Russian tortoises are herbivores. Their natural diet consists of grasses, weeds, flowers and sometimes (rarely) fruits. The Best Russian tortoise diet is a high fiber, low protein diet, which is easy to achieve with grass and greens. However, just because Russian tortoises can eat grass, they’re typically not grass-eaters.
You can add grass to your Russian tortoise’s diet for fiber and variety, and it would not hurt your tortoise one bit.
Feed Russian Tortoise Grass
To feed your Russian tortoise grass, you can snip a few inches of the grass and top a pile of greens and broadleaf weeds. Add the snipped grass to a plate of tortoise pellets or your Russian tortoise’s favorite meal. You don’t have to add grass on a regular basis, but once in a while adds good variety to your tortoise’s diet. And a varied diet is a key factor in health and nutrition.
Yard Grass for Tortoises
Although Russian tortoises can eat grass, you may not find that yours readily runs after a plate of grass. If you want to add variety to your pet Russian tortoise’s diet, you can collect yard grasses. Offer a Russian tortoise backyard grass, as long as it is not treated with chemicals and you keep other animal poop, like dog poop, away from your tortoise.
If you aren’t sure if the lawn has been treated or is safe, you can grow grass seeds or buy cat grass from a local pet store. Cat grass is typically rye, barley, oat or wheat grass, all safe for tortoises to eat.
Safe Grass for Russian Tortoise
- Barley grass
- Bermuda grass
- Buffalo grass
- Fescue grass
- Kentucky blue grass
- Oat grass
- Orchard grass
- Pampas grass (often used for shade and landscaping but safe for tortoises to eat)
- Rye grass
- Timothy grass
- Wheat grass
