I am kinda new to this hobby and was hoping someone could answer some questions i have. I recently got two Sulcata babies and they seem to be sleeping a lot. Is this normal?
I have been feeding them lettuce, kale, and carrots. I mix in some vitamin supplement as well. I've read on many other posts that a lot of grass is required in their diet, but I live in toronto and its winter right now and i can't get any grass. i have come across timothy and alfalfa hay in the pet store i go to, but its the dry kind that is used for hamster bedding. Is that what these torotoises eat?
I would appreciate it if anyone could help .
thanks
I think its normal for babies to sleep a lot. Mine does also. I'm not sure about feeding them carrots, at least not on a regular basis. You can buy special grass seed at turtlestuff.com to grow yourself. Mine won't eat the hay because its dry. You can also feed dandelion greens, collard greens, and the like. I recently bought some prickly pear cactus pads for mine and she loves it.
Welcome to the board!!
Coldliz Wrote:I think its normal for babies to sleep a lot. Mine does also. I'm not sure about feeding them carrots, at least not on a regular basis. You can buy special grass seed at turtlestuff.com to grow yourself. Mine won't eat the hay because its dry. You can also feed dandelion greens, collard greens, and the like. I recently bought some prickly pear cactus pads for mine and she loves it.
Welcome to the board!!
thanks for the advice, i'll try it
You can also buy food from reptileeats.com they are a member of this forum and several of us buy from them. I do not know what is available in the stores there but romaine, dandelion greens, chicory and a bunch of other things can be fed. Babies do sleep alot so do not worry. Just make sure he is eating and getting regular soaks. Proper lighting and heat is a must also. There are many different threads in the sulcata section with alot of the info you need. Welcome to the forum!
coolguy Wrote:I am kinda new to this hobby and was hoping someone could answer some questions i have. I recently got two Sulcata babies and they seem to be sleeping a lot. Is this normal?
I have been feeding them lettuce, kale, and carrots. I mix in some vitamin supplement as well. I've read on many other posts that a lot of grass is required in their diet, but I live in toronto and its winter right now and i can't get any grass. i have come across timothy and alfalfa hay in the pet store i go to, but its the dry kind that is used for hamster bedding. Is that what these torotoises eat?
I would appreciate it if anyone could help .
thanks
I have had my Sully baby for 3 months now. My Sully seems to be sleeping a lot as well. Every once in awhile the tort will take a lap or two around its home and goes right back to sleep.
I have also found another website where you can order tort food. I have ordered from them before and the stuff was well liked by my tort.
http://www.turtlecafe.com/home.pl
Agnieszka
oh my god.... i'm so envy you guys. you got to shop for your tortoise through websites. in my country they don't have such website. and it's hard to find particular vitamins or great grass for them. so i usually provide them vegetables only. and occasionally i'll mix calcium powder on the vegetables too.
You can also grind up the dry hay and sprinkle it on their greens to add roughage to their food. a coffee grinder or blender works well for this-and Wheat grass sold live in pet stores if yours has it can add grass to their diet.
Ngumpet, If you can get on line can you order from sites outside your country?
I suggest having hay in the cage at all times. Be sure to have water as well. I would chop it very fine or grind it up in a blender or coffee grinder like Crazy1 suggested. I have a Sulcata that is 14 years old and I use hay as his bedding. You would be surprised at how fast it disappears. Sulcatas need a high fiber diet and hay is the best. I would suggest using Alfalfa at all because of it's high protein content. Hopefully you are using Romaine Lettuce instead of Iceberg which contains mostly water. I would suggest a better variety for your tortoise. Variety is key to a healthy tortoise. Offer a variety of greens & veggies. Carrots are high in Oxalates so they should only be fed as part of a varied diet. I have used the Timothy Hay that is sold for rabbit bedding without any problems. Just remember to chop/grind it.
Good luck with your tortoise and let me know if I can help!
Timothy Hay okay for the Sulcatas? Mine sleep in Bermuda Grass, and eat Orchard and Alfalfa hay mixed up. Tey eat it peridocally, mostly feeding on St Augustine Grass. Am i doing something wrong with that diet?
That diet (the hay part at least) sounds good. Did you know that Bermuda grass is an african grass?
So do they recognize the Bermuda Grass is from Africa, and is that why they are happy with it as bedding? Reminds them of their home origin? Cool, i am doing something right for them.
coolguy Wrote:I am kinda new to this hobby and was hoping someone could answer some questions i have. I recently got two Sulcata babies and they seem to be sleeping a lot. Is this normal?
I have been feeding them lettuce, kale, and carrots. I mix in some vitamin supplement as well. I've read on many other posts that a lot of grass is required in their diet, but I live in toronto and its winter right now and i can't get any grass. i have come across timothy and alfalfa hay in the pet store i go to, but its the dry kind that is used for hamster bedding. Is that what these torotoises eat?
I would appreciate it if anyone could help .
thanks
I adopted a sulcata 5 years ago that was fed grocery store greens only. It took a lot of patience but I eventually got him onto hay. I chopped the green, dry hay along with grass from the yard into 1/4" long pieces and would soak it in warm water for a few minutes before I drained it and put it on top of the dandelion greens, etc. When they are young it is difficult for them to bite off large pieces of dry hay. Think about it... the leaves they eat are attached to a plant in the wild, not loose on the cage floor or in a bowl. I buy calcium carbonate powder from a vitamin store online and sprinkle that on his food-lots cheaper than the pet stores and no potential vit D overload. Of course for vitamin D3 my guy is housed outside since he is now large enough. I also sprinkle a multivitamin on his food once a week. His main diet is the grass (different types) I grow in my yard supplemented with flowers, weeds and occasional shredded carrots etc. Better to give them vitamin precursors when possible to limit vitamin overdosing-especially of the fat soluble vitamins. Look up Dr Sue Donahue's info on sulcatas. She has even written some articles on the microbial gut flora of sulcatas that helps you to understand why fiber length is important. Are they warm enough? Do they have enough visible light as well as the UV source? I would take mine outside in the sunshine for 15 minutes every day while he was little. Good luck.
aka2tal Wrote:Timothy Hay okay for the Sulcatas? Mine sleep in Bermuda Grass, and eat Orchard and Alfalfa hay mixed up. Tey eat it peridocally, mostly feeding on St Augustine Grass. Am i doing something wrong with that diet?
You should grow several types of grass. You can order pasture grass seed mixes online. Try High Country gardens or some native plant nurseries. I saw somewhere recently supposedly selling grass seed native to their habitat in Africa. I'll have to find it again. Of course it is not usually advisable to import foreign plant species. I have planted several different types of native California grasses along with my lawn of St Augustine.