Confusion: Feeding hay to sulcata babies ?

[Bee62]

Hello tortoise friends,

as some of you might know: I own three sulcata babies.
They are 9 months old and grow steady and qick. I was thinking about to buy a 4. sulcata baby, and found a breeder who sell some at the same age as mine.
As I asked the breeder how much his tortoise babies weight, he wrote me back : 100 - 160 Grams.
I told him that my babies are all above 300 Grams, and he told me that he feeds hay to his sulcata babies and only few greens.
Now I am confused: I know that hay is good for adult or semi adult sulcata tortoises, but for babies ? I think they need much greens to grow.
What is right and what is wrong ? Can a sulcata baby be healthy when it only get`s hay to eat ?

 

[Markw84]

Hello tortoise friends,

as some of you might know: I own three sulcata babies.
They are 9 months old and grow steady and qick. I was thinking about to buy a 4. sulcata baby, and found a breeder who sell some at the same age as mine.
As I asked the breeder how much his tortoise babies weight, he wrote me back : 100 - 160 Grams.
I told him that my babies are all above 300 Grams, and he told me that he feeds hay to his sulcata babies and only few greens.
Now I am confused: I know that hay is good for adult or semi adult sulcata tortoises, but for babies ? I think they need much greens to grow.
What is right and what is wrong ? Can a sulcata baby be healthy when it only get`s hay to eat ?

Most young sulcatas aren't as eager to eat hay. It is too tough for them and must be soaked and hydrated first, for youngsters, to get it more palatable. They can get accustomed to it and as adults it is a lifesaver as a good base to the diet as it is inexpensive in large quantities. It does provide great fiber content to the diet, which definitely benefits sulcatas. If you do get a younger sulcata eating hay, many types of hay will not provide all the nutrients it needs to grow and thrive. Leafy green weeds like mallow, plantain, dandelion, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, etc, etc. all add much needed vitamins and minerals not as abundant in many hays. If they will eat it, hay is a good food, but no food is good by itself. That is why a varied diet is by far the best and always recommended. That is also why your tortoises are twice the size of the ones the breeder has at the same age!

Depending upon the type of hay used, it is either a bit high in protein, and/or the calcium content is low, and/or the calcium/phosphorus ratio is not good. Mature grasses of most types are the best. Alfalfa I would avoid as too high in protein. Same with Clovers. Timothy hay is tough and stemmy and also fairly low in calcium and a poorer cal/phos ratio. Same with a wheat or oat hat.

 

[wellington]

One type of food is never a good idea. If you can get your babies to eat hay it wouldn't hurt. Soak it and chop it up fine. But stick with all the other things your feeding too.
Like with leopards. Babies don't usually eat grass. If one can get them to eat it at a young age, along with all kinds of other things, it's a good thing.

 

[saginawhxc]

For my little guy I use the pure hay pellets made for horses, but I rehydrate them and mix them into his greens. Once rehydrated they get nice and mushy like Mazuri does and mix into the greens nice and easy. Sometimes he tries to eat around the hay, but then somedays he seems to seek out the clumps of hay and eat those first.

Like mentioned above, variety is key.

My hay mix is approximately 45% timothy, 45% orchard, and 10% alfalfa.

 

[Bee62]

Thanks to all for your answers.
I don`t know what sort of hay the breeder feed. Mayby the babies still have a lack of vitamins, calcium and other minerals and I don`t want to buy a sick tort.
That makes the decision easier for me not to buy a baby from this breeder. That`s a pitty ....
But I think and hope, that I am on the right way with my little ones, with their food.
I have these horse pellets too, but they eat only little pieces from the soaked pellets and because I don`t chop their food, I can`t mix the pellets with the greens I feed. But I am still thinking that when they get older they will beginn to eat hay by themselves.
I live in a "green" area. Here are still farmers that made hay for horses and cows. So there will be no problem for me to get hay of a good quality for my torts, - later, when they are bigger.
It is funny: Here in the forum it is like a sort of "competition" how fast a sulcata can grow. Everybody is proud if his sulcata tort when it is growing fast. Me too !
In Germany they will tell you in tortoise forums that a tort has to grow slow ( or it will get sick )...-even a sulcata, but I think the people who tell this are wrong with their opinion.
When a tortoise live in the right conditions for it`s species ( temps and humidity etc. ) and gets the right food as much as needed, it will grow as fast as his own genetic code "tell" them.
But if the same animal has to live in worse conditions, it will grow slowly, because of getting not enough food and vitamins and calcium etc.
Is this right how I am thinking ?
I try to create these right conditions for my torts and their "answer" is their growth and health ( I hope ).
Am I right ?

 

[JoesMum]

@Tom always says that Sulcatas eat very little grass or hay as babies.

He suggests taking a tiny amount of fresh grass and snip it with scissors and sprinkle it on wet food so they get the taste for it. Then you gradually increase it over time.

Once they're bigger and outside and grazing on a lawn they ingest grass accidentally as they eat other weeds like clover. It just comes as part of the diet from then on.