# Tortoise pellets or no pellets



## Samantha hoffman (Jun 30, 2016)

I have a baby sulcata tort hes only about 4 inches. What do you people feel about giving them the pellets to the torts ? Is he to young to start him on the pellets? What brands do u recommend?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 30, 2016)

All pellets are not created equally.
I like Mazuri brand. But it's hard to find the original formula and the Mazuri "L.S" is something that most tortoises will not eat.


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## BrianWI (Jun 30, 2016)

I am using Zoo Med Natural Grassland Tortoise Food. I tried soaking it and feeding by itself, she wouldn't eat it. So I now mix it in with torn of pieces of greens and she eats it. I have also seen her eat it now by itself out of the bottom of the dish after all the lettuce is gone. I like commercial diets as good ones provide an easy way to round out their nutritional needs.


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## Tom (Jun 30, 2016)

There are two brands of pellets that I like and recommend.

1. Mazuri. I like the regular "original" style. I'm not a fan of the new "LS" type yet. Mazuri is a good supplement to a varied diet of grass, weeds, leaves and succulents. Mazuri will make sure there are no "holes" or missing nutrients or trace element in whatever anyone is feeding their tortoise. It also gives a nice protein boost, which is needed, and as an added benefit, most tortoises love it. Because they find it so palatable and desirable, you can use it to introduce new foods that might not be as appealing.

2. I also like ZooMed Grassland pellets. When soaked and mixed with grocery store greens, these pellets are a good way to add much needed fiber and variety.

Neither type of pellet is "necessary", but both can be beneficial.


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## BrianWI (Jun 30, 2016)

Tom,
Do tortoises like the Mazuri better?


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## JHat (Jun 30, 2016)

To me pellets are a good source of offering something needed for your tort that you can't easily, or in the quantity necessary, provide them by other means.


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## Speedy-1 (Jun 30, 2016)

*I like Mazuri , because Speedy eats it so well ! I think the pelleted foods do a good job of hitting any nutritional mistakes a person might make !*


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## Gillian M (Jun 30, 2016)

Welcome to the forum!

I believe that mazuri is the best.


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## lisa127 (Jun 30, 2016)

When I had a rescued sulcata I liked and used the zoomed grassland pellets.


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## von345 (Jul 2, 2016)

My torts love soaked ZooMed grassland pellets mixed in their greens


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## Tom (Jul 2, 2016)

BrianWI said:


> Tom,
> Do tortoises like the Mazuri better?



In general, I would have to say yes. About 75% of tortoises act like Mazuri is candy and come running for it. Many tortoise will chow down on it the first time they see it, and that is very unusual for a new food. I've only heard of a few tortoises that don't care for it. I had a big male sulcata that would take a few bites and then walk away from the rest to go eat weeds or hay, but most of them would never leave a tray that still had a tiny morsel of soaked Mazuri on it.

Most tortoises have to get used to the ZooMed pellets. I start very slow with only a little bit mixed into their greens. Once they get used to it and accept it, most tortoises will eat it just fine, but many won't just eat it plain if its not mixed in with greens. I think it is a great supplemental food, but tortoises definitely "like" Mazuri better.


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## jockma (Jul 4, 2016)

Mazuri themselves discontinued selling smaller amounts of their product, I think the least you can buy is 30 lbs at a time (could be wrong, haven't checked in a while) so if you want a small amount of Mazuri to try it out you might be out of luck. I think some folks buy the huge barrels of Mazuri and repackage them to sell in smaller quantities, that seems to be what happens on Amazon.

I bought a 6 lb bucket of it. Bean swallows it whole. Patience does not exist when Mazuri is involved.


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## Speedy-1 (Jul 4, 2016)

*30 Lb bags are all I could find also , I think there are folks on the forum here that sell it in smaller quantities ? I just bought the 30 Lb bag the more Speedy grows the faster it disappears ! *


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## Pearly (Jul 4, 2016)

I mix in some soaked pellets with fresh stuff for every morning feeding.


. This is Mazuri LS , my babies eat it ok soaked, mashed, mixed in with greens/fresh chopped stuff)

they absolutely LOVE this one! Soaking takes a lot longer and better with warm water.

these are very small pellets and I actually sprinkle them dry over the fresh food. Tucker loves these. He pics to the very last one bfr eating rest of his food.

can't really say that they like this one.

and not too crazy about this one.

they love these as treat.


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## AmandaGal (Jul 7, 2016)

If you feed a pellet, do you still need to supplement with repti-cal? I know Mazuri is fortified.


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## Gillian M (Jul 7, 2016)

Pearly said:


> I mix in some soaked pellets with fresh stuff for every morning feeding.
> View attachment 179145
> . This is Mazuri LS , my babies eat it ok soaked, mashed, mixed in with greens/fresh chopped stuff)
> View attachment 179146
> ...


Wish all that stuff was available here!


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## Speedy-1 (Jul 7, 2016)

AmandaGal said:


> If you feed a pellet, do you still need to supplement with repti-cal? I know Mazuri is fortified.


 *I feed Speedy Mazuri every 3rd day and he has cuttlebone. He has never had any supplements ! *


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## Calatrava (Jul 8, 2016)

I give a mix of different brands of pellets, like Mazuri, Versailles, Sudo, rep-cal, zoomed. My leopard likes Sudo and Mazuri a lot. Sometimes, in order to feed him with grass I plant, I grind the pellets into powders and spray them on the grass, so the tort has to eat grass in order to taste the pellets.


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## jockma (Jul 8, 2016)

@Calatrava now THAT is an excellent idea. And to think I wasted all that fruit purée to trick Bean into eating things. He suddenly started hating sweet potato and attacks it (I mean he literally attacks it, he rams it repeatedly and bobs his head at it) so I'm gonna try this to rekindle his long-lost love of sweet potato.


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## Big Charlie (Jul 8, 2016)

I got Charlie 17 years ago. At that time, there was some kind of tortoise pellet food I got at the pet store that smelled fishy. He wouldn't touch it, so I never tried again. He has lived his whole life without pellets. He might like Mazuri but if I got him started on it, I would have to keep providing it. It is easier just to let him loose on the lawn and let him find his own food.


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## kelii (Jul 18, 2016)

I feed Mazuri, but I moisten it and mix other things with it.


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## kelii (Jul 18, 2016)

jockma said:


> Mazuri themselves discontinued selling smaller amounts of their product, I think the least you can buy is 30 lbs at a time (could be wrong, haven't checked in a while) so if you want a small amount of Mazuri to try it out you might be out of luck. I think some folks buy the huge barrels of Mazuri and repackage them to sell in smaller quantities, that seems to be what happens on Amazon.
> 
> I bought a 6 lb bucket of it. Bean swallows it whole. Patience does not exist when Mazuri is involved.



I buy 2lbs at a time on eBay. It usually costs $12 with free shipping and lasts a couple of months.


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## jockma (Jul 18, 2016)

Yep, those are the resellers. 2 lbs for $12 is a great deal though, I'm scared of e-bay so I never thought to buy Mazuri there! I buy through Amazon where prices are usually around $15-20 for a 12 oz. bag (including shipping) and larger portions are cheaper. Hence why it stinks for people on Amazon looking for cheap sample sizes


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## BrianWI (Jul 19, 2016)

kelii said:


> I buy 2lbs at a time on eBay. It usually costs $12 with free shipping and lasts a couple of months.


I got from the same guy I bet. Were no issues. Except that 60 gram Nadine won't eat that much, but the box turtles will help her.


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## kelii (Jul 19, 2016)

This was my second time buying from them, both were very smooth transactions


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## Luvziggy (Aug 1, 2016)

I feed my sulcata lots of different things different grasses,leaves,hay, but I also mix the food I order from the turtle source with it. That is where I got him. They say that is what they feed theirs. Any information on how healthy this food is? If it's bad I will get Mauzuri.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 1, 2016)

BrianWI said:


> Tom,
> Do tortoises like the Mazuri better?



Not Tom, but here at my place, when I mix the moistened Zoo Med in with the chopped greens, the babies eat it readily, but if I mix in Mazuri, they are not as interested in eating. I've noticed that the Zoo Med smells like grass or hay, while the Mazuri doesn't.


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## TerrapinStation (Aug 2, 2016)

Does anyone know what the difference is in the Mazuri LS vs Mazuri? I thought it was just pellet size.

Both my Redfoot and Leopard love mazuri LS. 

I do notice it smells more like a dog or cat food when moistened though..... Really stinks up the house on a warm humid day haha


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## jockma (Aug 3, 2016)

I don't know actually, I've never tried LS because I heard a lot of folks say their torts don't like it as much as the "Original Flavor".

I always assumed it either had less fat for torts with different dietary needs or more fat and nutrients for growing torts/hatchlings.


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## Tom (Aug 3, 2016)

TerrapinStation said:


> Does anyone know what the difference is in the Mazuri LS vs Mazuri? I thought it was just pellet size.
> 
> Both my Redfoot and Leopard love mazuri LS.
> 
> I do notice it smells more like a dog or cat food when moistened though..... Really stinks up the house on a warm humid day haha



LS is based on grass hay instead of other things. This is the primary difference. They were attempting to make the ingredients list look more appealing on paper since some people in their focus groups didn't "feel good" about the ingredients list of regular Mazuri. Of course those "feelings" were not based on any sort of evidence or science.


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## TerrapinStation (Aug 3, 2016)

Got it. Thanks Tom.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 3, 2016)

TerrapinStation said:


> Does anyone know what the difference is in the Mazuri LS vs Mazuri? I thought it was just pellet size.
> 
> Both my Redfoot and Leopard love mazuri LS.
> 
> I do notice it smells more like a dog or cat food when moistened though..... Really stinks up the house on a warm humid day haha



I thought it stood for low sodium, but after Googling it, it MAY stand for Low Starch.

http://www.mazuri.com/product_pdfs/5E5L.pdf


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## Travis (Oct 11, 2016)

ZEROPILOT said:


> All pellets are not created equally.
> I like Mazuri brand. But it's hard to find the original formula and the Mazuri "L.S" is something that most tortoises will not eat.



I've only been able to find the LS version of Mazuri. My torts have never had the original. They love the LS version of Mazuri. Everytime I put out fresh greens and mazuri, they will literally ignore the fresh food and go straight for the mazuri.


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## Speedy-1 (Oct 11, 2016)

Travis said:


> I've only been able to find the LS version of Mazuri. My torts have never had the original. They love the LS version of Mazuri. Everytime I put out fresh greens and mazuri, they will literally ignore the fresh food and go straight for the mazuri.


 *Sounds like you have a winner ! Its not like its bad for them , its only different . If they like it and you can get it easily its a "win win" situation for you !*


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## Kapidolo Farms (Oct 11, 2016)

The "red" label pellets are so darn close to the older Mazuri with a higher quantity of grass that I think it could alternatively be sold as tortoise chow.,, Just saying.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/grain-free-pellet.144083/page-2#post-1354266

In the thinking process of why would tortoises eat pellets in the first place? They do eat pellets in the wild... turds of other animals.


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## Mr Buster (Oct 15, 2016)

Just how much is a 30lb bag of Mazuri going for and where are you buying it ? There is a Mazuri product on Amazon 12 oz for like $13.

I am trying to stay away from pet store products. Bought 5 Fire Belly toads two years ago for $6 each. They only eat live food like crickets and wax worms. They can live for 15 years and the food is not cheap. Pet Smart owns me for life now.


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 15, 2016)

Mr Buster said:


> Just how much is a 30lb bag of Mazuri going for and where are you buying it ? There is a Mazuri product on Amazon 12 oz for like $13.
> 
> I am trying to stay away from pet store products. Bought 5 Fire Belly toads two years ago for $6 each. They only eat live food like crickets and wax worms. They can live for 15 years and the food is not cheap. Pet Smart owns me for life now.


http://www.mazuri.com/mazuritortoisediet.aspx

That Amazon price is ridiculous.

25 pounds for 30.99

You might be able to buy it from your local feed store and get free shipping.


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 17, 2016)

Why do some tortoise keepers refer to Mazuri as "tortoise crack"??? Just sayin. 
I would never feed Mazuri to babies because of the molasses. 
'some' babies will stop eating greens and only eat Mazuri.
I only feed Mazuri to adults during the winter when tort food is hard to come by.


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 17, 2016)

maggie3fan said:


> Why do some tortoise keepers refer to Mazuri as "tortoise crack"??? Just sayin.
> I would never feed Mazuri to babies because of the molasses.
> 'some' babies will stop eating greens and only eat Mazuri.
> I only feed Mazuri to adults during the winter when tort food is hard to come by.



Very Good point Maggie.

Here is food for thought, I'm betting that 90% of people on here make their pets eat healthier and better than themselves, including me. I'm a workout freak and pretty healthy eater but I eat my fair share of "crack" food. I would like to see a few members on here that constantly tell others how unhealthy they feed their tort just to see if they look like healthy eaters.


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 18, 2016)

Abramsmytankturtle said:


> Very Good point Maggie.
> 
> Here is food for thought, I'm betting that 90% of people on here make their pets eat healthier and better than themselves, including me. I'm a workout freak and pretty healthy eater but I eat my fair share of "crack" food. I would like to see a few members on here that constantly tell others how unhealthy they feed their tort just to see if they look like healthy eaters.



When I came back from the Drs, I'll post a pix of 1.5 yr old Pansy and 2 yr old 8 pound Sam, smooth as babies butts. I'll prove with those pix that MY way works too.
1. Lots of exercise
2. Good wild food, a varied diet
3. Lot's of humidity
4. Strong 12 hrs a day UVB.



PS....I live on cheesecake and MT Dew. My tortoises eat healthier than I do. My only exercise is looking for the remote, I weigh 115 lbs. LOL


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 18, 2016)

lol!!!

On my 2nd MT. Dew of the day. it's 1 pm


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 18, 2016)

@Abramsmytankturtle.........OK Craig, I tell most newbies they aren't feeding correctly. So "I" am one of 'those' people. So here's my 3 Sulcata. First is Pansy with Knobby. Pansy is 1.5 yrs old and 500 grams. Knobby was given to me about a month ago. There's nothing known about him, he was found walking across a street in downtown Portland. I got Pansy last Feb 5th. I am assuming they are close to the same age. But who know's?




Knobby's face looks older. In the first photo, you can see how bad his bottom jaw is.




But he has a real sweet personality, and if he'd stop peeing on me I might really like him. I was looking at his tail and got urates in my mouth! Yep, gritty ones.
This is a real Oregon Sulcata, it's 58 degrees, and pouring rain and a 2 yr old is out grazing.




This is Sam, he used to be Daisy Mae, but he went transgender on me so now he's Sam. He's 2.5 yrs. 8.5 pounds and 10"SCL. He's a horrible tortoise so he went at a year and a half outside to live in Bob's shed. He's smart, and bad and clever and mean. He accidently got into the pen of an adult male tortoise of another species, and had the other guy on his back with blood all over his face. Sam was on top of him, biting his face and no doubt would have killed him.










I also have a colony of box turtles. So that's my Sulcata, how do you think they look for all my talking????


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 18, 2016)

Wonderful Maggie and you know I think you so a great job with all of them! My group of torts eat all store bought greens and the Bermuda in the yard. Some cactus And they get hibiscus flowers off the tree and but only my sully will eat them. 3 times a week they get a mix of Mazuri, grassland and rep-cal pellets. The little Leo had some pyramiding when I got him but it's stopped and I love the little guy either way. 

View attachment 189803


Sulcata just turned 2 and is around 9 pounds
My big Leo will be 2 next month and around 5 pounds 
The little Leo is almost 3, I got him a few months ago and he was around 700 grams and now he's up to 1000.
My baby not pictured is 224 grams.

My conclusion about the the pellets that the Op posted is so whatever works. If they will eat pellets and greens then do what you thinks best.


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 18, 2016)




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## cmacusa3 (Oct 18, 2016)

And no you aren't "one of those people"


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## ZEROPILOT (Oct 18, 2016)

If you consider the cost of the larger bags($1 and change per pound).how long it last, etc.
The big bags end up being some of the cheapest and easiest "go to" foods out there.
This last purchase was $70 and will last me for months feeding four torts semi regularly.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 18, 2016)

Abramsmytankturtle said:


> http://www.mazuri.com/mazuritortoisediet.aspx
> 
> That Amazon price is ridiculous.
> 
> ...



I picked up a 25lb bag last Friday from my feed store and it cost me $27.50


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 18, 2016)

Yvonne G said:


> I picked up a 25lb bag last Friday from my feed store and it cost me $27.50




Lucky!!


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## Yvonne G (Oct 18, 2016)

Abramsmytankturtle said:


> Lucky!!



They don't charge me any extra because they order it along with their regular order for horse and cattle food. So it doesn't cost them any extra for a special order.


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 18, 2016)

Yvonne G said:


> They don't charge me any extra because they order it along with their regular order for horse and cattle food. So it doesn't cost them any extra for a special order.




I'm going to see if my father in law can order it with his horse feed.


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## ZEROPILOT (Oct 19, 2016)

Yvonne G said:


> I picked up a 25lb bag last Friday from my feed store and it cost me $27.50


That's a great price.
My feed store (Griffs in Davie Florida) Almost always has it in stock.....Unless I was just there.
It's like 33 bucks.


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 22, 2016)

Abramsmytankturtle said:


> lol!!!
> 
> On my 2nd MT. Dew of the day. it's 1 pm



I drink 2; 2 liter bottles daily.........


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## cmacusa3 (Oct 22, 2016)

maggie3fan said:


> I drink 2; 2 liter bottles daily.........


It's good with citrus vodka


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## Maggie Cummings (Oct 22, 2016)

Yep, I bet!


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