How much should he eat?

[ShreddersMom]

So my male sulcata is a little over 3 1/2 years old. He is now eating well with the changes we made to his enclosure while we are building him a bigger one. Right now he's getting a mix of ZooMed Grassland Pellets as a base, along with rotation of dandelion and bok choy leaves, along with 1/2 of a cactus pad (roughly) and some orchard grass hay all blended into one, along with some water to rehydrate and help blend. We also just added in some mint and oregano, and he seems to love both. Question is, I have no idea how much I should be offer and he should be eating. He seems to eat everything I put down for the most part, on occassion he doesn't finish it. But I also read somewhere that you need to be careful to avoid over feeding?

Also, I will be switching to Mazuri pellets as I have heard they are better, until I get can our little brat to eat mainly grass/hay. But there's multiple types of Mazuri, and I don't know which is best.

Thanks for the help, as always!

 

[wellington]

I don't have a sulcata, but I feed my 4. 1/2 to 5 year old leopards a big pile during winter and if they finish it in the late afternoon when I go back to lock the shed, I will give them some more. In the wild they will graze most of the day. Be careful with the Mazuri, it puts size on them. Feed that sparingly, like a couple times a week I feed a little soaked in water and over the greens. In summer time I feed less as they are outside grazing. You want the Mazuri that is for tortoise

 

[ShreddersMom]

But there's actually two types of Mazuri - a regular and an LS (? I think) version.....

 

[Big Charlie]

I don't believe you can overfeed a sulcata, as long as you are giving the right kinds of foods.

 

[MPRC]

Most torts wont touch the LS version and it doesn't re-hydrate as well. I am under the impression that the Zoomed Grassland pellets are a good food, I think a lot of people avoid them just because of the cost.

 

[ShreddersMom]

Oh, I was under the impression from another tortoise keeper that Mazuri/Marion were better than ZooMed.....interesting. Mazuri is actually more expensive than the ZooMed. And the Mazuri I have to order online, as none of my local stores carry it. Darn it!

 

[MPRC]

I use Mazuri and ZooMed forest tortoise food for my Reds and they like both. I also mix in a little bit of this fruity pebble looking rainbow garbage that came with one of them. That and I also use a re-hydrated alfalfa pellet food a couple times a week too. Everything in moderation.

Also be careful with the mazuri, it's like tortoise crack, some will hunger strike until they get it. My big guy gets a couple nuggets a day to bind his food together or he snubs me. My little one is still okay with getting it a few times a month though.

 

[ShreddersMom]

Well he already wasn't eating really, which is why I picked up the ZooMed. Maybe I'll try to just blend his hay without the pellets a few times a week, with some cactus and some dandelion to tempt him to eat. He's not a huge fan of the cactus, but I know it's an important part of their diet as well.

 

[LDRANCH]

I feed Mazuri LS, as the ingredients are much more species appropriate than the original Mazuri. My rescue, Charlie, eats it just fine. Beyond that, he grazes on our lawn and gets a variety of greens and vegies as treats. I have found www.snakemuseum.com to have the best price on the Mazuri LS. I let him eat as much as he wants of everything and he seems to not overdo any one thing.

 

[lisa127]

I use the zoo med grassland tortoise food and I like the ingredient list of it better than mazuri ingredient list.

Also, i bought a very big container of it online from amazon for cheap.

 

[Tom]

They should eat as much as they want daily.

Bok Choi should not be a regular item.

You should alternate the regular Mazuri and ZooMed Grassland tortoise food. Not one or the other. The Zoomed stuff is good for adding fiber to grocery store greens. If your tortoise is already eating hay and grass, you really don't need it.

The LS Mazuri looks good on paper, but it doesn't work well in practice. Many of us have tried it, most of us won't use it again after trying it.

I'm not so sure about feeding mint or oregano. Mine won't touch mint by itself. Those are not items I would feed. Be sure you've research whether or not they are safe…

Here are some food suggestions:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[ShreddersMom]

Bok Choy isn't a "regular" item, as I said, it's just in the rotation of things we do feed. I have downloaded the Plant Database app by Tortoise Table and refer to it often when buying food for him. According to it, both mint and oregano are fine to feed on a regular basis as part of a varied diet. He loves them both, so I plan to keep using them. I wouldn't feed him something without researching it. I'm not that dense.

I'd be interested as to why many would not use the LS again. Was it not palatable, or too expensive for not enough of a variance from the original product? If anyone has any feedback on that, I would appreciate it!

 

[MPRC]

I believe it was a palate issue. Most torts wouldn't eat it.