Mazuri????

jso

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When a tortoise is eating through a field of grass he doesn't just eat the blades and spit out the seeds. "Cereal" is seeds. Mazuri is one of the good ones.
Corn? Oats? Wheat? Not the same kinds of cereal as a field of grass.
And does it depend on the tortoise species?
 

Yvonne G

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Corn? Oats? Wheat? Not the same kinds of cereal as a field of grass.
And does it depend on the tortoise species?
Corn is a member of the Bermuda grass family and the actual corn is the seed of the grass. Oats and wheat are both grasses. There's nothing wrong with using Mazuri Tortoise Diet as a supplement to their regular diet of greens, weeds and grasses.
 

Sue Ann

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One more voice chiming in. You've got the right stuff, and you are feeding it the same way I do. Soaked, once or twice a week.

I used to always mix it with greens, but now I usually offer it by itself, or sometimes on a bed of grass hay and garnished with flowers. I think either way works.

I love that my Sully likes Mazuri. I was concerned because he does not graze outside. But he looks forward to going outside and enlarging his world. I think he has finally started eating out there. I decided to get the peat pellets used for starting plants and planted a salad bar for him, planted it last night around the edges of the tank.
two of them were eaten all the way down! He is only 3 mo. old but is like a little bulldozer in his tank. I put the chewed pellets back in the little green house to regenerate and planted 3 replacements. I got all the grass seed mixes from tortoise supply.
Dexter still will not eat hibiscus leaves or flowers, or Optunia. Should i put a big pc of pad in his enclosure or is there a special way to introduce babies to it?
 

jsheffield

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I've been sprouting wheat seeds in short (4oz) mason jars recently, and my tortoise loves nibbling on the little stalks.

Jamie
 

RosemaryDW

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Dexter still will not eat hibiscus leaves or flowers, or Optunia. Should i put a big pc of pad in his enclosure or is there a special way to introduce babies to it?

You can grate some cactus over other foods to get him used to the taste of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Cactus is a great food but not all tortoises love it all the time. My Russian will eat anything and she is pretty “Meh” about it half the time. Keep offering it in rotation and eventually he’ll take a bite. Same goes for hibiscus.

He’s primarily built to eat grass; if you are having some success with that, that is the bigger accomplishment. :)
 

Maro2Bear

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Opo is only 7 lbs. How long does a bale of Timothy hay last? Mold etc?

It’s going to last you a long time, especially if Opo isnt eating dry hay now. How much does a bale cost you down there?
Also, Timothy is pretty hard and scratchy. I usually soak mine a bit before giving to Sully. Good luck.

(PS. - not the most economical, but, WalMart sells large bags of Timothy in their pet section. It might be worth a bag or two of this before you get an entire bale)
 

Sue Ann

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You can grate some cactus over other foods to get him used to the taste of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Cactus is a great food but not all tortoises love it all the time. My Russian will eat anything and she is pretty “Meh” about it half the time. Keep offering it in rotation and eventually he’ll take a bite. Same goes for hibiscus.

He’s primarily built to eat grass; if you are having some success with that, that is the bigger accomplishment. :)
Thanks, Im not so worried now.
You can grate some cactus over other foods to get him used to the taste of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Cactus is a great food but not all tortoises love it all the time. My Russian will eat anything and she is pretty “Meh” about it half the time. Keep offering it in rotation and eventually he’ll take a bite. Same goes for hibiscus.

He’s primarily built to eat grass; if you are having some success with that, that is the bigger accomplishment. :)
Thank you, he eats better when I can get him outside. The weather here has been crazy. 67 yesterday, 52 today ,80 tomorrow.
 

Maro2Bear

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I have a feed store in my city and I get mine from them. I have to special order it though and wait a few weeks but that's no big deal if I tell them a head of time. I get a big bag and keep it in the freezer

Yep, i fill misc tupperware containers up. They sit waiting in the fridge/freezer ‘til needed.
 

Ray--Opo

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It’s going to last you a long time, especially if Opo isnt eating dry hay now. How much does a bale cost you down there?
Also, Timothy is pretty hard and scratchy. I usually soak mine a bit before giving to Sully. Good luck.

(PS. - not the most economical, but, WalMart sells large bags of Timothy in their pet section. It might be worth a bag or two of this before you get an entire bale)
Hey Mark I was at the feed store today didn't make it Saturday. A bail of Timothy hay was 14.00. They sold out of mazuri they got in fri. Looks like I have more tortoise owners around :). I will be there early Friday.
 

Ray--Opo

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Get rid of that junk and feed them real food!
Ok we will probably get some good conversation on this one. I just started him on it. He grazes for a few hours a day. I don't have my yard fenced in yet. So I am always out there with him. Good thing I am retired. :)
 
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