Dehydrated Food for Winter

[sbuh04]

Hey! I’m planning ahead for winter (which will be here soon ughhh). I have dehydrated sow thistle, plantain, mallow, and I am looking for more to dehydrate. I’m in Saskatchewan Canada and winters are long and cold. (Like October-May and down to -50°C). I’m wondering how everyone feeds their torts during winter. I have Hikari Mulberry pellets and Mazuri LS pellets but I understand those shouldn’t be a daily thing. But in the winter they might have to be. I have a local food store that sells micro greens and sometimes dandelion greens. They also have kale and other things like that. I guess I’m wondering if someone can help me plan for winter. I’m a brand new tort mom to a little baby hermanns. I have looked on Tortoise Table but I am overwhelmed. Looking for real life experiences people have with feeding them during long winters. When the weeds are dehydrated, do you rehydrate with their pellets, or how do you feed them?

Thanks!

 

[wellington]

I have leopards and a Russian. I live in Chicago Illinois USA. Our winters aren't as cold or long as yours but I still have to house my torts inside. I feed Mazuri tortoise pellets a couple times a week, dried mulberry leaf and anything I can get to dry for winter. I also use grocery greens. I try to use the better ones like arugula, escarole, dandelion, cactus pads, endive and I add in spring mix and romaine. I also will buy what I can find that are dried flowers/weeds used for food toppers.
In summer they get very little of these foods except the mulberry leaf they get daily, cactus often and mazuri maybe once a month and they graze on weeds and grass that's in their summer enclosures.
So between their better summer diet and their not too bad winter diet, I feel it's balanced out fairly well. Never had a tortoise sick or stop eating. Always very active, a little less in winter, but still active.
Give as wide a variety as possible, leaning more towards the better foods as much as possible.

 

[Ink]

My leopard loves the mulberry pellets, however doesn't like the mazuri LS. He really likes the other mazuri. I don't feed it often, more of a treat.

 

[wellington]

My leopard loves the mulberry pellets, however doesn't like the mazuri LS. He really likes the other mazuri. I don't feed it often, more of a treat.

What are mulberry pellets?

 

[Tom]

What are mulberry pellets?

Hikari Mulberiffic. Will sells it. It's quite a phenomenon. Tortoises love the stuff. I bought some from him at the last reptile show, and my tortoises devoured it the first time I ever gave it to them. It's a good one, and you know the Hikari brand from the fish too.

 

[Tom]

My leopard loves the mulberry pellets, however doesn't like the mazuri LS. He really likes the other mazuri. I don't feed it often, more of a treat.

Mix the two together...

 

[wellington]

Hikari Mulberiffic. Will sells it. It's quite a phenomenon. Tortoises love the stuff. I bought some from him at the last reptile show, and my tortoises devoured it the first time I ever gave it to them. It's a good one, and you know the Hikari brand from the fish too.

Thanks, I'll look it up.

 

[Tom]

Hey! I’m planning ahead for winter (which will be here soon ughhh). I have dehydrated sow thistle, plantain, mallow, and I am looking for more to dehydrate. I’m in Saskatchewan Canada and winters are long and cold. (Like October-May and down to -50°C). I’m wondering how everyone feeds their torts during winter. I have Hikari Mulberry pellets and Mazuri LS pellets but I understand those shouldn’t be a daily thing. But in the winter they might have to be. I have a local food store that sells micro greens and sometimes dandelion greens. They also have kale and other things like that. I guess I’m wondering if someone can help me plan for winter. I’m a brand new tort mom to a little baby hermanns. I have looked on Tortoise Table but I am overwhelmed. Looking for real life experiences people have with feeding them during long winters. When the weeds are dehydrated, do you rehydrate with their pellets, or how do you feed them?

Thanks!

For winter, you can use any convenient grocery store green as a vehicle to get all sorts of good stuff into your tortoise. Even romaine lettuce. Lettuce by itself is not good tortoise food. Lettuce mixed with mulberrific, soaked horse hay pellets, dried leaf options, Food Fixer, Herbal Hay, Flower Topper, Arcadia Optimised 52, Purina Organic chicken lay crumbles, a little calcium powder, etc... is great tortoise food. Add in Mazuri once or twice a week, and whatever else you can find, and your tortoise will be great.

 

[Ink]

Hikari Mulberiffic. Will sells it. It's quite a phenomenon. Tortoises love the stuff. I bought some from him at the last reptile show, and my tortoises devoured it the first time I ever gave it to them. It's a good one, and you know the Hikari brand from the fish too.

I did buy it from Will at Kapidolo farms.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

@sbuh04 you might find this post helpful:

These can be frozen, thawed, and retain good texture!

I live in a very cold climate. In an effort to increase variety in our Sulcata's winter diet, I've been experimenting with both dehydrating and freezing foods. I tested freezing plants that I have seen survive a few early snow storms in the past. I picked leaves from plants that have survived...

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