Yellow-legged tortoises are omnivores, and in the wild their diet includes grasses, fallen fruit, carrion, plants, bones, mushrooms, animal waste and slow-moving animals such as snails, worms, and other prey animals . In parks and zoos, yellow-legged tortoises can be fed a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and occasionally animal protein and commercial turtle feed.

When kept as pets, you can feed apples, oranges, melons, dandelions, clover , carrots, worms, turtle vitamins, bony fish and edible flowers and other foods.