Commercial Tortoise Food Questions

turtlesteve

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I agree with the ingredients looking better on the zoo med food. But I tried it once and couldn't get any of my tortoises to eat it. So I can't really offer any opinions on it, other than it must not look or smell all that appetizing.

I'd say that probably 60%-70% of the tortoises I've had will eat (and even prefer) mazuri.
 

Neris

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I’ve had a reedfoot for almost 2 years now, and has been feeding her ZooMed mixed with greens, veggies, some fruit (twice a week) and some protein (twice a month). She doubled her size on the first year and grew a smoother shell (she had some pyramiding when we got her). Sometimes she’ll eat the whole thing and some other times she’ll leave about half of it (the pellets, never the veggies, greens or fruit).
 

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Kapidolo Farms

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Thomas Boyer published comparisons of all the common commercials diet in the 3rd edition of the "Mader" book. He compared them with published accounts of the wild type diet of Mohave populations of the desert tortoise, and ranked them categorically. "1" are least good, "5" are considered best. Of the commercial diets readily available in the US, ZooMed natural Gourmet ranked in the "5" category. That particular product is the grassland diet with dried sweet potato and hibiscus.

The regular grassland and 'old' mazuri come out near the same for nutrient content, but the grassland has a better fiber profile, something not quantified in Boyer's ranking.
 

method89

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the ol' seaweed salad...where do you acquire the wakame?
 

jsheffield

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I buy it dried on Amazon... it occurred to me that it was a good way for my tort to get iodine and some other micronutrients he might be missing, and it turns out he really likes it, so he gets a few rehydrated strips once a week or so.
 

ShirleyTX

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Here is some information already posted, but in a comparative format:

upload_2019-8-24_12-19-43.png

My vet pointed me in this direction. (He is a tortoise-keeping chelonian lover.) He told me the Mazuri LS is a newer, lower sugar/less starch product. Better for the tort but lots of torts won't eat it. He feeds mostly Grassland with a bit of original Mazuri to his grazing and Mediterranean species (once or twice a week).

I have two testudos (Egyptians). About once a week, I feed a mix of soaked Grassland with soaked original Mazuri. I always add things..... to make it more attractive AND to trick them into eating something they usually refuse. As others have said, I do this to add ingredients to their diets that they might be missing.

Today was pellet day. Into the pellets I added (all chopped finely using a pair of herb scissors): dandelion greens, wandering jew (one small leaf), joy sedum, and a generous pinch of Zoomed Flower Topper. It lasts all day if you spritz and mix it throughout the day.
 

Relic

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"Today was pellet day. Into the pellets I added (all chopped finely using a pair of herb scissors): dandelion greens, wandering jew (one small leaf), joy sedum, and a generous pinch of Zoomed Flower Topper. It lasts all day if you spritz and mix it throughout the day."

Did not know wandering jew was a viable food item - good to know. My wife has planted somewhere between 6 and 9 million purple heart (Tradescantia pallida) plants in the yard. It is a very close relative of wandering jew (Tradescantia zebrina) so I suppose it, too, is safe to feed. I'll be happy if my young tortoise will eat it...and surprised.
 

kthomas

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This is an interesting topic to me. I've somewhat recently (past 6+ months) have been adding in Mazuri to my tortoises diet. I will soak the pellets with water, to help with hydration but mostly for the purpose of softening up the food to make it easier for them to eat (they are just under 1 years old). They seem to love the Mazuri.

They get a lot of lettuce, which is low on nutrition hence the Mazuri to supplement that. They occasionally get some native grasses, but we moved and our new place doesn't have native grasses growing on our property like our old one (at some point I will start growing some, as well as some local wild flowers). They do get calcium powder, and I'm always looking at ways of diversifying their diet. I have lots of cactus on my property that I would like for them to eat, but they are full of spikes.

I'm sure Mazuri will always be a part of their diet, and I will be following this thread to see what others think about Mazuri/commercial food and what the collective experience is on this.
 

Madkins007

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