How about Romaine?
- Thread starter Hutsie B
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Everything in moderation... Weeds, grass, hay, mazuri, all types of greens, flowers, etc.
Ditto
Romaine is not toxic or anything, but its lacking in fiber and calcium. They love it, but it fills their stomach up with useless bulk instead of filling their stomach up with good stuff. Its okay to mix in a little once in a while, but why? Why not feed better things?
Romaine can be useful when trying to get a picky eater to try other things.
Romaine can be useful when trying to get a picky eater to try other things.
yeah, I agree in moderation, but I had been feeding too much spring mix and that has too much protein so I am backing off of that and wanted a substitute. I feed Mazuri, hay, that they don't really eat even when I soak it, cut grass from outside, they don't like that either. At this time of year it is hard to come up with the weeds and grazing materials for them. So I am trying to feed different things that don't have the protein cause my shells are pyramiding a little. So I have added more moisture to their habitat, soaking them more and am trying to get them to eat a balanced diet. Oh yeah, I also feed them the cactus pads. I have read the food list and I just can't access most of that. Any help is appreciated.
I don’t think you get protein from spring mix. It should be give with a varied diet, but it is not protein.
- Spring mix is not high in protein.
- Protein has nothing to do with pyramiding.
- Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. If your babies are pyramiding it is because the environment is too dry, or because something, like a MVB or too much outside time for example, is drying out the carapace.
- Babies don't eat grass hay. It is possible to introduce it sooner with some effort, but most of them won't eat hay until they are around 12" or larger.
- Babies eat grass best when it is tender young shoots. Older, more mature grass from outside tends to be too tough and coarse. If you don't have freshly sprouting new grass outside, try the little sprouted wheat grass plots from Petco or some grocery stores. Trim some on to you pre-cut pile of greens for the day and mix it all in. Start with just a little. If you keep the little plot in a window sill and water it, you can get 8 or 9 cuttings from a single plot. Buy several plots and rotate through them. Grass can be fed every day.
- As a way to amend the grocery store greens, you can add in some soaked ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Chow. Start with a small broken piece of one pellet. Soak until mushy, and then mix it in with the day's greens. Some sulcatas take a while to get used to this food, but all of mine grow to love it after a while. Be persistent and don't give up. Its a good supplemental food.
Speedy-1
Well-Known Member
If high protein were an issue Mazuri wouldn't be in business as it is 15% protein . Plant protein is more easily digested by our torts because of the difference in amino acids found in plant protein as opposed to animal protein ! 
I feel romaine and Greenleaf/redleaf has gotten a bad rap. They are not as bad as some people seem to think. Anything without variety is not good. But there is quite a bit of good nutritional value in romaine. Her is how I feed romaine to young tortoises...
I toss the center stem, which is mostly water, and feed the darkest green parts. This part of romaine is as nutritious and has equal water content to many of the weeds we love to feed. This way I am feeding the part that has more fiber, less water content than even pumpkin or squash leaves, more vitamin A, way more vitamin C than most of our favorite recommended foods. It does still need to balance the cal/phos ratio, so something with more calcium should be added, and, like most leafy things, it needs more fiber for a sulcata.
I toss the center stem, which is mostly water, and feed the darkest green parts. This part of romaine is as nutritious and has equal water content to many of the weeds we love to feed. This way I am feeding the part that has more fiber, less water content than even pumpkin or squash leaves, more vitamin A, way more vitamin C than most of our favorite recommended foods. It does still need to balance the cal/phos ratio, so something with more calcium should be added, and, like most leafy things, it needs more fiber for a sulcata.
I do enjoy your food posts @wellington. Less water than squash leaves? I’m going to have to test that out.
