# Maruzi for sulcata's



## glendab63 (Sep 16, 2008)

can anyone advise me as to they're experience with Maruzi tort diet for Sulcata's I would like to find something to supplement my guy with ,but the protein of not less then 15% scares me. I recently adopted two sulcata's that have some pyramiding,and they are still young enough that I beleave that most of it can be corrected ,but I'd like to hear fom some of you guy's and gals that are old timers wiyh torts.because I only go back about 3 years with this obession ,so any help would be great thanks and GOD Bless you all


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## spikethebest (Sep 17, 2008)

i feed mazuri to all my torts, they love it, and its really good for them. feed mazuri and lots of grasses, except alfalfa


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## glendab63 (Sep 17, 2008)

thanks ,
Spikethebest
but does'nt the protein concern you with it being not less then 15%,I understand that it's plant protein ,but then again it's Protein.and Sulcata's should not have protein and all I have is Sulcata's they are the love of my life and the 2 new rescue already have some pyrmiding and they are still young torts.but I'm working on fixing this problem and the protein does really scare me


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## Tim/Robin (Sep 17, 2008)

This has been discussed in this forum. You can find the thread at http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-3503.html?highlight=protein+

You can use the search function to search topics that are common and see what has been posted thus far. Hope this helps!


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## Yvonne G (Sep 17, 2008)

All plants contain vegetable protein. The protein in Mazuri is not detrimental to tortoises. When you hear a statement like, "Sulcatas should NOT be fed protein." , it refers to animal protein. I imagine if you over-feed your sulcata Mazuri...say three or four times a day, huge helpings of Mazuri, then yes, the protein might be harmful. But if you feed your tortoise a regular sized meal once a day, or once every other day, then the protein in Mazuri is not going to harm your tortoise. Most everyone who uses the Mazuri also uses natural grazing or grocery store greens along with the Mazuri. Personally, I feed my Aldabs a very large serving of Mazuri every Friday to be sure that they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need to be healthy. The rest of the week they only eat grass and weeds. The scientists at Mazuri came up with their recipe especially for tortoises. It is not harmful unless it is not used as directed.

Yvonne


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## Jentortmom (Sep 28, 2008)

I use mazuri, I only give it more as treats (once or twice a week and small amounts), and during late summer to make sure they all get the vitamins and nutrients before they hibernate. I do leave ground up mazuri in a dish in my yearling sully's enclosure as the one is very small, and needs all the help it can get.


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## FGCinHB (Sep 29, 2008)

glendab63 said:


> can anyone advise me as to they're experience with Maruzi tort diet for Sulcata's I would like to find something to supplement my guy with ,but the protein of not less then 15% scares me. I recently adopted two sulcata's that have some pyramiding,and they are still young enough that I beleave that most of it can be corrected ,but I'd like to hear fom some of you guy's and gals that are old timers wiyh torts.because I only go back about 3 years with this obession ,so any help would be great thanks and GOD Bless you all



Read this, it has info about what you asking plus a breif explanation of two different ways protein percentage is calculated

http://www.reptilechannel.com/turtl...rtoises/tortoise-care/pyramiding-in-tortoises


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## Yvonne G (Sep 30, 2008)

jenrell23 said:


> I use mazuri, I only give it more as treats small and during late summer to make sure they all get the vitamins and nutrients before they hibernate. I do leave ground up mazuri in a dish in my yearling sully's enclosure as the one is very small, and needs all the help it can get.



You talk about hibernation and sulcatas in almost the same sentence. I hope you don't mean that your sulcatas hibernate?

Yvonne


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## spuds (Oct 2, 2008)

This is Spuds. She's a 6 yr old Sulcata that I raised form a hatchling. She isn't very large, around 10". She has been been fed mainly Mazuri for the past 4.5 years.


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## Jentortmom (Oct 3, 2008)

emysemys said:


> jenrell23 said:
> 
> 
> > I use mazuri, I only give it more as treats small and during late summer to make sure they all get the vitamins and nutrients before they hibernate. I do leave ground up mazuri in a dish in my yearling sully's enclosure as the one is very small, and needs all the help it can get.
> ...



Oh no sorry!! They are inside, I meant my russians before the hibernate. Sorry for any confusion!!


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## Vegas_Leopard (Oct 31, 2008)

spuds said:


> This is Spuds. She's a 6 yr old Sulcata that I raised form a hatchling. She isn't very large, around 10". She has been been fed mainly Mazuri for the past 4.5 years.


Spectacular shell growth, amazing job.


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## egyptiandan (Oct 31, 2008)

Yes Maruzi was formulated for tortoises, specificly for Galapagos tortoises. I'm sure Ed (EJ) has posted somewhere what they made it for and in that explanation it says it was made to HEAD START Galapagos tortoises. Which means to me it was meant to be fed till a certain size and that is all. Not the whole life of the tortoise. Ed says that what he's doing, feeding it alone and for the length of time that he has been, is not what it was meant for. So he's experimenting on his tortoises. From what I can see it seems to be going fine with growing smooth or fairly smooth tortoises. Just worries me about the long term use on what you can't see, the internal organs.

Just my views on it.

Danny


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## siwash (Nov 1, 2008)

Any Canadians here know if and where we can buy this stuff without having to ship it?

thanks (i'm in toronto)


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## spuds (Nov 11, 2008)

SulcataDud3 said:


> spuds said:
> 
> 
> > This is Spuds. She's a 6 yr old Sulcata that I raised form a hatchling. She isn't very large, around 10". She has been been fed mainly Mazuri for the past 4.5 years.
> ...


thanks! I'm trying to replicate her husbandry with another hatchling. Hopefully I get the same results. We'll see in about 4yrs.


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## Vegas_Leopard (Nov 12, 2008)

Hey Spuds,

If you don't mind me asking, what does your husbandry consist of to create such an overall rounded shell? I too am raising a hatchling Sulcata to product a well rounded shell. I've been imitating Richard Fife's (Ivory Tortoise producer) care plan on to ways of minimizing pyramiding. Id like to hear from a caretaker as for your self's hands on experience on how you were able to produce an astounding growth.

Thanks in advance,
SulcataDud3


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## -EJ (Nov 15, 2008)

I posted that I was told... I don't actually know why it was formulated... 

I am kind of experementing with the diet... just as a person who feeds a plant based diet is... reference the questions... can my tortoise eat this plant... they and the person who offers the advice that the plant is acceptable are experimenting. Do you really know the complete content of the plants you are feeding and how much is acceptable? 

If a food is made to head start an animal... where does that imply that it is unacceptable to feed to a certain size? This is another point that I can't seem to get across. Yes... different tortoises have different metabolisms. The beauty of this diet is that metabolism can be compensated for by simply varying the quantity... nothing more. 

As previously posted... I had bloodwork done on 20 tortoises fed the diet from 2 to 8 years... all indications were normal... endoscopic examination of the internal organs showed not abnormalities. I would think that if there was a problem with the diet there would be a hint after 8 years.

To the person who posted the photos... email me at [email protected] ... please.






egyptiandan said:


> Yes Maruzi was formulated for tortoises, specificly for Galapagos tortoises. I'm sure Ed (EJ) has posted somewhere what they made it for and in that explanation it says it was made to HEAD START Galapagos tortoises. Which means to me it was meant to be fed till a certain size and that is all. Not the whole life of the tortoise. Ed says that what he's doing, feeding it alone and for the length of time that he has been, is not what it was meant for. So he's experimenting on his tortoises. From what I can see it seems to be going fine with growing smooth or fairly smooth tortoises. Just worries me about the long term use on what you can't see, the internal organs.
> 
> Just my views on it.
> 
> Danny


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