New watering restrictions and our grass loving sulcata — what to do?

[waffle99]

I searched for similar topics here, but couldn’t really find much.

My wife and I have had “Rocky”, a male sulcata, for about 10 years. He’s a valued member of the family and we enjoy interacting with him, but we find ourselves in a bit of a quandary. “Rocky" is about 32” long, from his head to the rear of his shell. He has a nice house that’s heated during the winter months, is active, and seems to have be enjoying life.

Rocky’s primary food is our lawn, supplemented by some dry food and greens, and this has worked well. After we got him we no longer needed a gardener, which was nice. After becoming his main food group the lawn never looked very green and lush again, but my wife re-seeded and watered frequently, and there was a balance -- the lawn looked ok and Rocky had enough to eat.

We live in So Cal and this has all changed with the new water restrictions. Our yard and lawn are not very big, but under the new 2 times a week water restrictions, we are pretty sure it will slowly die and then Rocky won’t have enough to eat. We’re wondering what our options are.

We've been seeding the lawn with perennial ryegrass. Is there another grass that would survive on less water and still give Rocky what he needs?

Might I be able to get lawn cuttings from a nearby golf course or something, and give that to Rocky? How “fresh” would it need to be? There’s an equestrian center nearby - would hay or some other animal feed be an option? If so, any idea about the amount I’d need to buy, the frequency, and the cost?

Further complicating things, we’re nearing retirement and plan to move overseas in about 2 years. Taking Rocky with us won't be an option and we know we’ll need to find him a new home. Maybe we need to bite the bullet and do that now, but that too is a puzzle. Is there any chance that a zoo in California or a nearby state would take him? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think he can safely be moved to the wild. I guess that just leaves finding a new owner but I wonder if that might be very difficult too, since they could face the same problem that we do now.

Your advice is appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[leigti]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I know that you can feed him hay. I wouldn't risk feeding him grass clippings unless you were absolutely positive no chemicals and fertilizers were used, I can pretty much guarantee a golf course uses both. Some experienced sulcata owners will come along soon to give you more advice. If you do have to rehome him you can put a thread here and try to find him a good home. Check out the species specific section for some ideas also.

 

[Tom]

The water restrictions are for decorative lawns, not for people who are growing food for themselves or their animals. Just water your lawn as needed and don't worry about it.

Orchard grass hay and Bermuda grass hay can be found at any feed store, and those are both good option to feed them. Make sure he has access to clean drinking water at all times and if you can manage it, I would soak him once or twice a week too. Spineless opuntia cactus pads are great sulcata food and so are grape vines, mulberry leaves, gazanias, etc... Check out this thread for a list of all sorts of good foods:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

Zoos don't want your tortoise, but it won't be too hard to find a good for him with another private owner. Whereabouts are you?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

Well I have a air conditioner and it drains about 5-8 gallons a day in this high humidity so I put a 5 gallon bucket under it with a fountain pump in it and every day I plug in the pump some times twice a day and the hose goes to the the same spot and the grass grows great in that spot ! You might want to try it .
And the grass at the golf corse has chemicals on it to grow that's not good for your torts !

 

[johnsonnboswell]

You may be able to capture some grey water, or perfectly clean water that would otherwise run down the drain.

You really must continue to water your grass. Don't use a sprinkler or a hose. The further up from the ground you water, the more water goes into the air instead of in the ground. Use a soaker hose instead. It will be more efficient, and it won't aggravate the neighbors.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Plant Bermuda grass. Here in Central California, where our summer temperatures are usually in the 100's, I only water my Bermuda grass once a week. It isn't real lush and green, but it's alive. That's what my grazing tortoises live on. I occasionally cut them some branches off the mulberry tree or grape vine, but mostly they eat the Bermuda. During the winter, when the grass goes dormant, my 110lb sulcata still has to get by eating the brown, dormant bermuda grass.

 

[waffle99]

Thanks very much for all the replies. I'm going to call out city to ask if we qualify as an exception to the watering rules on account of Rocky. If not, maybe Bermuda grass is a good option for us. Thanks again.

 

[Blakem]

Let us know what they say! I'm interested.

 

[leigti]

Bermuda grass will grow anywhere at anytime. It is very invasive so your neighbors may not appreciate it but it will definitely stay alive with a lot less work