Can Sulcata Tortoises Eat Celery and What Effects to Know?

Can Sulcata Tortoises Eat Celery? Just like other kinds of tortoises, Sulcata tortoises also eat veggies. Among popular vegetables often used to feed Sulcata tortoises, celery often becomes a subject of questions.

Many tortoises’ owners wonder if the veggie is good for their pets. Learn more about how safe it is to feed Sulcata tortoises with celery on the following page.

Feeding Sulcata Tortoises with Celery

So, can Sulcata tortoises eat celery? Generally speaking, you can give your Sulcata tortoise celery and feed them with it. They can even eat the stalk.

However, you need to keep in mind that these animals can only eat celery in moderation.

This is because celery contains low nutrition but is high in oxalates. Your pet can only have this veggie in its diet menu sparingly.

Additionally, providing your Sulcata tortoises with a constantly large amount of celery in their diet every day can damage their health.

This is because the veggie is high in sodium. Not only that, but the ratio of phosphorus contained in celery is unsuitable for the tortoises.

Limiting the consumption of celery in Sulcata tortoises will help them to prevent calcium deficiencies.

Aside from the lack of nutrition, celery is also low in carbohydrates. Meanwhile, the seeds of celery are known to contain diuretic properties.

Due to the texture of celery, small tortoises will find the veggie a bit tough to chew. It can also be a choking hazard if the tortoises are not used to eating celery.

Furthermore, celery comes with a strong taste. In this way, Sulcata tortoises tend to avoid eating it.

Read also:

• Can Hamsters Eat Celery?
• Can Hamsters Eat Blueberries as Their Main Diet?

Preparing Celery for Sulcata Tortoises

As long as you feed Sulcata tortoises occasionally and are given along with other nutritious vegetables and fruits, celery will not be harmful.

If you want to feed your pet with this veggie, make sure that you do the following things.

• Get the celery from an organic store. Avoid feeding celery picked from a garden or unknown place. This is because these celeries might contain dangerous additives. These can be pesticides, urine, herbicides, and other chemicals.
• Once you’ve got the celery, make sure to wash the veggies under warm water. This will make it possible for you to get rid of dust or any residue from the celery effectively.
• Then, make sure that you boil celery in hot water before giving it to your Sulcata tortoises. This process will make the veggie softer. In this way, your pet can chew and digest it easier. However, you need to know that this process doesn’t have to be done on the soft parts of the celery and its leaves.
• You can use a metal utensil to squish the celery once the veggies are completely boiled. Make sure that you squish it until the celery is gooey. However, do not over-boiled the celery since the tortoise won’t like it if the veggie is in liquid consistency. Also, avoid chopping the veggie into small pieces since it might cause choking on your tortoises.
• For the next step, mix the celery with other veggies and fruits that are known to be safe and healthy for Sulcata tortoises.