How much does a 25-35 y.o. Sulcata need to eat?

[KarenH]

Hi, I've been a Sulcata mom for 4 days. We got the 20 minute limited introduction and info from the sellers of our new house before they departed. The Sulcatas were supposed to be gone when we took possession; that was the plan, but "the guy" didn't come get them. I am interested in keeping them but I'm just intimidated by the learning curve/not wanting to do them any harm (I'm new to tortoises, new to SW, new to desert, new to desert plants...). We thought "the guy" who is another tortoise keeper would be a better caretaker for them. But apparently not.

The sellers left us 2 coolers of veggies for them, which was kind. Geronimo, the male, who's about 2 1/2 feet long, is friendly and curious. Missy, the female, doesn't come running to us, but has eaten what we put out. She was in the den for the first three days of us having this new house, but yesterday, she came out and quickly ate 3 carrots we had put out. Previously, Geronimo had Day 1: 1 zuchinni and a big prickly pear cactus segment. Day 2: 1 cucumber, 2 carrots. Day 3: 1 zuchinni and a cactus segment. Day 4: 4 carrots and a puddle of water in the depression where the seller said she "sometimes" puts water for them. Today we gave him a 1/2 head of cabbage and refilled the water hole.
The seller had just removed/sold the last clutch? of small tortoises. Apparently Geronimo loves Missy very much so they are prolific 3-4x a year? Oh, the seller also told us not to remove the empty (real) tortoise shell from the back corner of the yard, because that gets Missy a break now and then when Geronimo is feeling frisky. Their 1/3 acre stone-wall enclosure has everything they need, except where I'm seeing in all the threads that they need grasses... There are abundant prickly pear cactus but just bare dirt from them lumbering around. They den and come and go as they please.
My main question is, how do we know if we're feeding enough/too much? So far they've gobbled down everything we've put in. Any idea what kind of caloric needs they have? I don't know how much they weigh but he's at least 2 1/2 feet long and she's just a bit smaller.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Karen, and welcome to the Forum!

I don't know how easy it is to get grass to grow in Arizona, but that's really the easiest way to feed a sulcata, that is, allow them to eat what grows in their yard.

I DO offer zucchini occasionally, and bell peppers occasionally, but the main part of my large sulcata's diet is what grows in his yard, with dark, leafy greens - heavy on the endive and escarole as a daily treat. Carrots probably shouldn't be offered at all. Besides having too much sugar, tortoises have been known to choke to death on a chunk of bitten off carrot.

If you have cactus growing, that's great. They can have that daily. Cabbage, occasionally, like maybe once a month. Mostly dark leafy greens, weeds and grasses.

You also need to make a permanent waterer for them. I dig out a 'scrape' in the ground then line it with prepared Redi-Mix:



Or you can sink a garbage toter lid so it's flush with the ground:



Or if you have a large anything, sink it into the ground. This is the top of a circular evaporative cooler:




The ones that are "dumpable" I just tip over and hose out. The in-the-ground-cement ones I sweep out with the broom.

 

[Yvonne G]

If Geronimo pesters Missy too much, you might consider fencing off a different area for her. Their yard is large enough you could divide it in half, with one side for each one. Or you might even consider offering one of them for sale. It's not that easy to dispose of over 100 babies a year.

 

[Lyn W]

Have you found the caresheet in the species specific section yet? That will be invaluable to you.
Be careful of feeding whole or large chunks of carrots as there have been stories on here about some of the larger breeds choking on them.

 

[KarenH]

Hi, I've been a Sulcata mom for 4 days. We got the 20 minute limited introduction and info from the sellers of our new house before they departed. The Sulcatas were supposed to be gone when we took possession; that was the plan, but "the guy" didn't come get them. I am interested in keeping them but I'm just intimidated by the learning curve/not wanting to do them any harm (I'm new to tortoises, new to SW, new to desert, new to desert plants...). We thought "the guy" who is another tortoise keeper would be a better caretaker for them. But apparently not.

The sellers left us 2 coolers of veggies for them, which was kind. Geronimo, the male, who's about 2 1/2 feet long, is friendly and curious. Missy, the female, doesn't come running to us, but has eaten what we put out. She was in the den for the first three days of us having this new house, but yesterday, she came out and quickly ate 3 carrots we had put out. Previously, Geronimo had Day 1: 1 zuchinni and a big prickly pear cactus segment. Day 2: 1 cucumber, 2 carrots. Day 3: 1 zuchinni and a cactus segment. Day 4: 4 carrots and a puddle of water in the depression where the seller said she "sometimes" puts water for them. Today we gave him a 1/2 head of cabbage and refilled the water hole.
The seller had just removed/sold the last clutch? of small tortoises. Apparently Geronimo loves Missy very much so they are prolific 3-4x a year? Oh, the seller also told us not to remove the empty (real) tortoise shell from the back corner of the yard, because that gets Missy a break now and then when Geronimo is feeling frisky. Their 1/3 acre stone-wall enclosure has everything they need, except where I'm seeing in all the threads that they need grasses... There are abundant prickly pear cactus but just bare dirt from them lumbering around. They den and come and go as they please.
My main question is, how do we know if we're feeding enough/too much? So far they've gobbled down everything we've put in. Any idea what kind of caloric needs they have? I don't know how much they weigh but he's at least 2 1/2 feet long and she's just a bit smaller.

 

[Yvonne G]

I forgot to mention hay. If you can't get grass to grow in their yard, you can go to a feed store and buy a couple bales of grass hay for them. I would put out a flake of hay each daily. (If you're not into horse talk, a 'flake' is about a 4" section of hay that breaks off naturally from the larger bale)

 

[KarenH]

Thank you for that advice!

 

[KarenH]

Ok, will do! Their poop is blackish so I know they're not so dehydrated that they are putting out white stuff, but we did wonder if "sometimes" was enough water for them...

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

The first thing is that these two need to be separated. Living alone with. male is literally torture for that female. If you want to keep them, you'll need to divide up the yard.

Next thing is that they need a heated night box. North American winters are too cold for these tropical tortoises. Some of them can survive outside, but it not good for them. Not even in Yuma. Here is an example: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

In my enclosure with four adult sulcatas, a flake of hay lasts about a week, depending on what else I feed them. That should be your main food source. I prefer orchard grass hay, or Bermuda hay, or both. The cactus pads are also an excellent tortoise food. This thread was written with babies in mind, but the food list and same principals apply to adults too: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Feel free to ask lots of questions.

 

[EllieMay]

What a wonderful house warming gift!! Welcome and congratulations! Keep us updated;-)

 

[surfergirl]

I agree with Tom on separating them. I see so many female torts with overly roughed up carapace, I mean worn down to where you can see the outlines of the males plastron and where their sides /claw scrub on each side because they are being over breed in captivity. From what I have read I do not see where Tortoises would usually get that much breeding activity naturally in the wild. Hence the reason many species store semen for years after breeding in the wild because they may not run into a male for several seasons.