How often to feed a very young sulcata.

[MrTurtlesKeeper]

Don't know exact age, as I had specified in a previous question his shell is measuring 2 1/4 inches long. He is small still lol. We had been keeping baby tortoise pellets in his home at all times then also giving him head lettuce for breakfast and either dandelion greens or fresh spinach (usually dandelion greens as there his favorite) for dinner, and he eats it all up! Do we need to switch it up more? Are we feeding him too much? Seeing a lot of conflicting stuff. Tyia[emoji4]

 

[Tim Carlisle]

I would give the head lettuce VERY sparingly. It should not compose the bulk of your tort's diet as there is very little nutritional value in it. Spinach should be kept at a minimum as well as they are high in oxalates which adversely affects the calcium absorption rate. They should be given a variety of different foods, comprising a large percentage of fresh weeds and grass. Tortoises know their limits and will not overeat. I feed mine twice a day; morning and evening. I chop the food up and place it on a saucer. The food "pile" is roughly 1.5 times the size of my tort. The idea is to have a little left over after each feeding. If it cleans the plate, you'll know to add a little more until there's a little left over. Equally important is to keep clean fresh water available at all times.

Be sure to read the Sulcata Diet Sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.64290/

 

[Kristy1970]

I had to triple her daily picking of salad, that’s what we call it (weeds/grass/flowers/grape leaves) the last week because she is cleaning her plate. Finally she leaves a tiny bit uneaten.

 

[wellington]

A much better diet is needed as was shared above. At the younger ages 0-2 they should have food available all day. I feed several handfuls a day. As they get older it can be cut back to a couple handfuls and then hopefully it gets outside to live and graze as adults. As adults I feed them every other day on the days they can go outside too graze and I feed every day during winter.