Orchard hay, pellets or cube?

[Megatron's Mom]

I'm back from my trip. My daughter swore Optimus Prime has a growth spurt while I was away. She said he was an eating machine.

So today I got my hands on him and without weighing him I'm going to agree with her statement.

I've been looking at TSC for the horse pellets and cubes. I should start getting Prime uses to the stuff. But what is everyone else using? I know later on I can go straight to they Hay they have but I thinks he's still young for that?

Don't focus on the alfalfa blocks I just took a picture of the two ways they come in.

 

[wellington]

Orchard grass pellets and/or hay. I wouldn't use Timothy hay, it's too woody. The timothy pellets would be okay but I think orchard grass pellets and hay as long as you can get it is better

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Orchard grass pellets and/or hay. I wouldn't use Timothy hay, it's too woody. The timothy pellets would be okay but I think orchard grass pellets and hay as long as you can get it is better

Ok so pellets over the cubes? I just took pictures of the two just to show the cubes and pellets. I know Timothy was not the best choice. Is OP still a bit young for hay he's not yet two? I'll get a weight and measurements tomorrow.

 

[wellington]

Hay probably should be soaked and cut into smaller pieces.
As for the cubes,is it just hay or is there something mixed in? I bought cubes once and I didn't pay attention to the ingredients but it seemed like there was something mixed in to make them a hard cube. Didn't really think much of it at the time seeing they didn't eat it anyway.

 

[Megatron's Mom]

Hay probably should be soaked and cut into smaller pieces.
As for the cubes,is it just hay or is there something mixed in? I bought cubes once and I didn't pay attention to the ingredients but it seemed like there was something mixed in to make them a hard cube. Didn't really think much of it at the time seeing they didn't eat it anyway.

Thanks, I'll look the next time I'm there. I'll probably grab the pellets to start with.

 

[Tom]

I'm back from my trip. My daughter swore Optimus Prime has a growth spurt while I was away. She said he was an eating machine.

So today I got my hands on him and without weighing him I'm going to agree with her statement.

I've been looking at TSC for the horse pellets and cubes. I should start getting Prime uses to the stuff. But what is everyone else using? I know later on I can go straight to they Hay they have but I thinks he's still young for that?

Don't focus on the alfalfa blocks I just took a picture of the two ways they come in.

I start by soaking one single pellet and once it disintegrates, I mix that in with chopped greens. I do this with tiny hatchings of grass eating species, and keep doing it as they grow. Come to think of it, I do it with all species, because it adds fiber to grocery store greens even for non grass eating species.

Over time I will start soaking two pellets, then three, etc... I never really "feed" them the pellets. I just soak the pellets and mix them in with whatever I'm feeding them that day.

The cubes work the same way, but I don't work those in until the tortoises get bigger. Usually around 10-12 inches. The cubes are just shredded hay that is formed into cubes. There is nothing added to them. Its a great way to get them started on hay. I can't find orchard hay cubes here, so I just chop and soak handfuls of hay from a big bale. It works the same. The smaller the tortoise, the more I chop it up. I just did a whole bunch of it in my food buckets today. I had clover, grape leaves, romaine, dried moringa leaves, red hibiscus flowers, and then I mixed in a bunch of chopped and soaked orchard grass hay with it all.