Im Outside Right now

[Jacob]

Im Outside Right Now Letting My Baby Sulcataa Get Some Excersise, i Live In So Cal, Any Suggetions of Some Plants or Weeds i can collect For Food?
Any Weeds he can eat?

i usally feed him tall fescue and bersuda grass, dandlions, roses timothy hay

i would gladly accept any advice

 

[Laura]

Go to the store and buy Spring Mix or Santa Barbara salad mix..
Weeds from the neighborhood can be sprayed with chemicals.
He wont eat Timothy hay until he is older..
I would construct a simple outdoor pen for him.. get 4 2x6 boards, make a square, for safety, put some sort of netting
or wire over it and use that as his outdoor pen for now. lay it on the grass, let him excersise, graze and get some sun.

 

[Jacob]

o.k Thanks, what store usally carry spring mix?
would homedepot or lowes have it?

 

[Torty Mom]

No a grocery store has spring mix. Smart and final has Santa Barbara mix.

 

[rachael]

Its salad called spring mix. By the prepackaged salads in the produce dept.

 

[DeanS]

Stater Bros also carries the Santa Barbara Mix...in the salad section! Whole foods sells top quality dandelion greens...and arugula and watercress are GREAT for them, as well!

 

[N2TORTS]

Dandilions, hibiscus, roses , grape leaves * ask permission if these are on someones property. Usally one can look for non sensetive areas , such as retaining walls , allys, both usally have excessive growth that no one would miss.

" HAPPY PICKING"

JD~

 

[Jacob]

Thanks guys, i will go check stater bros and smart in final! As a matter as fact i wad gunna buy a mix of salads when i went to stater bros earlier today but i didnt know which to get, now i know tho thanks

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

In addition to all the above, We feed alot of cactus.

 

[Angi]

I like to buy an organic spring mix and I eat it too. If you just have one baby it is not too expensive to do this. Do you live in a house with a yard? If you do and you are in So. Cal you probably have Fileree (sp?) ,Mallow and Dandilion growing in your yard. Also Fruitless Mullberry, Hibiscus and Cape Cod Honey Suckle grow well in So. Cal. I just happend to have all in my yard before I even thought about getting a tort. I planted them because they are pretty and esay to grow. It was a nice surprise when I saw them on the tort food list. Also you can grow Aloe and feed it to your tort and put it on burns.

 

[Jacob]

i Have Catus growing outside too!
they will eat any catus,?
take out the horns of course?
cut it into tiny pieces so the baby can eat it?

---

he lives inside, but i take him outside everyday for excersise and sunlight!
& i pick burmuda grass tall fescue grass and dandilions along with some weeds and rose pedals!

i also have catus and alvera plants growing outside but i dont know how specificaly to serve it to him

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

i Have Catus growing outside too!
they will eat any catus,?
take out the horns of course?
cut it into tiny pieces so the baby can eat it?

---

he lives inside, but i take him outside everyday for excersise and sunlight!
& i pick burmuda grass tall fescue grass and dandilions along with some weeds and rose pedals!

i also have catus and alvera plants growing outside but i dont know how specificaly to serve it to him

---

We start our new hatchlings on cactus from day one, I think it is one of the best foods for a torotise!

 

[Jacob]

any catus works?
and how do u prepare the catus?

 

[N2TORTS]

Larger torts dont care about the little fuzzy spines they are called " glochids" ....but if you wish on younger torts , just take a Fillet knife and " scalp it flat" .. there are also ways to soak in brine to soften bristles but this is more for human consumption.
There are approx 15 species of opitnua cacti.The fruits of most prickly pears are edible and sold in stores under the name "cactus apple." The pads are sold in stores under the name "Nopalito." . Both fruits and pads of the prickly pear cactus are rich in slowly absorbed soluble fibers .

HAPPY PRICKLEY PICKING!

JD~

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

JD, the cactus guru, we give the whole pads to our larger tortoises and chop up into a fine mush for the new hatchlings. I think this is one food choice that all can agree on.

 

[N2TORTS]

JD, the cactus guru, we give the whole pads to our larger tortoises and chop up into a fine mush for the new hatchlings. I think this is one food choice that all can agree on.

Ha ha .. Greg ... naw .. Iam just a horticulturist knuckle head too!
and yes .... I agree its great for all torts! ... and actually where I live it grows all over the place , exspecially inland a wee bit ..

 

[Jacob]

ok thanks guys but would they eat any cattus?

 

[DeanS]

In addition to all the above, We feed alot of cactus.

God, yes! Cactus...how could I have forgotten about cactus! Personally, I feed this stuff out everyday! It's the perfect food...high in fiber! High in Calcium! There are a couple folks that you can get it from here...the heartiest comes from Tyler at www.tortoisesupply.com ...the most tender and tastiest comes from www.rivenrock.com

There are several species of cactus that are edible...but you can't go wrong with opuntia (prickly pear)...all subspecies are edible.

 

[Tom]

Spineless opuntia is really easy to grow your self too. Its all over Southern CA. Get permission first, of course, but if you cut a pad off at the base, let it sit for two or three weeks to scab over, then just stick the pad about 1/2 to 1/3 in the dirt somewhere sunny, it will grow new pads for you pretty soon. Just don't water it for the first month or so. I water mine once or twice a week over the hot summer, but not at all over the winter. The new pads are great to feed to babies. They are much more soft and tender. I feed them whole and let the babies bite chunks off.