Do we need to limit the amount of food?

[GregUnd]

Just wondering if I should limit the amount of food my baby sulcata eats. Typically, it gets fed twice a day, but this weekend I fed him pretty much all he wants.... He pooped 3 times today, good poops by the way, and still eats what I put out there. All he does is eat and poop

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Oh and then falls asleep while/after eating, he's awesome.

He went threw 4oz of food(spring mix) last week.....

 

[Jacob]

I Have Heard People Say Feeding Twice A Day is Great, and Some Say once IS All You Need!
I Think It Just Depends How Much Energy and Exercise They Get Daily

 

[coreyc]

Eating and pooping is a good thing what and how much do you feed him?

 

[jaizei]

I usually have food available all day. If he's inside, its greens or cactus. Outside, he can graze at will.

 

[DeanS]

You're doing fine! I, personally, feed Mazuri in the morning and cactus in the afternoon! Other than that, they can graze all they want.

 

[Madkins007]

The first question is- are they getting enough of the right kinds of food? There is a chart by weight at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/nutguide.html

Then, it is a matter of taste and theory. Some believe that rapid growth = bad, and that we need to limit intake. Others feel that tortoises will self-limit so provide all you want.

The reality seems to be between the two. Most of the bad effects from 'forced growth' seem to be due to excess fat, sugars, and proteins. However, letting them graze all day on lower calorie, high-fiber, balanced calcium options seems to work nicely.

 

[jobeanator]

I usually put out a large quanity of food for each of my tortoises to eat.. then what they dont eat i discard later in the day. But as mark said above, its what they are eating is the most important. forced growth due to bad foods is not what you want in anyway.