EATING TOO MUCH???

[kayannabella]

Hey guys my lil Octavious is around 9 months now and he eats the DOLE spring mix.. along with collards, kale and mustard greens (he doesnt care too much for the mustard greens tho) but anywayz... i was wondering how fast should he be going threw 1 bag of that?? hes a pig! i feed him around 8 in the morning and when i get home and around 10 and night i feed him jus a lil bit and its all gone with in like a hour!! is he just obsessed with this kind of food?? should i try something else??? sometimes i put dandilions and cut up carrots and put it in there too which he goes crazy for but i know i shouldnt give him carrots too often.
any suggestions please let me know!!! ThaNks!!

 

[Millerlite]

i would cut back feeding to at least 1x a day, morning would be best, I feed mine every other day, but everyday isnt bad, 2x a day might be a little much though.

 

[tortoisenerd]

The more important question is what is his Straight Carapace Length in mm and weight in grams. How much he eats isn't an issue if he's a healthy weight for his length. Level of activity is also something to keep an eye on. If he has a lot of space to roam and does that, he'll need more food than if he just lies around all day. Does your tort have chub, or can it very easily fit its arms, legs, and head in the shell? You want slow steady growth.

I've heard of hatchlings being fed once or twice a day. I feed my hatchling once a day with an afternoon snack sometimes, and keep a close eye on his weight & length weekly to adjust his food accordingly. Right now he gets a pile about half his size, and then a couple pieces as a snack if he's still awake. My hatchling can't go through a bag of spring mix before it goes bad, by a long shot (I help eat it or buy it by the pound). He's about 70 grams now. I throw out more greens than he eats for the other stuff (that we won't eat, like mustard greens). I grow a little bit but even with three small cat litter pan trays of sprouts, it doesn't grow fast enough to be more than a little salad topping.

 

[kayannabella]

I have had him a lil over a month and he hasnt grown that much at all, his tort table is a bookcase that i took the shelves out of.. its huge and hes so small so hes always walking around and he fits very well into his shell. it just seems like hes always hungry! maybe im just being a over protective mother! lol this is my 1st tort and im obsessed with him i think hes the best thing ever!!

 

[tortoisenerd]

About how much does he eat a day on average compared to his shell size? As long as he is growing at an appropriate rate, I would agree that baby torts seem to eat a lot!

 

[kayannabella]

ummm... not as big as his shell.. like i give him a little hand full in the morning then a little hand full at night... so it usually takes around 10 days to go thru a bag of that DOLE spring mix.. is that ok then??

 

[tortoisenerd]

That could be about right depending on his size. Just keep an eye on his SCL & weight weekly or monthly (most do weekly until 1 year).

 

[Laura]

Mine graze all day. I cant 'feed' them a ceratin amount.. they eat as much as they want..

 

[bsr8129]

what is the best length to weight ratio? when i was feeding my two the spring mix from the bag, they would go through a bag in less then a week. one is currently 200+ grams and one is 170 ish grams. I feed them 2 times a day, once in the morning and once at night, they will leave some food, but if i dont feed them at night they will sit and pace around the enclosure waiting for their feeding.

 

[Crazy1]

I am no expert by any means but you may want to try introducing grasses to him also.

 

[bettinge]

I have an out door pen that has as many edible planted foods as I could easily find. My torts, in the summer will regulate their food intake. They eat what they like in the wild and regulate on their own. I think temperature and day length have a lot to do with food intake. It would also be reasonable to think that a hibernated tort will need more "reserves" than a tortoise that is overwintered. My own gut tells me that a hibernated should be allowed to eat all they can as they know best how to prepare for the cold months. A overwintered (not natural for many species) tortoise is growing EVERY month, and it seems to reason that food should be limited.
Does this make sense to anyone else, or am I off base here?