蔬菜 Veggies
盾盾初來時 76 g，由於寵物店一直餵飼蔬菜，暫時只好跟隨，雖然知道牠們較適合用牧草餵詞。另外, 盾盾亦不肯吃其它東西。
When Tun Tun first came, she only weighed 76 g. I fed her veggies to begin with since that was what she used to have in the pet shop although I knew that African Spurred Tort would do better on hay. Besides, she had no interest in other foods
至於蔬菜，由於盾臂龜很容易有結石問題，絕對不能餵十字花科菜 (如菜芯、芥蘭、西蘭花、白菜、椰菜花等... 它們均有四片花瓣排列成十字形的花)。至於豆類亦不合適，因蛋白質太高。
African Spurred Tort are prone to have stone problem. Do not feed them Cruciferae (a.k.a. crucifers, Brassicaceae, charaterized by the four petals making a cross on their flowers). Examples include choy sum, kale, broccoli, bok choy and califlower. No beans either. They are too high in protein.
有關十字花科菜 More on Cruciferae:
Chinese
English
水果水份太高，未能提供足夠纖維素, 暫時也不行。我在初期 (龜重100g 前) 只餵油墨菜 Indian Lettuce、唐生菜 Chinese Lettuce 及羅馬生菜Roman Lettuce (不要和生菜Lettuce混淆呀)。盾盾很喜歡吃油墨菜 ，可能因味道濃吧！
Fruits are too high in moisture (not enough fiber), she may have some later in her life but not now. I only fed Tun Tun Indian Lettuce, Chinese Lettuce and Roman Lettuce until she weighed more than 100 g. Tun Tun loved Indian Lettuce probably because it was stronger in flavour.
由於幼龜喙子不能切割太硬的東西，蔬菜洗淨瀝乾後可剪至 1 - 1.5 cm，同時需把莖部及較粗葉脈移除。跟據台灣龜友經驗，喙子受傷後就算有手術做也不會縫針，只等天然癒合。蔬菜洗淨後才剪則可減少維他命C流失。
Baby tort can injure their beaks from biting food that are too hard. The beak does not always recover though. Even if you take the injuried tort to the vet, the vet may not be able to do anything (e.g., stitching is not possible) but to let the wound heal naturally. I removed the stem and the main vein from the leaves and cut them into bit size pieces (1-1.5 cm) for Tun Tun just in case. Prior to that, I washed the veggies carefully. If cutting is done before washing, more vitamin C will be lost during the process. So wash the veggies first, drain, then cut.
對於幼龜，有機菜是一個較好選擇。 盾盾這麼小(體重)，相信少量農薬亦對牠有影響吧，故我會盡量餵牠有機菜，或澈底洗淨和浸泡非有機菜才給盾盾。有時我會預早洗淨蔬菜，瀝乾水份後放於膠盒，儲存在冰箱中，蔬菜一般可存放數天，餵盾盾前才把蔬菜剪細。
Feeding your tort with organic green is a good idea as they are free from pesticides. Tun Tun was so small in size so even a small amount of pesticide could do damage. I fed her organic vegetables whenever possible. Or I washed and soaked my veggies very well before giving it to Tun Tun. Sometimes I prepared my veggies ahead of time. I washed and drained the veggies and put them in a plastic container. They can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Prior to feeding, I cut the leaves into small pieces.
盾盾小時候不是吃得很多，一日少於三塊葉子，相對其體型才算大食吧！通常牠於每天早上及黃昏約六時至六時半進食，進食時間非常有規律。
Tun Tun did not eat much when she was small. Well, relative to her size, she ate a lot. Baby Tun Tun ate less than 3 leaves a day. She ate in the morning and in the early evening (around 6 – 6:30 pm). Her lifestyle is quite routine.
以手餵飼能使龜龜更快信任主人，盾盾第一天以能用手餵飼，當然牠較大時, 我可要小心手指。
Hand feeding builds trust between the owner and the tort. Tun Tun was able to be hand fed the first day she arrived. Only need to be careful with your finger especially when the tortoise gets big.
