How much to feed my Sulcata.

[Angjenk]

Hello, I was wondering if I could get some advice on how much to feed my Sulcata, as I’ve read even feeding him too much of the “right things” can be dangerous and cause metabolic problems.

Currently he is in an outdoor enclosure with some Bermuda grass for him to munch on with Timothy Hay for his bedding.
Currently I leave 2 leaves of romaine out in the morning to encourage him to walk a bit in his enclosure and he grazes on the grass as he likes.

Most places gives percentages of which foods to use i.e. 90% grasses limit high oxalate foods, but no specific amounts per day. So I thought I’d ask those who have had Sulcatas longer than I. Truman says thank you. ?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings.....they are grazers and like to graze all day long. For a Sully that size you should have a whole lot of various foods - grape leaves, mulberry leaves, dandelion, grass, grass, Mazuri pellets, etc.

The larger variety, the better. Ogh, don’t get fixated on “percentages” - variety & abundance of good food & water is key.

➡➡ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

 

[Tom]

Hello, I was wondering if I could get some advice on how much to feed my Sulcata, as I’ve read even feeding him too much of the “right things” can be dangerous and cause metabolic problems.

Currently he is in an outdoor enclosure with some Bermuda grass for him to munch on with Timothy Hay for his bedding.
Currently I leave 2 leaves of romaine out in the morning to encourage him to walk a bit in his enclosure and he grazes on the grass as he likes.

Most places gives percentages of which foods to use i.e. 90% grasses limit high oxalate foods, but no specific amounts per day. So I thought I’d ask those who have had Sulcatas longer than I. Truman says thank you. ?

They should be allowed to eat as much of the right foods as they want. The right foods are these:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

The grass he's on is great tortoise food, but its not Bermuda.

I highly recommend adding spineless opuntia pads to his diet. Very easy to grow here, and another great tortoise food. How about mulberry leaves of grape vines. You can lop off whole branches of either and the leaves are great tortoise food. Any mulberry tree owner will be happy to let you prune their tree for free.

 

[Angjenk]

Greetings.....they are grazers and like to graze all day long. For a Sully that size you should have a whole lot of various foods - grape leaves, mulberry leaves, dandelion, grass, grass, Mazuri pellets, etc.

The larger variety, the better. Ogh, don’t get fixated on “percentages” - variety & abundance of good food & water is key.

➡➡ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

Thank you. That really helps. I mainly was worried he was eating too much. That boy can really chow on some grass.

 

[Angjenk]

They should be allowed to eat as much of the right foods as they want. The right foods are these:

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...

Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...

tortoiseforum.org

The grass he's on is great tortoise food, but its not Bermuda.

I highly recommend adding spineless opuntia pads to his diet. Very easy to grow here, and another great tortoise food. How about mulberry leaves of grape vines. You can lop off whole branches of either and the leaves are great tortoise food. Any mulberry tree owner will be happy to let you prune their tree for free.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into the spineless opuntia pads as I think I see that variety is pretty easy to grow in the hot climate where we are located. Until then at least I know to focus on feeding him a variety of things and worry less about over feeding him. Just trying to keep the guy happy and as healthy as I can. ?