Ribs In Leafy Foods

[waretrop]

I have really changed the kinds of food that I give to Alice. Here is what she mostly eats. Prickly pear cactus pads, prickly pear fruits, dandilion greens, aloe, kale, mustard greens, backyard grass, collard greens. I also plan on feeding wheat grass, baby bok choy, and turnip greens. Also Muzuri grassland feeders large pellets at will. As I study her, while she eats, I find she doesn't like, and even spits out, the rib of the leaves. So I will cut them off the leaf.

Do you think that is a good idea. No one ever mentions the ribs.

She has been eating this kind of food for for probably 4 weeks now. Just today when she went wee wee I found hard gritty urates. It's the first time in 6 months it was gritty. Mostly she has none or it is really like toothpaste. She drinks a little water and I give her a shower about 1 time a week. She has a hide box with temp of about 87 and room temp of 80.

 

[Tom]

What size sulcata?

For anything larger than 3", I think they need to be eating the tough, fibrous ribs. They need the fiber and roughage in their diet. Its good for them.

I would soak at least twice a week, and more than that for a little while since you've seen the gritty urates recently.

Sounds like your tortoise might also need a warmer basking area. 87 is a good ambient for daytime, but they still need to be able to warm up to closer to 95-100, at least in one area.

I find I have to soak a small amount of the ZooMed pellets and then mix it in with the greens. None of my tortoises will eat it plain and dry.

Here is a list of even more good stuff to feed:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[waretrop]

She is 25 pounds and about 20 inches long. So most of the fiber is in the ribs???? I will have to cut them smaller for they are very woody sometimes. I can get them in her...no prob.

OK I will soak her two times a week and get her warmer.

Thanks for the new list of good stuff to feed. I love feeding her....

 

[Tom]

She is 25 pounds and about 20 inches long. So most of the fiber is in the ribs???? I will have to cut them smaller for they are very woody sometimes. I can get them in her...no prob.

OK I will soak her two times a week and get her warmer.

Thanks for the new list of good stuff to feed. I love feeding her....

For me, feeding them and watching them eat is one of the funnest aspects of tortoise keeping.

Just for further conversation… I don't cut up food for any of my tortoises of any age. My hatchlings start out with whole uncut leaves of all kinds of stuff. At 25 pounds, your tortoise should have no problem at all chomping through whole pumpkins, carrots, celery, thin tree branch stems or grape vines, leaf stems and of course, the ribs in any store bought greens.

 

[Big Charlie]

I don't cut up anything. I love to give him a huge piece of something and see him work at it. It's amazing to see him go at it until every scrap is gone.

 

[waretrop]

This little Alice has opened up a whole new world for her mama... I never knew what these leafy foods were, let alone that I might just try to eat them myself... LOL I actually am trying to get Alice to eat fresh foods from 6 am to noon and them pellets for the afternoon. I would like to have some control over her BM's... Leaving these leaves whole will take allot of space.. I will definitely try it tomorrow. After that last episode I just have to wash each leaf.. I really believe an old leaf almost did her in about a month ago....

BTW, I have no children anymore so I tend to go overboard with the catering to all my animals....

2 yorkies 4 and 8 pounders
2 gouldians
2 canaries
3 diamond doves
250 laying chickens
a mess of pheasants
a few exotic ducks
Alice the Sulcata.
and a hubby......

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise is ready to start eating grass hay too. I prefer bermuda hay and orchard grass hay. You can start by feeding her the other greens on a bed of hay and gradually sprinkling a little on top and mixed in with the greens. In time she will eat it plain and dry, and this will save your bacon when she gets bigger, plus its a very good diet for them.

 

[waretrop]

OK I will try that tomorrow but I only have timothy. She hasn't loved it allot. I haven't cut it up into little, little bits and pieces then blended with her food, BUT tomorrow I will... As soon as I get out I will try to find bermuda or orchard grass.

Poor Alice has grown this big for the 5 years of her life on fruits and veggies and lettuce.... I can't imagine how that happened. Along with liquid poops for all those years...

 

[SGT Fish]

Frank wont eat them either, but i dont cut them off. He literally nibbles around them. He does eat the centers of of dandelion and Kale, but the collard greens is just too tough for him so he leaves them behind. He does eat cactus pads though, although he is still hesitant about them