Has anyone seen their torts munch on the wood walls of their enclosure? I bought a ZooMed outdoor pen for my smaller tort and she/he started munching on the wood trim. Their indoor pen and the outdoor 4x8 pen do not have trim or edges to chew.
Eating the enclosure
- Thread starter Yelloweyed
- Start date
My 3 year old sully eats roots of a tree in the backyard. I think when torts do this, there may be something they're craving. Do you provide a cuttle bone? My torts would chew on cement blocks... go figure.
Yeah, and here's a picture of the damage he did to the tree root.
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- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
I agree that there is something lacking in the diet. Mine will sometimes eat a rock or two if they want more calcium.
Have you offered Mazuri to him?
Have you offered Mazuri to him?
mini_max
Well-Known Member
Mine started eating his bark, and after offering Mazuri it stopped. He is looking for some sort of vitamin or nutrient.
I offer an assortment of fresh grasses & weeds grown from Tortoise Supply seeds (broadleaf mix and dry climate mix), Mazuri LS and ZooMed grassland food. They munch on their cuttlebones that are in their enclosures and sprinkle on ReptiCal 2x a week.
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Most of our tortoises don't eat the L.S. type, but it sounds like you ARE feeding correctly, so other than the enclosure tasting good, I have no clue.
In the wild, where tortoises don't have us wonderful care givers, they have to file their own beaks down. Tortoises will scrape their beak on rough stone or any rough surface. If he's actually biting off pieces of wood, and you're worried about splinters, tack up some heavy flexible plastic that he can't bite off.
I'll try that. Thanks. Their beaks appear okay. Their water and food dishes are terra cotta pans.
Just an update- the sulcatas still go directly to the edges and munch. Now I only use it to protect them while they are soaking in a tub outside in the sun. Bummer...
My Desert Tortoises were eating dirt and I bought some Miner-All made by Sticky Tongue Farms (they make it for indoor and outdoor, which is with and without D3). I sprinkle this occasionally on all my torts food and there has been no problem since then with the Desert Tortoises eating dirt.
I'd take up Yvonne's idea of plastic trim myself, i'd worry about splinters.
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