Baby sulcata help
- Thread starter Erick153
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A plant pot saucer big enough for her to lie in would be ideal - not too deep, easy for her to get in and out of with good grip for those little feet and above all very cheap!!
Hi Erick and welcome. Forget the other info this is the best place for up to date information from experienced keepers all over the world.
If you read the caresheet in the Species Specific sections that will give you a long list of suitable foods. Cucumber isn't very nutritious. I only give my leopard a little if he is constipated.
Also www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is a great guide on what is safe or not.
This is what they say about wheatgrass
Common name : Wheat (Wheat Grass, Wheatgrass, Common Wheat, Bread Wheat)
Latin name : Triticum spp; esp T. aestivum
Family name : Poaceae/Gramineae
The young grass of the wheat plant is fine for some tortoises, but the grain is high in protein and gluten, the Calcium content is almost non-existent, and the phosphorus levels are high, so only allow tortoises to graze the leaves and remove the spike with the flowers or seeds on it. Several other members of the Poaceae family are called Wheat Grass (for example, Elymus scaber, Agropyron cristatum, and Elytrigia elongata), but the same advice applies: you can feed the leaves of grass but avoid the seed or grain.
The Enclosures thread is also great for ideas.
Last edited:
Alaskamike
Well-Known Member
Eric.
With small ones I often bought " Organic Spring Mix" at the supermarket before I could grow what I needed.
It comes 2 ways - one is 1/2 baby spinach. I didn't use that one. The other is an even mix of greens. Several times a week I sprinkled calcium powder on it.
To me - variety is the key. Not always the same things. Mix it up.
I also used Mazuri tortoise pellets , soaked them and mixed into the greens. Worked great and provided added nutrition.
A bit of optunia cactus pad is good too. You might be surprised at what you can find once you are aware of what they can eat.
When I added celery , I only used the top leafy stuff.
Cook up a squash , divide it into small bags and freeze. That way several times a week you can add a pinch.
The list is huge , become framiliar with the right weeds and grasses and you will start seeing them. Just keep in mind that bug killer can kill a tortoise too.
Plants from a nursery are often fertilized with a systemic , that pulls into the plant and keeps bugs at bay but poisons the leaves and flowers for your tortoise.
The plants I got that way , I grew for 6+ months in my own soil before feeding.
This process is daunting at first but becomes easy and routine soon.
The older they get , the more things they will eat. Orchard grass , weeds , I've even given my larger ones a boiled egg shell & all.
With small ones I often bought " Organic Spring Mix" at the supermarket before I could grow what I needed.
It comes 2 ways - one is 1/2 baby spinach. I didn't use that one. The other is an even mix of greens. Several times a week I sprinkled calcium powder on it.
To me - variety is the key. Not always the same things. Mix it up.
I also used Mazuri tortoise pellets , soaked them and mixed into the greens. Worked great and provided added nutrition.
A bit of optunia cactus pad is good too. You might be surprised at what you can find once you are aware of what they can eat.
When I added celery , I only used the top leafy stuff.
Cook up a squash , divide it into small bags and freeze. That way several times a week you can add a pinch.
The list is huge , become framiliar with the right weeds and grasses and you will start seeing them. Just keep in mind that bug killer can kill a tortoise too.
Plants from a nursery are often fertilized with a systemic , that pulls into the plant and keeps bugs at bay but poisons the leaves and flowers for your tortoise.
The plants I got that way , I grew for 6+ months in my own soil before feeding.
This process is daunting at first but becomes easy and routine soon.
The older they get , the more things they will eat. Orchard grass , weeds , I've even given my larger ones a boiled egg shell & all.
Here is a list of good stuff to offer them. Cucumbers aren't toxic, but they aren't very nutritious either. A stomach full of cucumber is a stomach that can't be full of the good stuff.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
If you must use grocery store foods, then favor endive, escarole, and spring mix, and amend it with some herbal hay or some ZooMed Grassland pellets that are soaked and mixed in.
And yes, the wheat grass is a good part of a varied diet. You can use scissors and chop it on top of other greens. It will keep regrowing several times if you keep it in a window sill and water it.
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- May 12, 2016
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A 10 gallon is way to small do you have anything bigger
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