Cheapest way to feed adult sulcata?

[Clairemarie]

Grass and grass hay. All the other stuff discussed here is great too, but once they hit about 12 inches, I introduce grass hay and that becomes the majority of their diet within a few months. It’s relatively cheap and very easy. Weeds, mulberry leaves, opuntia, grocery store greens, and pumpkins are all great foods too, but grass is best, or grass hay if you don't have the grass.

I have a question about the grass hay. We have donkeys and supplement their natural grass with mixed grass hay. We get the bales from our neighbor who cuts his own field. Would this be the same kind of hay you are taking about? It’s not alfalfa or anything rich, just a mixed grass. And if so how short should it be chopped? Our guy is 2.6 years old and 15” long. Thank you!

 

[Nellie Rose]

I have a question about the grass hay. We have donkeys and supplement their natural grass with mixed grass hay. We get the bales from our neighbor who cuts his own field. Would this be the same kind of hay you are taking about? It’s not alfalfa or anything rich, just a mixed grass. And if so how short should it be chopped? Our guy is 2.6 years old and 15” long. Thank you!

I am also curious about this.

 

[Tom]

I have a question about the grass hay. We have donkeys and supplement their natural grass with mixed grass hay. We get the bales from our neighbor who cuts his own field. Would this be the same kind of hay you are taking about? It’s not alfalfa or anything rich, just a mixed grass. And if so how short should it be chopped? Our guy is 2.6 years old and 15” long. Thank you!

Sounds like it would be fine, as long as there are no toxic weeds mixed in. Some family friends tried to save money on hay for their horses one time and the toxic weeds in the hay killed one horse and resulted in thousands of dollars in vet bills to save two others.

If your neighbor is aware of this and knows what he is doing with his hay, then I would have no problem feeding it to my tortoises. You also need to make sure it isn't too coarse and stemmy. Orchard grass hay works best.

I don't normally chop up the hay for a sulcata, but there is no harm in doing so if you want to spend the time.

 

[Clairemarie]

Sounds like it would be fine, as long as there are no toxic weeds mixed in. Some family friends tried to save money on hay for their horses one time and the toxic weeds in the hay killed one horse and resulted in thousands of dollars in vet bills to save two others.

If your neighbor is aware of this and knows what he is doing with his hay, then I would have no problem feeding it to my tortoises. You also need to make sure it isn't too coarse and stemmy. Orchard grass hay works best.

I don't normally chop up the hay for a sulcata, but there is no harm in doing so if you want to spend the time.

Ok gotcha thank you. Yeah he’s a 4th generation farmer on the same land which is pretty cool. He has cattle and equine so that’s why I trust to use him for hay for my donks. Just wanted to make sure that was ok for sulcatas too. Thanks!

 

[Renee_H]

I have a leopard not a sulcata and while they eat the same diet I’m sure yours will eventually eat more but here is what I’ve done so far.
I planted roses and feed the leaves
I planted hibiscus and feed the leaves
I planted opuntia to feed
I planted grazing mix in a planter bed and feed her clippings from that but so far I haven’t been successful in growing much volume from the mix.
I placed her in an enclosure that is part grass. She loves to eat grass.
I found a local park that has grape leaves so I’ll be collecting those as long as they’re available and plan to plant grapes.
I ordered dried morninga and food fixer and amend any store bought greens with those.
I’m considering ordering Mazuri LS but she’s never had it before so we shall see.
Mine has zero interest in flowers but I keep trying.
When I did the math it’s cheaper to buy mazuri and feed that than it is to buy greens and amend them. But the most economical option is to grow things you can feed and buy orchard grass. (IMO)

 

[Nellie Rose]

I have a leopard not a sulcata and while they eat the same diet I’m sure yours will eventually eat more but here is what I’ve done so far.
I planted roses and feed the leaves
I planted hibiscus and feed the leaves
I planted opuntia to feed
I planted grazing mix in a planter bed and feed her clippings from that but so far I haven’t been successful in growing much volume from the mix.
I placed her in an enclosure that is part grass. She loves to eat grass.
I found a local park that has grape leaves so I’ll be collecting those as long as they’re available and plan to plant grapes.
I ordered dried morninga and food fixer and amend any store bought greens with those.
I’m considering ordering Mazuri LS but she’s never had it before so we shall see.
Mine has zero interest in flowers but I keep trying.
When I did the math it’s cheaper to buy mazuri and feed that than it is to buy greens and amend them. But the most economical option is to grow things you can feed and buy orchard grass. (IMO)

I figured most of the advice I'd get is to grow my own food. Definitely something I'm planning on doing. I have a few raised garden beds that I can plant next year, I just kill every green thing I touch haha. I've been trying to grow cactus for months now and I'm not getting those big thick pads like I'm supposed to, it's growing these skinny tall shoots that keep falling over.

I just ordered some dried toppers to try, I already feed mazuri and dried hibiscus and some other flowers. She loves fresh hibiscus especially! I bought her a big bush of it and she ate it down to twigs.
I love the idea of using grass clippings. I have a huge untreated yard that produces tons of grass when we cut it. And I think I can freeze the banana leaves at the end of the summer when we cut them down, that should get us through a few weeks at least, we have maybe 30 large trees we cut down at the end of summer, they grow back every spring.
And she already likes to eat hay, I keep a pile of it in her enclosure all the time so she can graze when she wants, in between fresh meals.

 

[Nellie Rose]

I have a huge magnolia tree on my property. Would those be a fine leaf and flower to feed the sulcata? When I googled it it said it was fine but I want to make sure.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings to another Maryland Sully owner!

As far as food available, looks like you have the basics down. In Summer through the end of Fall, We provide our Sully a generous mix of mulberry leaves & small branches, banana leaves, grape leaves, hibiscus and rose of sharon leaves, branches & blossoms, and of course dandelion leaves, blossoms, and a ton of other generic Maryland weeds. The last few years our back woodsy area was overgrown/invaded by Japanese Stiltgrass. A very invasive fast growing weed that I pull & provide all Summer long.

Once things freeze, it’s a bit more challenging. Luckily our local produce store has dandelion for sale. So, dandelion, hay, a few weeds, Mazuri & heads of romaine lettuce round out the diet.

Good luck!

 

[Maro2Bear]

I have a huge magnolia tree on my property. Would those be a fine leaf and flower to feed the sulcata? When I googled it it said it was fine but I want to make sure.

Do you know what type of Magnolia you have? Some magnolias drop their leaves in Fall, while others keep their big green leaves all year round.

Ive never fed either type to our Sully nor the flowers. The sap in these leaves always seems milky & latexy like sap from fig trees or milkweed. I avoid feeding one off things like these leaves.

That said, I see TheTortoiseTable says they are ok…..

Magnolia: There are no known hazards from this plant, and some tortoises might appreciate the flowers (although the waxy leaves of some species might not be palatable for them).

Magnolia flowers are mostly pink or white, but some are dark pink.

 

[Nellie Rose]

Greetings to another Maryland Sully owner!

As far as food available, looks like you have the basics down. In Summer through the end of Fall, We provide our Sully a generous mix of mulberry leaves & small branches, banana leaves, grape leaves, hibiscus and rose of sharon leaves, branches & blossoms, and of course dandelion leaves, blossoms, and a ton of other generic Maryland weeds. The last few years our back woodsy area was overgrown/invaded by Japanese Stiltgrass. A very invasive fast growing weed that I pull & provide all Summer long.

Once things freeze, it’s a bit more challenging. Luckily our local produce store has dandelion for sale. So, dandelion, hay, a few weeds, Mazuri & heads of romaine lettuce round out the diet.

Good luck!

Yup! It sounds like I should start by planting some mulberry trees, seems everyone has them. And you're in Maryland too!!! Any tips for the winter months? My shed and yard is under construction and we're clearing out a large portion of the garage for her, though she is still small, about the size of my hand.

Do you know what type of Magnolia you have? Some magnolias drop their leaves in Fall, while others keep their big green leaves all year round.

Ive never fed either type to our Sully nor the flowers. The sap in these leaves always seems milky & latexy like sap from fig trees or milkweed. I avoid feeding one off things like these leaves.

That said, I see TheTortoiseTable says they are ok…..

Magnolia: There are no known hazards from this plant, and some tortoises might appreciate the flowers (although the waxy leaves of some species might not be palatable for them).

Magnolia flowers are mostly pink or white, but some are dark pink.

No idea, I believe mine keeps it's leaves year round though I have never paid attention before admittedly. It does drop quite a few leaves though, which we rake into a big pile and leave under the tree, which is where I got the idea to potentially feed the leaves. I've boiled them before and dropped them into my fish tank and used them in bioactive enclosures for lizards.
I read that exact passage from the tortoise table, and a few other resources said it was fine, but I wanted to make sure.
It has white flowers.

 

[Clairemarie]

When people ask for 'tips and tricks' it already seems like there will be problems. There are no 'tricks', it'a all about husbandry. Trick implies a short cut to a quality outcome, there are none.

Bales of orchard, and Burmuda grass with an occasional flake of alfalfa are the low cost way to go. If you have a mulberry tree the leaves are a great food source as would be opuntia cactus. Another good crop is weedy 'native' chicory.

Depending on your cost for water and space to grow things you might consider a lawn area for grazing. About 500-800 square feet of irrigated lawn will/should be enough per adult.

Banana leaves work well for some species not so well for others, but a good idea to try. If your tortoise like it, it will be smashed over and fully consumed. I've not tried banana leaves with a sulcata.

I really glad you asked here instead of so many FB groups that are heavily polluted with crap advice.

When people ask for 'tips and tricks' it already seems like there will be problems. There are no 'tricks', it'a all about husbandry. Trick implies a short cut to a quality outcome, there are none.

Bales of orchard, and Burmuda grass with an occasional flake of alfalfa are the low cost way to go. If you have a mulberry tree the leaves are a great food source as would be opuntia cactus. Another good crop is weedy 'native' chicory.

Depending on your cost for water and space to grow things you might consider a lawn area for grazing. About 500-800 square feet of irrigated lawn will/should be enough per adult.

Banana leaves work well for some species not so well for others, but a good idea to try. If your tortoise like it, it will be smashed over and fully consumed. I've not tried banana leaves with a sulcata.

I really glad you asked here instead of so many FB groups that are heavily polluted with crap advice.

We love your site, just made another purchase. I have a question regarding your recommended 500-800 sq ft for an adult. We have a 2.5 year old 15” sulcata. His current outdoor area is 512 sq ft. And it does not seem enough. He often will pace the fence even when there’s nobody around and nothing to see. I feel bad for him so I will often let him out to essentially free range while I walk behind him and he seems so much happier. We have a bunch of pastures and he just loves to walk and walk. We were thinking this is way too small of an area for him and he’s not very big yet. Is there other type of enrichment one can recommend for a guy this size? Thanks!