best way to provide the grass-based diet that a sulcata requires is to have a large, safely-enclosed outdoor yard in which you can plant various types of grasses for your sulcata to graze on. This will allow your tortoise to graze at will, while he gets exercise and exposure to sunlight. Owners who can provide a tortoise yard don't have to worry about overfeeding, or whether the tortoise is getting enough UV exposure.


2. Edible Weeds, Leaves, and Flowers -- These items should make up the remaining 25% of the diet, if possible. Make sure that any plants you feed to your tortoise have not been treated with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. If you buy a plant from a large chain store like Lowe's, Home Depot, Do-It-All, etc., re-pot the plant in organic potting soil and wait a couple of months to feed the plant to your tortoises -- it will take a while for all the fertilizers and/or pesticides used by the store to leach out of the plant. Here are some recommended plants for sulcata tortoises:

Dandelion -- both the yellow flowers and the leaves
Prickly Pear Cactus pads (Opuntia species) -- You can scrape off the needles with a sharp knife or burn them off by holding the pad over the flame of a gas or propane camp stove.
Broadleaf Plaintain or Buckhorn Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago lanceola)
Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea grossulariaefolia) -- flowers and leaves
London Rocket or Tumble Mustard -- leaves only; they tend to reject the flowers
Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) -- flowers and leaves
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) -- flowers and leaves
Roses (Rosa species) -- flowers only
Sowthistle
Chickweed
Hibiscus (Hibiscus species) -- flowers and leaves
Mulberry (Morus species) -- leaves only; give the mulberry fruit to box turtles.
Geranium (Pelargonium species) -- leaves and flowers
Grape -- leaves only; give the fruit to box turtles or make wine!


3. OPTIONAL) Leafy Greens -- Use these only as special treats for your tortoise. This means you can feed these items in SMALL quantities, once or twice a week. These items are NOT necessary, but they can serve as a nice treat for your tortoise, or as a way to get them to eat calcium and vitamin supplements.

Some dark leafy greens contain significant levels of a compound called oxalic acid. This compound affects the way that the body absorbs calcium. If you can, choose greens that are lower in oxalic acid, and feed them only in small quantities as treats.

Leafy Greens that are relatively low in Oxalic Acid: Leafy Greens that have higher levels of Oxalic Acid:
Romaine Lettuce
Arugula
Collard Greens
Turnip Greens
Dandelion Greens Mustard Greens
Spinach
Kale
Broccoli
Cauliflower

Many people asked us to clarify this recommendation. Basically, a couple of kale or spinach leaves givento your tortoise once in a while is probably fine, if the tortoise is eating grasses and weeds most of the time. On the other hand, feeding your tortoise only kale and spinach will lead to it having health problems. The key concepts here are small quantities and infrequently."