- Joined
- Nov 7, 2012
- Messages
- 5,229
- Location (City and/or State)
- South of Southern California, but not Mexico
I've been doing this for a few days now, foods and feeding (sarcasm on).
More seriously. I'm going to write this as if tortoises are dogs/cats - so every-time I say dog or cat , think tortoise. I'll also use tortoises directly. I'm trying to bridge food and feeding considerations.
There seem to be purists, people who collect food for their dog, road kill, hunting, raised farm animals - these dogs also free range often and eat other stuff out of sight of the owner. In tortoise-land these people collect 'weeds' and the tortoise lives in an outside area where the plants available have been selected for suitability. Pre commercial dog foods this is how all dogs were fed. There was no Purina dog food in a bag at the grocery store. Caring for dogs took more time and effort, than 'buying what's on sale' as one dog food commercial once used to differentiate how their food was better.
Well, now there are grocery stores in most places with some kinds of bagged or canned dog or cat food. There is also a range of meats and produce you can buy to make your own. Many people do. Most people would seem to still buy convenience over quality, it's a hard to draw line. I made my own cat food off and one for many years following advice from a friend who had domestic cats to ages over 25 years. I had my kitty buddy for over 21 years, he lived to 23. Making your own food is better but it takes time. Now there are 'wild type' diets at the store for dogs and cats, that are expensive. More expensive than the ingredients, but your own homemade food takes time to create in your kitchen and space to store in your fridge or freezer.
You can make your own tortoise food, but all the Mazuri, ZooMed etc are much more convenient and easier to use. The range of quality is very wide, some are just colored pellets of grain by-products formulated for low protein and a fiber analysis that is not appropriate for tortoises (at all). The highest rated packaged foods for tortoises are also more expensive and closer to 'wild type' than the foods in unicolor uniform round brown balls of sweetened grain and grass.
The life long effects of the brown balls is not known, they have not been around long enough.
There is that spot between weed purists (not 420) and brown balls. Buying domesticated weeds (lettuces) and mixing in more stuff to to bring about that balance of greens made for our pallets (soft and more or less flavorless - low fiber low nutrient content) with collected weeds. Grocery greens and dried weeds. This is like the person who makes their own dog food from what the buy at the grocery store so it's more 'wild type' but not out there hunting or scraping up road kill (yes, many people manage large collection of carnivores with road kill as part of the larder) or raising meat rabbits to feed your dogs and cats.
More blurry in terms of source of foods for feeding are made by people who intentionally grow foods are or at least harvest foods from their own back yard, grown with intent for tortoise fodder, or by chance. These can be mixed with grocery greens (domestic weeds) for more nutrient and fiber rich meals, especially when it's not enough. Some of you all dry these backyard bounties for later use.
This is where I have landed over a few decades of tortoise keeping. Domestic weeds (grocery stores greens), backyard harvest, and dried weeds. This, for me is the best of all paths for time, connivence, and costs.
The people who just feed the brown balls seem to tilt heavy to convenience. The people who wild collect weeds are what I call weed purists, and maybe have one small species where they can collect a bounty in a few minutes at a local roadside, or their backyard. The way they write about what they do, it reads a little cult-y.
I'm currently setting up areas where the tortoises can get a wide variety from in the ground plants in their enclosures. I'll probably still offer food from my tortoise kitchen.
What is your system, brown balls -- weed purists, or somewhere in between?
More seriously. I'm going to write this as if tortoises are dogs/cats - so every-time I say dog or cat , think tortoise. I'll also use tortoises directly. I'm trying to bridge food and feeding considerations.
There seem to be purists, people who collect food for their dog, road kill, hunting, raised farm animals - these dogs also free range often and eat other stuff out of sight of the owner. In tortoise-land these people collect 'weeds' and the tortoise lives in an outside area where the plants available have been selected for suitability. Pre commercial dog foods this is how all dogs were fed. There was no Purina dog food in a bag at the grocery store. Caring for dogs took more time and effort, than 'buying what's on sale' as one dog food commercial once used to differentiate how their food was better.
Well, now there are grocery stores in most places with some kinds of bagged or canned dog or cat food. There is also a range of meats and produce you can buy to make your own. Many people do. Most people would seem to still buy convenience over quality, it's a hard to draw line. I made my own cat food off and one for many years following advice from a friend who had domestic cats to ages over 25 years. I had my kitty buddy for over 21 years, he lived to 23. Making your own food is better but it takes time. Now there are 'wild type' diets at the store for dogs and cats, that are expensive. More expensive than the ingredients, but your own homemade food takes time to create in your kitchen and space to store in your fridge or freezer.
You can make your own tortoise food, but all the Mazuri, ZooMed etc are much more convenient and easier to use. The range of quality is very wide, some are just colored pellets of grain by-products formulated for low protein and a fiber analysis that is not appropriate for tortoises (at all). The highest rated packaged foods for tortoises are also more expensive and closer to 'wild type' than the foods in unicolor uniform round brown balls of sweetened grain and grass.
The life long effects of the brown balls is not known, they have not been around long enough.
There is that spot between weed purists (not 420) and brown balls. Buying domesticated weeds (lettuces) and mixing in more stuff to to bring about that balance of greens made for our pallets (soft and more or less flavorless - low fiber low nutrient content) with collected weeds. Grocery greens and dried weeds. This is like the person who makes their own dog food from what the buy at the grocery store so it's more 'wild type' but not out there hunting or scraping up road kill (yes, many people manage large collection of carnivores with road kill as part of the larder) or raising meat rabbits to feed your dogs and cats.
More blurry in terms of source of foods for feeding are made by people who intentionally grow foods are or at least harvest foods from their own back yard, grown with intent for tortoise fodder, or by chance. These can be mixed with grocery greens (domestic weeds) for more nutrient and fiber rich meals, especially when it's not enough. Some of you all dry these backyard bounties for later use.
This is where I have landed over a few decades of tortoise keeping. Domestic weeds (grocery stores greens), backyard harvest, and dried weeds. This, for me is the best of all paths for time, connivence, and costs.
The people who just feed the brown balls seem to tilt heavy to convenience. The people who wild collect weeds are what I call weed purists, and maybe have one small species where they can collect a bounty in a few minutes at a local roadside, or their backyard. The way they write about what they do, it reads a little cult-y.
I'm currently setting up areas where the tortoises can get a wide variety from in the ground plants in their enclosures. I'll probably still offer food from my tortoise kitchen.
What is your system, brown balls -- weed purists, or somewhere in between?
