Anyone use this topper?

[Tortellini0000]

Anyone use this topper? Especially for us Canadians that don’t have many options.

 

[Tom]

Looks good on paper. The vitamin E and A is pretty high up on the ingredients list, but since this is just a topper added on and not used every day, I think it would be fine.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Anyone use this topper? Especially for us Canadians that don’t have many options.

It looks reasonable good. By reasonable good, I mean there are no alarming ingredients and they suggest to use it as a supplement. I don't agree with use it with every meal/day. There should always be a break in use of any food item - at least once a week. I feed many things daily in a variety, but no single thing is used everyday. Everything goes through some rotation.

Tortellini0000. you might consider any of the complete foods and just grind them for use, or use them as a supplement and not the whole ration for the day. Don't get 'sold' on a topper.​

I don't understand why they would not go organic, all those ingredients come in an organic form and/or are items that are not regulated for labeled as organic in a food product. I'm currenly budgeted out for testing more stuff that is 'out there' for tortoise food. But this will riase to the top of that list.

I've posted past negative results (means no bad stuff found) on tests of ZooMed Forest, Hikari Mulberrific, and Mazuri 'regular' as negative for -cieds. Another tested food was positive, no, I won't post that result.

The product of concern is owned by a business in Florida, there's a webpage. I'll buy some and have it tested. I'll get the test done on an unopened package - chain of custody and all. I'll only post negative results in a public venue.

Further I would suggest, even though the popular description is "topper" and not 'mixer'. you should mix it in with freshly rinse greens. The little moisture, even after salad spinner treatment, aids in getting stuff to stick and consumed, not a pile or uneaten stuff after the tortoise walks away from their food

Complete foods first came to market by ZooMed in 2008, then Mazuri in 2013. Before that was Kay Booth's use of chicken layer crumbles (I don't know about dog or cat food history). Although an early ITTS journal regarding radiated breeing indicated dog food was use - if memory serves me?

Now there is a growing crowd of 'complete foods' by many manufactures that are colored or brown balls and even more toppers, as powders and even a salad dressing liquid. I think ZooMed's topper was suspicoulsy close to following Tyler's Tortoise Supply 'topper' fist sales of that product. ZooMed may have already had it in a development pipeline(?) or just followed Tyler's lead. Now there are many. NONE are listed as organic.

Tortoises are long lived, consider using organic as much as possible.

 

[TylerStewart]

I think ZooMed's topper was suspicoulsy close to following Tyler's Tortoise Supply 'topper' fist sales of that product. ZooMed may have already had it in a development pipeline(?) or just followed Tyler's lead. Now there are many. NONE are listed as organic.

Tortoises are long lived, consider using organic as much as possible.

We've been making our Herbal Hay since something like 2011 or 2012 with very little changes, ZooMed didn't have it in the pipeline back then. It's all or almost all organic sourced, but you can't really call it that without being certified organic, so we just don't make that claim.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

We've been making our Herbal Hay since something like 2011 or 2012 with very little changes, ZooMed didn't have it in the pipeline back then. It's all or almost all organic sourced, but you can't really call it that without being certified organic, so we just don't make that claim.

Tyler, if it's all organic you can say that, just not on the primary panel. Panel takes into account a soup can which has no front or back. In your case you'd have to use a back label as the non-primary label. Of corse, if some ingredients are not organic, you have to differentiate which are & which are not, which would entail some level of reveal of the ingredients. I think I recall you'd rather not do that. I have not learned labeleing policy/law from USDA well enough to say it would be okay to list what is organic with further saying other ingredients not acquired as organic, but not list them. I had some oversight from a county orgainc compliance person in San Diego California, but her oversight was not detailed, but links to official USDA pages.

Very early on, maybe 2016 or so, I used the term organic on the primary panle (front label for my products) which lead to the county person guiding me.

I'm in the process of getting certifide for orgainc growing here in Texas which is a standalone cert that does not include processing - drying, mixing, or bagging. Depending on laws in Nevada (for what constitutes a food facility) you may be able to get certifide to process (mix and bag) as long as you keep certs from your suppliers. It's a messy matrix of state and federal regulkations. Another pice of the 'move to Texas' puzzle. Regulations at the county ansd state level are rarely more strict than federal, at least in regards to things importnat to me.

I've met Gary a few times and spoken with him regarding my product line which It's purposely configured so it would be onerous to copy what I do.