How much should I feed this beast?

Sulcata_Sandy

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This is Oliver. 50 lbs.

His diet is 75% Timothy hay, the rest is random leafy greens and fresh cut grass.
He will eat all the hay I put out for him every day,,,,probably 1/4 of a flake.
The veggies...example...a fistful of collards, maybe an occasional bell pepper, a big handful of spring mix (without spinach).
He also gets half a large cactus pad daily.

He's got quite an appetite. I don't want to over feed. How much hay is appropriate?
 

mike taylor

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How do you get him to eat the hay . I put hay in with Harry and he will not eat it . But he will graze on grass and weeds .
 

Laura

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mine eat hay if other stuff is mixed with it.. Like Spring Mix.. or Mazuri over the top.. they accidently grab hay too and learn its food!

let him eat what he wants.. he needs to catch up... they are shelled cows.. they eat and process food all day.
 

Tom

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I put out full flakes and let them eat as much as they want. Make sure he's staying well hydrated and has a water vessel of some sort that he uses regularly.

I feed my big ones green stuff every day, but always have the flake of orchard grass hay out too. I alternate between mulberry leaves, grape leaves, cactus pads, fresh green grass clippings, hibiscus leaves, leftover salad mixes mixed with grass clippings, Mazuri, various weeds, alfalfa, clover, pumpkins, etc. Usually its a mix of a bunch of these.

For about 5 months of the year I don't "feed" them anything at all. They eat all the weeds and grass they want everyday, but I still leave the flakes of grass hay out for them.
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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Thank you everyone. So I will continue with what I have been doing. He's always got a new supply of Timothy available. I'm growing my own grass indoors, but it's just barely sprouted.

Next spring he will be outside, with a converted horse stall and insulates hide. I just gotta get thru this winter. I need you help.

Is it at all possible to over feed him hay?
 

sibi

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Sandy, what you have is a big, mean, eating machine! That what sulcatas do...they eat and eat and eat:p That's why you'll eventually have to grow your own veggies cause they'll eat you to the poor house. My sullies, even when they're sick, they'll still eat. If you can get the hay, feed him as much as he wants. Only problem I see, the bm is gonna be huge :D I'll pray for a short winter.
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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sibi said:
Sandy, what you have is a big, mean, eating machine! That what sulcatas do...they eat and eat and eat:p That's why you'll eventually have to grow your own veggies cause they'll eat you to the poor house. My sullies, even when they're sick, they'll still eat. If you can get the hay, feed him as much as he wants. Only problem I see, the bm is gonna be huge :D I'll pray for a short winter.

I've read that, and until Oliver (and now baby Franklin), came along, my only hands on experience with Sulcata is Mo, with is mangled beak. He's not a big eater, and until recently couldn't figure out how to eat greens without me mashing them. I don't mind, but he takes his time, and they wilt and get nasty, then he won't touch them. When I moved him inside for winter, he pouted for 2 weeks and refuses food.
 

Tom

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Sulcata_Sandy said:
Is it at all possible to over feed him hay?

No. Not in my experience. Just watch out for dehydration.

BTW, after years of trial and error, I've decided that I like orchard grass hay the best, with Bermuda hay coming in second.
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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Tom said:
Sulcata_Sandy said:
Is it at all possible to over feed him hay?

No. Not in my experience. Just watch out for dehydration.

BTW, after years of trial and error, I've decided that I like orchard grass hay the best, with Bermuda hay coming in second.

Thanks for the tip. He came with a good supply of Timothy, and Timothy or Timothy Mix (Kentucky Blue, etc) is very very common and a major crop in eastern Oregon.
He's lovin' the Timothy, that's for sure, and this is actually good quality hay, good moisture content, still green. I grew up on a small horse farm, momma was picky about her hay for our show horses. I paid attention. [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Tom, still looking for suitable water dish. The only Sully I have that I see drink is YOURS!
So Mo gets soaked almost daily, and Oliver gets misted.

So another question, Tom, I was going to pose for you...in lieu of my big guys that don't drink...would you see anything wrong with feeding more "most" veggies like romain and cucumber since they ARE so high in water content?


MOIST!!! MOIST VEGGIES!!!! More coffee, more coffee...


mike taylor said:
How do you get him to eat the hay . I put hay in with Harry and he will not eat it . But he will graze on grass and weeds .

Mike, so sorry I didn't respond last night. I had a lot going on at once. [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]
Oliver was fed hay from Humane Society, to DVM who fostered him...so he came already "programmed" to eat it.

He lives inside, in a tipped over Rubbermaid bin, and I just keep it tossed in there for bedding and digging. By the next day, most of its gone. Suck up small bits with shop vac and add more! [GROWING HEART]

I can hear him munching on more hay. LOL
 

Tom

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Cucumber, romaine and even iceberg lettuce are fine ways to deliver some extra water as long as your tortoise is getting its nutritional needs met by a much larger percentage of other foods.

We have catering trucks for the crew on my jobs and they put out huge bowls of salad to feed crews of 100-200 people. There is always leftover and they just throw it away since its been sitting out. I frequently stop by after lunch is over and scoop up all the left overs in a big bag. It consists of a wide variety of salad mixes from spring mix to iceberg with shredded carrots and those little tomatoes or sometimes its plain spinach. Sometimes I'll dump the little tubs of cucumber, diced bell peppers, shredded carrots or other goodies in the bag too. I bring it home and mix it half and half in a 5 gallon bucket with mulberry leaves, chopped hay or fresh grass clippings. On these days is when I sprinkle my calcium, vitamin, or mineral supplements on top. There are never any leftovers. This lettuce veggie mix makes up an average of 5% of their diet per year on average.
 

Sulcata_Sandy

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Fantastic, Tom...and nice score on the veggies. One of my friends has a CSA membership and she's convinced the farmer to send her with his cuttings, so I get grocery bags full of random stuff...much of it I eat as well. Oliver is getting quite a variety.

I can't wait to buy him a big head of iceberg lettuce and just let him have at it. LOL
I plan to video that.
 

AZtortMom

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Sulcata_Sandy said:
Fantastic, Tom...and nice score on the veggies. One of my friends has a CSA membership and she's convinced the farmer to send her with his cuttings, so I get grocery bags full of random stuff...much of it I eat as well. Oliver is getting quite a variety.

I can't wait to buy him a big head of iceberg lettuce and just let him have at it. LOL
I plan to video that.

Can't wait to see the video of that [FACE SAVOURING DELICIOUS FOOD]
 

Judalinez

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about those hay are you talking about fresh hay or those dried one that comes in bags?
 
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