I have been told that excess fibre intake can lead to distension of the gastrointestinal tract – bloat – and that I should avoid feeding too many high fiber foods, is this true?
A. That terrestrial herbivorous tortoises in nature consume very high fiber intakes compared to captive animals is easily confirmed by fecal-pellet analyses. Donoghue and Langenberg (in Mader, 1996) state: Dietary fiber is a concern when feeding herbivorous reptiles. Tortoises on low fiber diets (less than about 12% DM) have loose feces. Although it is not well-documented, low-fiber diets may also predispose herbivores to bloat and/or lactate induced diahrea from too-rapid fermentation of carbohydrate. Far from too much fiber being a concern, then, the opposite is the case according to Donoghue and Langenberg. Wet and loose feces is in fact a typical characteristic, as any competent keeper can attest, supermarket salad and fruit based diets. Jarchow (1984) published a detailed analyses and comparison between a diet based on supermarket produce (lettuce, kale, mustard greens, chard, tomatoes, endive and green beans) and reported crude fiber contents ranging from 6.8 to 14.1%. An equival
