# feeding monkey biscuits



## wildponey21 (Mar 6, 2011)

I was wondering if it is ok to feed a red foot monkey biscuits. They are like the mazuri food but bigger. Also is they any one that feeds mazuri tortoise food all the time and greens to fill in. I have hard that you can feed the mazuri all the time. I just wondered if you could. or if you could just feed it in the winter when greens are not so great to buy.


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## yagyujubei (Mar 6, 2011)

I feed mazuri all the time to my leopards. I wet it, mix it with an equal portion of greens of some sort, and step back. I'm happy with the results. In the summer I may cut back when more vforage is available, but have only good to say about mazuri.


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## Torty Mom (Mar 6, 2011)

I feed Daisy Lou Mazuri every other day. She was extremely under weight, plus I can sneak all the things I want her to eat in the Mazuri and she is none the wiser! She has almost put on a pound since I got her back in November. Works for me, so far so good!


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## Yvonne G (Mar 6, 2011)

I wouldn't feed it more often than the animal protein recommended for red foot tortoises. And I definitely would NOT feed it to other types of tortoise that don't get animal protein.


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## tortoisenerd (Mar 6, 2011)

If it were my tort I would not feed monkey biscuits...stick to Mazuri or Grassland Tortoise Diet if you choose to use a manufactured food. I looked up the ingredients and they do look similar to Mazuri, but with more fillers, and the vitamins would be designed for the target species, not a tort. I'd also recommend keeping it a very small part of the diet, such as 5-10%. Personally I am against the ingredients use in Mazuri (molasses as sweetener, soybean hulls as filler, vitamins like D vitamins that are fat soluble). I would stick to a fresh diet...just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

What area do you live in such that greens are hard to buy in winter? They usually import them, like most produce. You can grow your own tort mix using trays and grow lights indoors. At a minimum, spring mix should be available. I have great luck at organic grocers for stuff like collard, turnip, mustard, watercress, and dandelion greens, year round, rotating 1-2 types a week with the spring mix. With the fruit and protein part of the diet for a redfoot, I'd think you could get a large variety without relying too much on a commercial diet. Sure it takes more time and money, but I would argue that the closer we stay to their natural diets, the more a tort will thrive.

Lots of discussion on the pros and cons if you search for it, but for me, the only pros are ease of use, low cost, and having something where you don't have to go out to the store (ie. a storm, which is the only reason I even keep Mazuri or Grassland in the house and feed a small amount to my tort)...the rest are cons, such as high calories (accelerated growth), torts get addicted to it, bad ingredients, and that the main point people use to argue for it, that zoos use it, I think is only due to cost (for large zoo torts, it is many times cheaper to feed it Mazuri than even iceberg/romaine).


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## Emmihealthhub (Mar 9, 2011)

Hey i have newly adopted a tortoise... could anyone help me and share there starting days with their tortoise....
Thanks


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## coreyc (Mar 9, 2011)

Emmihealthhub said:


> Hey i have newly adopted a tortoise... could anyone help me and share there starting days with their tortoise....
> Thanks



You should introduce your self in the introductions tell us what kind of tort you have or thinking on getting etc... PM sent


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## jimfaster (Mar 16, 2011)

baby monkey biscuits soaked zupreem Reding turtles as low-fat diets high in fiber primates, resulting in good growth during the first year without overlapping abnormal growth of the carapace (the shell is characterized by individual scales raised centers). However, the monkey chow should not constitute more than 10 percent of the diet after one year and only 5 percent after two years. As research leads to commercial formulations regime that can ensure the longevity and health in the long term, it is preferable to provide a varied diet for adults.


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## Madkins007 (Mar 16, 2011)

We used to use monkey chow all the time back in the 70's-80's. Nowadays, I would avoid it since it is formulated for a higher fruit level than what most tortoises, including Red-foots, should have.

There is no hard and fast rule for feeding pellets. I like the advice of people like Dr. Harrison (http://www.avianmedicine.net/cam/04nutrition2.pdf) and offer about 1/2 pellets and 1/2 'real food' so the two help fill the others weaknesses... unless you have access to an outdoor habitat with good plantings!


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## ALDABRAMAN (Mar 16, 2011)

Not a good idea, are they made for monkeys or tortoises?


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