# Zoo Med's natural grassland tortoise food



## Neal (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello,
I have seen a lot of threads about Mazuri tortoise chow on this forum, but havn't heard much about Zoo Med's natural grassland tortoise food. I was just wondering if anyone had any concerns about using it?

I will admit that I use it. The tortoises don't eat it by itself, but after it's slightly damp it crumbles quite a bit and I sprinkle it on the food the turtles eat. 

Thanks
Neal


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## Tom (Apr 21, 2010)

They gave me a free sample and I'm slowly using it up the same way you are. I'm not a fan of it really. I'd rather just use the ingredients in by themselves. Also, I know it sounds weird, but due to what I've been learning through some research lately, I think it might be too LOW in protein. I don't know of any successful breeders who use that as a staple, but I do know of some that use Mazuri.

I think its fine as part of a varied diet.


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## Neal (Apr 21, 2010)

ihaveaquestion3 said:


> Hello,
> I have seen a lot of threads about Mazuri tortoise chow on this forum, but havn't heard much about Zoo Med's natural grassland tortoise food. I was just wondering if anyone had any concerns about using it?
> 
> I will admit that I use it. The tortoises don't eat it by itself, but after it's slightly damp it crumbles quite a bit and I sprinkle it on the food the turtles eat.
> ...



Oopsadaisy, I should have said tortoises not turtles!



Tom said:


> They gave me a free sample and I'm slowly using it up the same way you are. I'm not a fan of it really. I'd rather just use the ingredients in by themselves. Also, I know it sounds weird, but due to what I've been learning through some research lately, I think it might be too LOW in protein. I don't know of any successful breeders who use that as a staple, but I do know of some that use Mazuri.
> 
> I think its fine as part of a varied diet.



I agree, there seems to be some misconception out there about protein amounts in the tortoise diet.


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## Tom (Apr 21, 2010)

I agree, there seems to be some misconception out there about protein amounts in the tortoise diet.
[/quote]

I think its more of a debate than a misconception. Just a few years ago, most of us thought excess (however much that is) protein was a major contributing factor, or the outright cause, of pyramiding. Some people still do. Many of the top breeders, who now know how to raise smooth babies are telling me that the normal tortoise diets in use today don't have enough protein. Mazuri does and that's why a lot of them use it. Protein used to be a dirty word when it came to tortoises, but that is finally starting to be exposed as a fallacy.

Protein requirements vary by species, age and sex, but ALL tortoises NEED SOME protein.


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## webskipper (Apr 24, 2010)

Mine barely touch it. It's merely a backup when I run out of the mixed greens. I'll try some Mazuri when I can get a sample.


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## tortoisenerd (Apr 25, 2010)

I think it is on par with Mazuri and that Mazuri only gets more hype because zoos use it. I think the only reason zoos use Mazuri vs. anything else is they can easily get Mazuri in bulk for cheap. I however do not use any commercial food for more than 10% of the diet--just so the little guy has some variety and has a taste for it in case of an emergency. My tort seems to like Grassland as much as Mazuri but has trouble eating it once it falls apart, so it will be scattered all over his plate. If it sticks together and is on top of a piece of greens he goes for it first. So, I try not to moisten it too much to prevent it falling apart since he's big enough he can eat about 1/2 a pellet at a time (most of the jar I bought had pellets already broken into pieces).


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## rsross1970 (Apr 25, 2010)

For grassland torts try a web site called: www.sulcatafood.com 
I'm ordering some elephant grass from that site myself. I hope this helps.

-RSROSS1970


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## TortieLuver (Apr 29, 2010)

I know here in Arizona, the zoo med natural grassland is much more expensive and I can't find it in large bags either. I did some research and read that it has less protein than the Mazuri but I give the Mazuri to my torts and they love it. It doesn't seem to be causing any problems and people on this site and kingsnake that I have talked to think it's great.


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## BlackMountain412 (Apr 29, 2010)

I bought the zoo med forest tortoise food at petco for 2 dollars. It was on clearance sale. the label says natural high fiber, low protein diet.

My tortoises took a bite out of it and then he went for the other food(from tortoise supply). They seem to like that better then the zoo-med.
I'm not trying to feed that as a staple tho, just wanted to mix it up.




TortieLuver said:


> I know here in Arizona, the zoo med natural grassland is much more expensive and I can't find it in large bags either. I did some research and read that it has less protein than the Mazuri but I give the Mazuri to my torts and they love it. It doesn't seem to be causing any problems and people on this site and kingsnake that I have talked to think it's great.


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## sammi (Apr 30, 2010)

Ernie isn't a fan of the ZooMed diet either. I also use it as a filler when I'm running low on greens.


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## DeanS (May 7, 2010)

All of my torts love ZooMed...LLLReptile sells it in 50 lb bags (but I think it comes directly from ZooMed) for about $150...that includes shipping! I swear by this stuff!


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## chadk (May 7, 2010)

I ordered mazuri through my nieghborhood feed store and got a 25lb bag for about $30.


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## DeanS (May 8, 2010)

chadk said:


> I ordered mazuri through my nieghborhood feed store and got a 25lb bag for about $30.



That's GREAT! I use Mazuri VERY sparingly, but I think it is unjustly maligned! The 4 babies I have were started by the breeders on Mazuri and only one shows signs of pyramiding...which I really don't attribute to diet alone...but on a variety of factors. But yeah! Great price!


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