New New New!!

[redkim]

Hi all!!! SOOOOOO glad to have found this place - it looks GREAT!!!

Here's the dish, I have just purchased my firstest ever Sulcata, and named him/her Motor. 'Cuz he motors everywhere!

I have done tons of research online and am ready for everything or so I thought. He has already tossed the first grenade . . .

He came from a place that was only feeding romaine lettuce, luckily he's a hatchling so there's no damage that cannot be fixed. Slight deformation to shell, one side is not as round as the other side. But here's the dilemma - I have bought dried hays/grasses until I can get my own crops of bermuda, fescue, clover, and dandelions growing. I have soaked them and chopped them up but he will not eat them. If I toss organic mixed greens in he'll pick those out (brat!). I know the shake-a-bake method and have begun doing that but I have also seen some other options and wanted to know your take on this.

1. Keep on mixing, at least he gets something and he'll eat the live plants when they're ready. Clover I know he'll eat, the grasses I'm not sure on as he likes to hide under the patch of wheat grass in his home rather than eat it.

2. Tough love - take out all the greens and only leave in the grasses, when he gets hungry he'll eat them. Is this correct? I know some animals will do this but I have done a lot of work with malnourished birds who only eat particular seeds and they truly don't recognize other stuff as food. In case this guy is that way I do not want to inadvertently starve his cute butt!

So please tell me your experiences and opinions. I saw in one of the threads someone said they will not turn to grasses until they are older?

This is SO confusing . . .

 

[70ridgeway]

i believe in tough aproach no healthy tortoise will starve as long has he has access to water im sure in no time he/she will be eatting

 

[jasso2]

indeed

 

[egyptiandan]

Hi,
Hatchling sulcatas aren't usually interested in grass for the 1st year of their lives. Just stick with the greens and weeds and add in fresh grass when you can. This way he'll get used to it and eventually start eating it on his own.

Danny

 

[drgnfly2265]

My sulcata is 1 year old now and he/she isn't in to grass yet. Every now and then it will try a piece and that's it. After that it will eat weeds and flowers. But at least mine is trying the grass now.

____________________________________________________

1 Sulcata (Bowser)

www.myspace.com/bowsertortoise

 

[redkim]

Great info thank you all!!

I am mixing, chopping moist grass/hay into tiny bits and then mixing it so it sticks to the greens. He's ok with that. I take him out daily to get sun and I put him in one of my many rose tubs that have clover or dandelions growing in them so he's getting to forage and graze. He also likes to munch on the mini rose bushes. I did plant another little patch of grass in his enclosure and when I trimmed a little off a corner he got interested on the low stalks sticking up and started gnawing on them. So we'll just progress in this manner.

 

[janiedough]

tough love!