# Mazuri torotise diet LS



## j156ghs (Dec 14, 2014)

I couldn't find the usual (plain old, I guess) Mazuri brand at my local store but there was new reformulated version called _Mazuri tortoise diet LS_, and the ingredients list included "dried apple pomace," which is new to me. I've been feeding my Hermann's this version for a couple months -- along with other items, both pellets and fresh food, and notice his feces has increased in size since and now sometimes he acts as though he's trying to swallow but having trouble; this gag-like reflex goes away within a couple minutes though. I did call the vet, and she reminded me his last fecal sample showed some pin worms but that these are often present in this species. I'm taking him in for an exam, of course, but thought I'd post this and see what others might think, given the depth of cumulative experience on this list, and in case this information/observation might be of value to someone else. Thanks!


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## j156ghs (Mar 22, 2015)

After my experience with LS, I won't use it again, ever. (My original post last year told of how my Hermann's got impacted. I had him for four years, and it was only after feeding him LS that he got sick and died. Coincidence? Can't really say. Also, I was doing the same thing that someone else who replied is doing: crushing LS and mixing it with other products that he did like. In retrospect, I don't think that was smart. If a tortoise doesn't like something, don't disguise it with things he does like. My little guy might still be alive today if I hadn't done that.)

I spoke by phone with the Mazuri guy who said he was involved in the research and development of the new formula, and he seemed steadfast that it was OK to feed "dried apple pomace," an LS reformulation ingredient, to a young, basically non-fruit-eating tortoise because the pomace contained antioxidants. I said, "But so do many other things, especially vegetables that a tortoise will eat. Why feed him apple-based stuff?" He said it was what research showed was good. I'll leave it at that. Buyer and beloved tortoise owners beware! (The caller ID was "Land O' Lakes", which I guess is owned by Ralston Purina, which owns the Mazuri brand from what I can figure.)


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## wellington (Mar 22, 2015)

Yes, purina makes the Mazuri brand foods. A lot of members that have tried the new LS have not seen good results as far as their tortoises liking it. I had to buy a small bag last fall until I could get the regular stuff and my tortoises wouldn't eat it either. I won't buy it just for that reason. 
So sorry to hear about the death of yours, that's too sad.


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## teresaf (Mar 22, 2015)

I JUST finished a complaint to the company because I had bought some LS through amazon. the package on amazon website showed the regular nugget type mazuri food but I received these real hard to soften pellets that my little buggers wouldn't TOUCH. They wouldn't touch their greens and stuff either even after I removed the stinky offensive junk. I only wanted to try them because my torts are forest torts and the LS is supposed to be geared towards them. My torts tend to love the nuggets but don't like anything pellet, although, the grassland stuff is good.

j156ghs ...you can usually ALWAYS find the regular mazuri nuggets in different sizes on amazon.com


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## ZEROPILOT (Mar 23, 2015)

A note to Red Foot owners: Your tortoises will not like or eat the type LS.


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## teresaf (Mar 23, 2015)

j156ghs...Perhaps you can call the person you were talking too about the mazuri LS again and tell them about all the bad results you are hearing from us and request that they reformulate their blend using the regular mazuri as a starting block since all the torts tend to love it? It can only help them. I'm leaning towards a bad review on amazon about the junk but waiting to see if they refund my money or send me regular mazuri so I know how many stars to give them. I will definitely plug this forum on my review, of course. ; )


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## teresaf (Mar 23, 2015)

zeropilot...it's not just redfoots. I have burmese black mountains and j156ghs has hermanns


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## Blkjkoknhrt (Mar 24, 2015)

Mine just won't eat it. I refuse to feed mash of many items, how abnormal! He carefully ignores the Mazuri and eats every other scrap. Do I want to starve him to make him eat? NO! Variety is what keeps tortoises eating. 
Look at the ingredients - never mind the apple. Ground soybean hulls, GROUND CORN, Dehulled Soybean meal, GROUND OATS, WHEAT MIDDLINGS, then chemicals and finally vits and mins.
Would you feed your Tropical/Grassland/Desert tortoise - box turtle on corn, oats and wheat in any amounts? I wouldn't.

Just sayin'


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## ZEROPILOT (Mar 24, 2015)

I don't remember ever reading a post where the author said that their tortoise liked the type L.S.
A mash or mushy, ground up food is a little more normal for a Red foot. They eat a lot of rotten things and dead animals in the wild. (Mushy is on their menu.) About 60% or what mine eat has been chopped up in a food processor and then placed on a plate surrounded by assorted leaves and flowers.
Your comment on the ingredients is valid!


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## Blkjkoknhrt (Mar 24, 2015)

Thanks for the info. Still learning about different diets...it's foliage and grasses fro mine.


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## Turtulas-Len (Mar 24, 2015)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I don't remember ever reading a post where the author said that their tortoise liked the type L.S.



Here's one for you. I have 3 Sulcatas, a Leopard, and a Indian Star, All of these tortoises eat the LS Mazuri dry, I crumble it for the Star because of his smaller size. I have some forest dwelling tortoises that I have never offered the LS type. My oldest Sulcata (Walker) who I have had since a 1996 hatchling wont touch it, -but he is one spoiled tortoise- I have been feeding the new LS to these 5 tortoises since it became available and haven't seen any ill effects form it.


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## teresaf (Mar 24, 2015)

I tried to soften it for my tortoises because they're babies. It took forever to soften in warm water. how long would it take to digest stiff like that dry? Right now they potty EVERY day. I can just imagine what feeding this stuff will do long term. They didn't like it anyway so the point is moot.


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## leigti (Mar 24, 2015)

teresaf said:


> I tried to soften it for my tortoises because they're babies. It took forever to soften in warm water. how long would it take to digest stiff like that dry? Right now they potty EVERY day. I can just imagine what feeding this stuff will do long term. They didn't like it anyway so the point is moot.


I tried the LS type for my Russian just to try to add variety. I couldn't soften it well with water so I ground it up in a food processor into basically a powder. Then added water to it and mixed it with greens. My tortoise wouldn't touch it, I gave it every day for a week and she still wouldn't touch it. So I marked it up as an experiment. I won't try again, and I won't try the other type either. I feed my dog and cats around diet, I guess I will continue to do that with my tortoise also.


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## daniel reyes (Mar 25, 2015)

LS stands for low starch and it is not fed very often to tortoises by Rescues or Zoos, it is only fed on occasion. Most feed stores do not even carry it and will only order it if they get a special request. At my rescue we only feed the standard Mazuri Tortoise diet.


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## teresaf (Mar 25, 2015)

When I ordered it, it was because of the fact that it seemed geared towards forest type tortoises which mine are. If regular mazuri(nuggets) are good enough for my babies then I'll continue feeding it to them. They love it. Not a hardship at all.


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## Tom (Mar 25, 2015)

teresaf said:


> When I ordered it, it was because of the fact that it seemed geared towards forest type tortoises which mine are. If regular mazuri(nuggets) are good enough for my babies then I'll continue feeding it to them. They love it. Not a hardship at all.



The LS is not geared toward forrest types. It was designed to have grass hay as a primary ingredient for grass eating species.

Incidentally, I don't care for the LS either. It won't get mushy when soaked and none of my tortoises will eat it plain. THe peices are too large for small tortoises too. This is not a problem with the regular stuff since it turns to mush in water.


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## Tom (Mar 25, 2015)

j156ghs said:


> ...and now sometimes he acts as though he's trying to swallow but having trouble; this gag-like reflex goes away within a couple minutes though.



The above symptom sounds like a respiratory infection.

It is possible that your tortoises death had nothing to do with the LS.

In any case, I'd like to offer my condolences on your loss.


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## teresaf (Mar 25, 2015)

Tom, perhaps *geared *was the wrong word. Mazuri is _designed for dry land herbivorous tortoises _whereas Mazuri LS is _designed for both arid and tropical species. _According to their ads on Amazon anyway. It's weird how one company can produce two foods for the same animal and get such OPPOSITE results...


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## Tom (Mar 25, 2015)

teresaf said:


> Tom, perhaps *geared *was the wrong word. Mazuri is _designed for dry land herbivorous tortoises _whereas Mazuri LS is _designed for both arid and tropical species. _According to their ads on Amazon anyway. It's weird how one company can produce two foods for the same animal and get such OPPOSITE results...



They spoke about this product at the TTPG conference in AZ last year. They said that many of the people keeping grassland species were not happy with the ingredients list of "regular" Mazuri, so they specifically formulated this new one (LS) around blended timothy hay as a primary ingredient to satisfy the keepers of grass eating tortoises. No reason it couldn't be fed or marketed to other species too, but they told us it was designed for sulcatas, leopards, DTs, etc.

I have not seen the Mazuri marketing stuff, so I can't comment on that, but I believe you.


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## Cfr200 (Apr 2, 2015)

Both my Sulcatas eat the LS. Before it came out I contacted Mazuri about a problem I had with their "normal" tortoise feed that I bought. I talked to the person who was developing the new LS version, saying it was for tortoises who mainly eat grasses. He sent me a 25lb bag to try. At that time it was still shaped the same as their other version. My Sulcata eat it and will some time pass up their hay to eat the LS. 
I have had zero issues feeding it to them and feel better that the first ingredient is hay.


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## seiff (Apr 3, 2015)

Since it's hay, doesn't sound appropriate for a Hermanns... glad I just bought some to try!


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## surfergirl (Apr 8, 2016)

My Hermann and 2 of my Russians like the LS, they actually get excited to eat it but one of my Russians and my sully will not eat it. they treat the zoomed grassland diet exactly the same way same ones like it and the same do not. the LS does eventually soften up a bit but it still is quite fibrous. LS has less protein 11-12% and what I have read it was designed for the grassland torts. the regular mazuri has 15% protein so that I would think would be a better % for the forest/protein eating species. I am going to switch to the original recipe as an occasional items for mine after getting feedback and hearing concerns about the LS.


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## Sara G. (Apr 9, 2016)

I noticed that the LS does not soak up any water. I left the pellets in there for a while and just nothing. And it was hot water too. So I was wary of feeding it to her. She did eat it but it took a while. I haven't tried it again and I'm not sure that I will at all after reading this.
I think I'm going to order some of the regular brand but I'd rather make sure that her diet is good without pellets. Does anyone not feed their torts Mazuri at all? Is there an issue with a no pellet diet?


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## David Schmidt (Apr 9, 2016)

ZEROPILOT said:


> A note to Red Foot owners: Your tortoises will not like or eat the type LS.


My Russian won't touch it


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## Bogie=babyDINO (Apr 9, 2016)

I've tried the LS pellets and my sully wasn't very interested. It was hard to soften up with water but I mushed it up as best I could and mixed it with his greens. I noticed he was having a hard time with the bigger pieces so I ordered the small sized pellets for babies and now he loves it. It's the same LS diet but the smaller baby bite get mushy a lot faster and for some reason he likes them more.


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## ZEROPILOT (Apr 10, 2016)

David Schmidt said:


> My Russian won't touch it


Since I posted that, I've been corrected. Some tortoise species DO eat it, I'm told.(the LS)
Most don't and you're right, it will not get soft in water unless it's crushed.
As for the content of the "regular" red label, It seems to work better than the contents would suggest as many of us have now used it for ten or more years and have very healthy tortoises to show for it.
I don't know if any of our tortoises have been fed primarily Mazuri. Just suplemented.


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## Yvonne G (Apr 10, 2016)

Sara G. said:


> I noticed that the LS does not soak up any water. I left the pellets in there for a while and just nothing. And it was hot water too. So I was wary of feeding it to her. She did eat it but it took a while. I haven't tried it again and I'm not sure that I will at all after reading this.
> I think I'm going to order some of the regular brand but I'd rather make sure that her diet is good without pellets. Does anyone not feed their torts Mazuri at all? Is there an issue with a no pellet diet?



Tortoises don't need any kind of manufactured diet/pellets in their diet. Fresh greens, weeds and plants is all they really need.


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## Dizisdalife (Apr 10, 2016)

My sulcata definitely prefers the original Mazuri to the LS formula. I had fed him the original for a couple of years before trying the LS. You know how sulcatas are, he was reluctant to eat it when I first offered it. Then he would eat it when mixed with greens. Never did he eat just the LS formula. He eats the original any way I feed it. Usually mixed in with greens or hay. I have always felt that his reluctance to eat the LS was because he was accustom to the original and had nothing to do with the product itself. If I had continued to feed only the LS he would probably would have adapted to it. Maybe not.


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## Pearly (Apr 10, 2016)

I'm so glad this thread got revived as I too have been thinking about it lately. LS is the only thing that's been locally available for me. One of my babies loved Mazuri, and then... He didn't so much... Now looking back I'm beginning to understand why. The breeder who sold me the babies last year sent me sample of Mazuri in plastic container. It was not in original package. When it was out, I went to petco to buy more and grabbed Mazuri not noticing the LS behind the name. Tucker (my little Mazuri addict) seems to have stopped showing excitement on Mazuri days... And I haven't put 2&2 together till seeing this thread!!!! Wow! He may not like it so much bcs it's not this same Mazuri! I think the breeder had likely sent me the red label one! I wouldn't feed commercial pellets excusively but we do live in the era when technology advances have changed the way we eat. I like to stay pure and as close to origins as posibble but also like diversity and having options for my family and pets. Commercial food is a about 1/5th of their morning meal portion (remaining 4/5ths) are fresh food. Mazuri is offered about 2-3 days each week. I felt like regardless of typical commercial food fillers that companies use to make the pet chow, there are still potential benefits they can get from it in case something is missing out from their fresh food. Now knowing the difference between the different Mazuri foods, I'll definitely look into trying the red label to see if Tucker's initial Mazuri enthusiasm comes back. Boy, am I glad I found this forum last year!!!!


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## Pearly (Apr 10, 2016)

Sara G. said:


> I noticed that the LS does not soak up any water. I left the pellets in there for a while and just nothing. And it was hot water too. So I was wary of feeding it to her. She did eat it but it took a while. I haven't tried it again and I'm not sure that I will at all after reading this.
> I think I'm going to order some of the regular brand but I'd rather make sure that her diet is good without pellets. Does anyone not feed their torts Mazuri at all? Is there an issue with a no pellet diet?


I pour hot water over the pellets just enough to cover and then maybe 1/2 cm over that level, and let it sit and cool off. By the time it's cool, the pellets soak up the water but still hold their shape, if you leave them that way and torts don't eat for a while, the water will completely evaporate and pellet will become as hard as it was to begin with. I often mash the softened pellets and mix the mash with the greens or whatever it is that is good for them. If you leave the soaking in water pellets alone for couple hrs the water surrounding pellets will turn to jello-like consistency. For my little Cherryhead picky eater I've also used fruit or veggie (like carrot) juice for soaking, or even tuna juice drained from "tuna in water" cans, or clam juice that I'd buy in bottle for my old sick kitty to get her more interested in food. Thank you again for reviving this thread!


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