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terracolson · 02-23-2010, 04:24 PM

Do you use spring mix?

How often do you use it?

What do you alternate with?

maggie3fan · 02-23-2010, 06:31 PM

I use Spring Mix regularly. I buy the biggest container I can buy and I add other leafy greens to it. I add as much as I can and I cut it all in small mouth sized pieces. I don't feed Spring Mix to Bob, just to my smaller tortoises. Like I said I add other stuff to it. As much other stuff as I can buy. Collards, kale, butter lettuce, red leaf, green leaf, romaine, I can't think of the other stuff I use but you get the idea. I feed hatchlings or yearlings twice a day. My bigger tortoises get fed once a day or every other day. Fat Nat is my adult Russian and she gets fed every other day. The ones that I feed twice a day I feed less then I would if I was feeding once, I hope I am making sense for you. It's experienced instinct so it's hard to tell how I do it or why actually. I feel if I feed less then they are more prone to be out and active looking for food. Babies are babies and are more prone to sleep more and that means being less active, and I think that if I am spending my money to feed and clothe them that they should be out and active and entertaining me...ha ha ha

terracolson · 02-23-2010, 06:44 PM

Ok.. I just figured out what spring mix was.. I can be kind of slow.....

I was buying every thing separately, well today i stumbled upon, dandelion greens and spring mix all in the same area in the store.. I was like, nice D' Greens better than my own yard and spring mix had so much in it.. i was like wow..

Now for my leos, what do you think about putting some of my grass clippings in there.. they are being picky over what outside greens they eat.. they seem to prefer the dichondra and not the oat grass or burmuda.... So you think i could just mix it all up and feed them that every day?

what about the saying to much kitchen food will cause loose poops?

maggie3fan · 02-23-2010, 07:12 PM

I would mix it all up just like you are suggesting. Bob gets loose poops from the fresh produce so about twice a week I feed him some Mazuri and his poop firms right up. It has a lot of hay in it. I would add some fresh greens to the Spring Mix, then I would cut some grass and put that with the Spring Mix and then I would sprinkle some local grass hay over all of it. Whew! That's hard work!

terracolson · 02-23-2010, 07:37 PM

I wish mine would eat the Mazuri, I finally got one tricked to eating it tonight.. but only a few bits...

Vet told me to get my dog to eat his food on time and finsih it for his diet mix a table spoon of pumpkin with it... Well the dog at his food..
so i tried it with my babies, one pebble of mazuri and a little more pumpkin than mazuri... he took about 10 bits after his bath..

I feel satisfied i found his sweet tooth, and i am glad i bought those pumpkin seeds for this year

Meg90 · 02-23-2010, 08:45 PM

I use spring mix every day. Every other week or so I alternate with a different green. I also have a day or two each week where they get mazuri along with their SM. But if you'd ask, I'd def say its the staple in their diet.

jobeanator · 02-24-2010, 06:26 AM

spring mix is the staple diet for mine too. but its always good to mix it up with other greens/weeds for your tortoises too.

Tom · 02-24-2010, 07:12 AM

I don't use spring mix unless I get it for free from the catering trucks on set. I find it costs too much, gets wilted too quick and my weeds, grass and cactus are free and easier to get. Nothing wrong with it, just not as convenient for me. It seems like the trend in the "african tortoise diet world" has been moving away from store bought greens and I was a member of that trend. After hearing the opinions and success of the members here, I have reconsidered. As time has gone by, I think now, more than ever, I'm a member of the "lots of variety club". I think Maggies' suggestion of mixing it up and adding grass and weed clippings is a great way to go.

Some tortoises (just like some birds) are creatures of habit and they eat what they've eaten before and show reluctance to try new things as they don't recognize it as food. When I switch birds from an unhealthy "seed" diet on to a healthier pelleted diet, I have to sprinkle pellets on top of their seeds for a good 3-4 weeks. They usually just shove them out of the way. Eventually, I begin reducing the amount of seed and increasing the amount of pellets. The combination of seeing that "stuff" in their food bowl everyday for a month and hunger since there is less seed will usually get them to try it. Once they try it, they usually love it and switch over very easily. I've used this technique with tortoises many times and it has never failed. Tortoises seem to make the switch much quicker. Eventually, they seem to reach a point when you've done this with enough new and different items, that they just start eating whatever you put in front of them.

Your original post gave me pause, as I've never had a picky tortoise of any species or age. I guess I just use this technique all the time without thinking about it, so after I've had them a short while, mine seem to "like" everything.

Stephanie Logan · (This post was last modified: 02-24-2010 07:38 AM by Stephanie Logan.)

(02-24-2010 07:12 AM)Roachman26 Wrote: I've never had a picky tortoise of any species or age.

Well, Tom, I'd say that you have never met Taco, the Picky Eater Queen. Cool

I've read on this forum that most tortoises should eat a pile of greens about their body size each day. I do the Happy Dance if Taco eats 1/4 that amount. To be fair, she was horribly neglected, being fed only Romaine lettuce for the first three years of her life, so you are absolutely right on that she "doesn't recognize new stuff as food". Because she would only eat grapes and watermelon (before I educated myself on this forum and knew that fruit was not good for her), I now take a little pile of spring mix, add about a teaspoon of butternut squash, a small chunk of red cactus fruit (thanks Spike!), half a mushroom (Stagger Lee and others), a piece of watermelon or a grape, and one softened Mazuri pellet. All this is chopped fine, dusted with TNT or calcium and voila! Taco salad. Tongue

She'll eat about 1/4 to 1/2 of this no matter whether I put it out at 6:00 when I get her up, or 10:00 after she's warmed up; whether I put it on her feeding tile or scatter it to several locations. I always leave it till she goes to bed in her hide at night because one time--just once--I saw her nibble on the remains on her way to the hide at night. Rolleyes

Yesterday I decided to give her just Mazuri, since so many TFO tortoises love this stuff. So I put four softened pellets on her tile, and even left a grape enticingly sliced just next to them to lure her over...she didn't touch the Mazuri or the grape, choosing instead to eat nothing, even though she'd had some play time rambling around the sun porch to work up an appetite....*SIGH* Rolleyes

terracolson · (This post was last modified: 02-24-2010 08:01 AM by terracolson.)

Right now i am working with my baby leopards,
( the other guys i havent provided food to yet, since its still so cold out side.... I check with them on warm sunny days and still not eating... They may be awake, but i dont think there really awake.... I think there mad CoCo pushed every one outside and cant go all the way back to sleep since the warm days are so close... I had to clarify that..)

Now it seems the hatchlings, are developing there taste buds, i have been introducing every thing nice and slow to them.. and really the intro of spring mix was a very big thing to us. We have had a variety of items, romaine, dandelion, kale, grass flats, prickly pear (spineless my ass) and carrots....a few flowers and such... Since all of those items were finally accepted, over the past couple weeks, i wanted to go with a better variety....

So i tried the spring mix, I had to remove some spinach leaves, but it was a hit as well as the store bought dandelion greens... the stems were so thick! they loved it so much better than my garden ones... it was so cheap as well 1.99 for a huge amount. I bought one of those vegetable savers for them, and the spring mix was only 2.99... i will get a saver for that just havent yet.. the dandelions filled up the other one.....

I did get them to eat a few bits of mazuri covered in pumpkin.... i guess i will plan on that being a treat for them pumpkin covered mazuri for the next few months.... then hopefully they will acquire the taste...

oh yeah.. Thank you guys ladies

Tom · (This post was last modified: 02-24-2010 08:42 AM by Tom.)

(02-24-2010 07:37 AM)Stephanie Logan Wrote:
(02-24-2010 07:12 AM)Roachman26 Wrote: I've never had a picky tortoise of any species or age.

Well, Tom, I'd say that you have never met Taco, the Picky Eater Queen.

I've read on this forum that most tortoises should eat a pile of greens about their body size each day. I do the Happy Dance if Taco eats 1/4 that amount. To be fair, she was horribly neglected, being fed only Romaine lettuce for the first three years of her life, so you are absolutely right on that she "doesn't recognize new stuff as food". Because she would only eat grapes and watermelon (before I educated myself on this forum and knew that fruit was not good for her), I now take a little pile of spring mix, add about a teaspoon of butternut squash, a small chunk of red cactus fruit (thanks Spike!), half a mushroom (Stagger Lee and others), a piece of watermelon or a grape, and one softened Mazuri pellet. All this is chopped fine, dusted with TNT or calcium and voila! Taco salad.

She'll eat about 1/4 to 1/2 of this no matter whether I put it out at 6:00 when I get her up, or 10:00 after she's warmed up; whether I put it on her feeding tile or scatter it to several locations. I always leave it till she goes to bed in her hide at night because one time--just once--I saw her nibble on the remains on her way to the hide at night.

Yesterday I decided to give her just Mazuri, since so many TFO tortoises love this stuff. So I put four softened pellets on her tile, and even left a grape enticingly sliced just next to them to lure her over...she didn't touch the Mazuri or the grape, choosing instead to eat nothing, even though she'd had some play time rambling around the sun porch to work up an appetite....*SIGH*

Let Taco come to my house for a few months and we'll see how long that pickyness lasts! Vee have vays of deeling wit zis! Moo ha ha ha haaaaaa!!!!!

Seriously though, if there is a health issue, that is a different story. Taco is a very special case, with a very special person.

tortoisenerd · 02-24-2010, 10:26 PM

I'd only feed spring mix if you don't have access to chemical free weeds, grasses, and greens (I don't). Its a great staple. I feed it as about 50% of my Russians diet. The rest is 1-2 other greens a week with the spring mix for the other 45% (I rotate through a list), once a week Mazuri as part of a meal, once a week squash/pumpkin as part of a meal, and a salad topping of cactus when I have it in the house. You can sometimes find brands without the spinach. Trader Joes has a 5 oz bag for $2 where I live, or if we are going to need a lot, Costco has the best deal for the giant tub for < $4. Whole Foods also has surprisingly competitive prices (better than grocery stores but more than Trader Joes & Costco). Some of the grocery stores in my area also have a bulk spring mix if you want a tiny amount or want certain things out of it (I'll get extra radicchio as a treat for example without buying a whole head of it). It's all based on location...for example, turnip greens are nearly impossible to find near me but everything else is very easy. As for pumpkin and butternut squash, if the fresh stuff is a pain for anyone, Whole Foods and other places have it canned/pureed and it freezes. Makes a nice "salad dressing". Best wishes.

terracolson · 02-25-2010, 09:20 AM

I do have access to the grasses, they have it in there enclosure, but they are hatchlings and i have noticed they only graze on the dichondra, so i am mixing the weeds and grass in the spring mix...and they have access to dandelions all day...

They are eating like little pigs actually, so i wanted to make sure it was ok for them to eat...

i have to trick them to eat Mazuri... but i have figured it out, cover it in pumpkin and they will eat it, but they dont eat much of it....

chadk · 02-25-2010, 09:39 AM

"So i tried the spring mix, I had to remove some spinach leaves"

No need to remove the spinach. It has lots of good vitamins. Just don't use it as the main staple. If it accompanies a nice variety of high fiber dark leafy greens, your tort will be fine.

None of my torts (3 sullies and 2 russians) are picky eaters. But my lizards and box turtles can be.

tortoisenerd · 02-25-2010, 09:05 PM

I would not feed spinach because it is high in oxalic acid, and there are many greens that are lower in it that I prefer (collard/mustard/radish/dandelion), and greens that have almost none (turnip and lettuces). Matter of opinion, but do the research and make your own decision. Most of the high fiber leafy greens either have high oxalic acid content or can cause goiter (kale), so that is why weeds and grasses are best, and otherwise lettuces and greens.