how much is to much?

[tasena]

I have found lots of great info on what to feed my sulcata (thanks everyone). Also great info on how to get him back onto the right foods (this is a work in progress) but what I am not to sure of is how much he should be fed. I know most of the sites say they can be big eaters and I just want to be sure I dont over feed him. He weighs about 3 pounds not sure how old he is (really not sure if he's a he). Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Chucky]

I give my 4 lb Sulcata a couple handfuls of grass a day and a little bit of greens mixed in with it. Usually you want to feed them what they will eat in about 10 minutes or until they walk away from it. If they walk away from the food, next time give them that much less. Grass I usually leave in for most of the day though and just remove any greens if they leave them but as you said, they are eating machines so usually there's nothing left

 

[Jentortmom]

I put hay in there enclosure all the time, then grass on a plate w/ mixed greens and plants on top, I let them eat for about 20 mins or so, or until they leave then I toss what/ if any is left. I have yearlings and I usually put two handfuls in. I also chop mine up really small.

 

[janiedough]

Am I correct in thinking that as long as you are providing your sulcata with enough calcium, vitamin D, water, heat and humidity that they can (healthily) eat as much as they will eat? (as long as the food is proper food)

 

[Yvonne G]

I always used to tell people that they should imagine how large the actual stomach is inside the tortoise (not the area inside the shell, but the actual stomach), then imagine the pile of greens all chopped up and crammed into that stomach. That's how much you should feed.

But I've changed my way of thinking. I have a little 3 year old leopard tortoise, the first baby I hatched from an egg, so I kept him/her. This little tortoise eats like food is running out of style. He would eat all day if I kept putting food in front of him. He has the grass and weeds in his little habitat all eaten down to the ground. I think he thinks he's a sulcata)

So I'm thinking maybe imagining how big his stomach is just isn't enough food. Lately I've been putting out two large piles of greens...both piles larger than the tortoise...and he's cleaning it all up! Some folks say to feed them as much as they will eat. I don't think that's possible with this tortoise. He'd eat all day if I did that!

Yvonne

 

[DAC8671]

I used to feed my sulcata 1 bag of mixed greens (store bought in the salad section) per day. Then I changed to buying fresh produce. I put out about 3 cups (more/less) in the morning. It's mixed with romaine, green & red leaf, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens and something else I can't think of right now. Then a bit more in the afternoon (he would eat every ounce of the morning feeding). Just in the past month he started eating the grass in the yard. I also just recently changed his bedding to timothy hay, which he will NOT eat for some reason. He also gets pieces of fruit/veges once a week. Today I caught him eating a snail.

Ralph is 4 yrs old and about 12-15 pounds.